Kendra Becomes the Apprentice: Book Smarts Wins!

My title for this article is actually a headline that I saw on nbc.com for a recap of the final Apprentice episode of season 3. Book Smarts Wins! So this is suppose to tell us something?

I watched this entire season, as most other fans did, with the Book Smarts/Street Smarts battle in the back of my mind. I should have known that it would come to this. Two candidates: one with no college degree, one with one. And in the end, the candidate with one put herself over the edge with her credentials. How convenient that it got to that point. I will say, that if the producers of the show had the final 2 end up that way on purpose, they did a pretty good job of making it look like it happened that way by happenstance.

So, point well taken. Book smarts overcomes. So what did this decide? I think that it didn't prove anything more than how ridiculous the degree stigma is in business. Frankly, I would have chosen Kendra over Tana anyway even if the roles were reversed. Tana was abrasive and paid no attention to detail, while Kendra was quietly organized and prepared. Did college teach her that? Maybe. But wouldn't it have been interesting if the producers threw in another twist and revealed at the final boardroom that Tana actually had the degree and Kendra didn't? Boy, opinions would have swayed then, huh?

I met a woman one time at a business lunch who revealed that she wore a wedding band in business situations even though she wasn't married. She stated that people took her more seriously as a married woman than a single woman; and, I have to admit, when she revealed that to me, my opinion of her immediately changed.

Society needs milestones. We need roadmaps of people before we can figure out exactly who we're talking to. A college degree is a milestone and when we meet a person with one, they fall into the college graduate category no matter whether it's good or bad. Every once in a while we have to convince other people that it's OK for them to have certain opinions about us based on what we've accomplished in society.

If the Donald wants to really prove the Book Smarts/Street Smarts myth, he needs to have a show where there's an even number of college grads and non-college grads, but nobody knows who is one and who isn't. Then the stigma goes away and raw talent steps in. Use what you learned in college... that's OK... but don't expect special dispensation just because you have a piece of paper. Of course, if the non-college grads that end up on that show turned out to be similar to this group of idiots, it wouldn't be that hard to tell.

I hate all these little societal rules, biases and innuendos. I'm glad a woman won this time, though.