Knowledge vs Education

So today I had a conversation with a guy who's twenty-three and does investing for a living. He has not gained a formal education and does not plan on doing so. He took a couple of courses on investing in real estate and such, but has now moved on to the bond business. After our conversation, I would like to analyze why I think that education is so very important in this world.
First of all, education pays in our society. In order to get most jobs that can support a family, you have to have a degree. Then, in order to move up on the occupation ladder, you have to gain experience. This experience usually has to be gained from the job that requires a degree. In order to go out on your own, it helps to have had some years working for someone else. While many uneducated humans hit the jackpot (literally or figuratively). the majority of highly-paid or highly-successful people have gained an university degree.
The guy I spoke with, however, felt that he is going to be one of those people who doesn't need the education, just the knowledge to go big. He claimed that teachers don't usually know all that there is to be known. I then replied that if teachers were paid more, schools could find higher-qualified teachers (except for Mr. Rich, because it doesn't get more qualified than that). While I realize that there aren't any teachers that know everything (except for Mr. Rich or coursre), the majority do know what they are doing, and I have never taken a class in which I haven't learned something to help me in life. As I get older and take my various classes, I have seen them begin to intertwine and prepare me for a life that I couldn't live the same way without my education. Education not only prepares for the workforce, it prepares you for life by teaching life-long lessons that I will NEVER forget.
Education is something that so many people in America take for granite. We have SOOOO many opportunities to gain knowledge through public and private education. While there are many options of how to gain an education, it is my belief, as well as my family's, that one should gain as much education as they can. My dad in the past ten-twelve years, has learned the importance of certified education. In this time period, he as started a welding business, built lease-out warehouses in Idaho, had to give up the welding business, move to Utah, go to College in his late thirties, and finally find a job that pays to support a growing family. While we were never hurting for money, without his education, the job he held wasn't sufficient for what he wanted for his family. He dropped out of college his first semester as a teenager. He has told me that if he could go back and change what he did, that would be one of the biggest things he would change. He would take advantage of the opportunity to gain that education while he was young. My dad is one reason why I believe in the power of a public or private extended education.
While there are many jobs that seem appealing to me at this time, elementary school teaching is near the top. In order to give knowledge to children through education, I have to gain the right knowledge through my own education. Education pays and it helps to prepare you in ways that nothing else can. My own personal beliefs are that knowledge prepares you for life here, as well as life after. Knowledge can, as the investor said, be gained outside of a classroom. While I belive this, that kind of knowledge isn't the only kind I want. I want to take my opportunities at a formal education which I have been given as an American. While school is hard, I believe very much in its importance in a potentially successful life to come ( and to go for eternity). Love ya'll. Bye.