Life provides numerous travel paths. Some paths have expected markers; some do not. Travel is, therefore, based on objectives and expectations. Travel paths have detours that make for ins and outs. Situational behavioral expectations abound on travel paths.

Wrote English librettist W. S. Gilbert (1836-1911): “Life is a joke that has just begun.” The greater the expectations in personal circumstances, the lesser might be the desired outcomes. Welcome to an era of greatly diminishing behavioral expectations.

We are reminded from grade school onward to get a good education. Millions of high school and college graduates are unable to secure desirable employment. Do they possess inappropriate diplomas and degrees? As painful as this might read, an associate degree can trump a bachelor’s, master’s and, possibly, a doctoral degree in given situations.

The usefulness of an academic degree depends on the field of study and its market relevance. There are individuals with high positions and salaries who gained their employment status through apprenticeships, the military, being in the right place at the right time, etc. But having positive behavioral expectations is a natural progression toward the realization of them.

Advice from French author Anatole France (1844-1924): “An education isn’t how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It’s being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don’t.” Balance behavioral expectations with reality.

Seven behavioral-related realities of several different stripes are presented to be measured and evaluated on the basis of behavioral tinkering:

1. Doping athletes. Some college and professional athletes use performance enhancing drugs. Prohibiting the use of these drugs has not curtailed appetites for usage. Who suffers?

2. Money protection. IndyMac Bank failure recently demonstrated that FDIC insurance protection ($100,000-$250,000) has limits. Unsecured millions are in bank accounts.

3. Interest rates. We yearn for the 7.5% CD interest rate of years ago. Toddler CDs in the 2.5% - 4.0% range anger people. Where are decent CD rates?

4. Guaranteed pensions. These programs still exist ... but they are giving way to trends where workers have to design their own pension and healthcare benefit programs.

5. Well-paid jobs. These jobs exist across market sectors, but they will be hard to come by. Some of these jobs are gone. Forever. Develop your own well-paying job.

6. Liars. Some people will lie, lie, lie ... and without remorse. Their truthfulness will have to be discerned on the basis of what they say and the evidence surrounding their remarks.

7. Tobacco users. Despite the evidence against tobacco chewing and smoking, users believe they will not become victims of ill health due to continued use.

An era of diminishing behavioral expectations is here. Some are in disguised form. This promises to be a real hassle until a hospitable follow-up era is ushered into place. All humankind must be involved in this process. Wrote Booker T. Washington (1856-1915): “There is no escape – man drags man down, or man lifts man up.”

Let us deal forthrightly with diminishing behavioral expectations and their thievery.

n Reach T&D Columnist Howard D. Hill, Ph.D., via educationconsultant@sc.rr.com

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