1)Positive Connotation:
The state of getting and or becoming "educated" therefore giving you the chance to succeed in life.
At it's most basic level, in the US, graduating from high school, or getting a General Equivalent Diploma. (Hey, if you don't have a diploma, eventually even Micky D's won't want you anymore if more qualified applicants show up. And if you can't read, write, or do basic artithmetic, you can't do a lot of things.)
However, in the
United States, most "educated" people have been to a two or four year college and have some form of degree, thus making them elgible for at least slightly better jobs.
For this reason, many adults tell their kids to stay in school and get a good education, so they can be sucessful in life.
2)Negative connotation:
A system run by the state that screws you over, where you learn nothing of importance and must take tons of
standardized tests while enduring a dumbed-down curriculum, the main focus being to keep the children just educated enough that they can grow up, take jobs, and become cogs in the wheels of the system, in what is
inevitably an "
assembly line" approach. In short, the Man's way of stifiling young creativity and brainwashing the youth of the nation.
1) "The reason I know the meaning of the word 'connotation' is because I go to school and get myself an education."
2) "Kids in the US often hate the
education system, and feel it stifles their
individuality and creativity. However, in third world nations, many kids would love the chance to go to school, even if it's crappy and state-run, because they're stuck working all day without
minimum wage."
