This is a trending topic on Facebook about the mother and the daughter who mistreated a cashier staff in McDonald's Angeles, Pampanga, PH because the staff "cannot" communicate with them "properly" in English.

I reposted this on my page on Facebook. Some of my friends liked the post while some left a comment about their thoughts on this matter. And one of the comments was this:

"Does education is enough to be called educated? And what does education gotta do with speaking in English?  Why do we always brought up our education when we end up into an argument? I just don't understand why. Not because I didn't go to college but is that already enough to consider myself uneducated? Is there a difference between education, educated, intelligent and knowledgeable? Or are we just egoist that we always come up with a self-defense mechanism that if we let our egos control us, we come up with lame excuses like letting everyone know that you went to college and that makes you educated? Hahaha. Help me out to understand, Gee. I am not sure if my common sense is right.."

This is the exact comment that a friend of mine left on the post that I reposted. It's better not to name that person for confidentiality purposes.

I paused for a while as I read the comment. And when ideas started blurting out from my mind, this is what I wrote as a response to the comment. Here it goes:

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I've known only a few people who act accordingly with their brains.

Being intelligent wouldn't be defined by education alone. Cos intelligence is innate (that's my point of view according to the researches that I've read) and education only enhaces it. Being knowledgeable is likewise being informative or well-grounded about a certain matter. Those two are defined differently.

Nowadays, we can hardly differentiate educated people from uneducated people. Cos some factors affect it such as attitude (which greatly separates the two).

We can never really distinguish who's educated and who's not. Cos some educated people act like they're uneducated and vice versa. (What's happening to this society?)

Thus, I've notice a few reasons why. And this will surely make a lot of sense. Here they are:

1. Regarding this post, people should stop correlating one's fluency in English to their level of education. Though education is a factor, but not that alone. Cos there are a few peeps out there who are degree holders but can't even properly use "YOUR" and "YOU'RE". (And I sure know a lot of people like this and it is so embarassing for their part like what the hell happened back when they were still in school?)

2. Regarding #1, if you want to be fluent in English, study the language. Reading books help a lot. Being fluent in English isn't even a requirement in our English classes, right? Fluency in that language is actually a skill that can be learned or practiced. Okay?

3. In addition to that, just STOP speaking in English if you know to yourself that you ain't comfy enough to do so. Stop trying so hard only to sound stupid. Check your vocabs. If you ain't comfy but you just can't stop trying to speak in English, then better bring with you a dictionary...always!

4. An educated person should never drag anyone down just because they didn't go to college. Cos educated people, I believe, learnt proper conduct. (They should have!)

5. Fluency in English will never make you become a better person amongst anyone neither would it put you ahead of anybody nor will it ever make you sound cool or elite. Let's just drop that mentality already!

6. Open rebuke is better than hidden love. If you know anyone or if you have been in a situation where you heard someone used the English language improperly, correct them. If you can't get rid of becoming rude cos they ain't just grammar geeks, just atleast let them know why and what made it wrong. Make sure you taught them their lessons; grammar lessons to be exact.

7. The English language has been a useful tool in many different ways especially in this competitive and fast-pacing generation. You might get left behind if you can't barely comprehend a conversation using the language.
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That is what I posted as a response. But I still have something in my mind now that I want to say:

Education is everyone's right; a privelege to be able to have a degree. BUT, education isn't about becoming intelligent or smart or wise or knowledgeable or whatever shit you want to call it. Education is one of the keys to finding a good job and being able to get along in this competitive world. But most importantly, education is about shaping someone to become a better person despite this world's cruelty. In school, we learn how to become compassionate. We learn how to treat people with kindness despite their status in life (we were taught of that manner since prep-school!) We learn how to respect everyone regardless of their age or gender. We learn how to give back and forgive. We learn how to become a good example for everybody. We learn not only how to find the x, y or z from our Algebra classes nor the history of our country and the different laws and human rights neither the anatomy of the our respiratory system and the fuction of each parts, BUT we also learn how to become a better person of the community.

What I am trying to say is that, if you are bragging your education to everyone, then let these people see what your education brought you: not just the degree that you got but the better person that you should've become as you finish your studies. Right?

Education about LEARNING: being able to learn; knowing how to learn; realizing what you have to learn; applying what you have learned; retaining what you have learnt; and sharing what you have learned to everybody.

As to this "mother-and-daughter McDo issue", their behavior isn't a good sign that they are "educated" cos they created a scandal for some senseless reasons they have toward the staff. Another thing is their attitude on how they disrespect the cashier staff and the manager as well which proved enough that they are one of the many scumbags who brag their education to everyone but doesn't reflect the learning in it. (Who's uneducated now?)

PS.
What pisses me off mostly in this issue is when the mother asked the manager to form two lines in the cashier where one is for the educated people and the other one is for the normal people. NORMAL PEOPLE? Again, I've read it correctly, right? She did say 'Normal people'. How does she define normal? So, in that case, educated people ain't normal? And when a person is normal, they ain't edcuated? Is that what she's tryna say? Hahaha! Explain it to me, please.