Educated has many different meanings. With so many explanations, it is hard to decipher which is the true definition of the word. According to the Oxford Essential Dictionary educated is defined as having had a good education. What is a good education? Is a good education only obtained from an Ivy League school or could it be acquired from a local community college? Education is known to be courses such as math, English, history, and much more. People that master these subjects throughout their lives do not always turn out to be educated. To be educated is defined differently by different people. What is educated for the American society is not necessarily educated for those that live in a different country on the opposite side of the world. There are many aspects of life that require knowledge. There are situations in life that need outside knowledge, knowledge that was never taught in school. To be educated, one must obtain a simple education, outside knowledge of the world, and have social skills to communicate with others.
             It is not necessary to have a diploma from Harvard or Yale to be called educated. A diploma from a small community college can be awarded to a student that holds just as much knowledge as an Ivy League student holds. Skills from calculus, inorganic chemistry, and other hard classes do not classify a person far above the rest. Steven B. Simple, the president of the University of Southern California, claims "to be educated means proficiency in English and the second major language of our time, calculus" (808). When Simple said this he proposed that to be educated the knowledge needed is two subjects, English and calculus. Skills that are acquired from these types of classes do not play a part in everyday life. There are few times in a week let alone a day that those subjects would fit into a real life situation. Nor does a master's degree qualify a person to be educated. The...