Education--learning--is not necessarily the pathway to truth.
Paul told Timothy that the men of today would be “always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Timothy 3:17). In his letter to the Romans, Paul says that men, in an attempt to prove that they are wise, will suppress the truth and, claiming to be wise, become fools--their minds and hearts darkened (Romans 1:21-22). Even the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus' day, searched the Scriptures, but Jesus told them that they had no idea what the truth was. He stood right in front of them and they didn't comprehend; they had blind minds and blind hearts (Matthew 23:16-17, for example).
The problem is the same nowadays. When we begin the pursuit of truth by denying what--Who--is the Truth, we have no chance of finding truth. All truth resides in, flows from, and relates back to the character of the Triune God. If one's pursuit of truth is not grounded in His revelation--the written Word and the Living Word--then the search is futile. A thousand degrees behind a name will just be evidence of the depth of blindness, and the desperation of a groundless search.
The pursuit of excellence and learning is not a bad thing. No one should have a greater understanding of humanity, history, science, literature, math, art than the student who knows "that all truth is God's truth" and thus is worthy of exploration and mastery. And no one should ignore the fact that the learning of those things provides him or her with the ability--and responsibility--to use that knowledge to glorify Him. And the more we know, the greater the opportunity we have to form relationships with those of like interest, who are yet unaware of the One who is the source of truth--their Savior or their Judge.
For me personally, this is part of the beauty of teaching in a Christian school. Yes, it is a highly academic school, but that is not the main focus. It is not a highly academic school that also happens to be Christian. It is a Christ-centered, discipleship-oriented school that also happens to be academically challenging. We desire for our students to see Jesus in all things.
In a culture that worships education, we as parents must be committed to teaching our children with our words and with our lives that all truth abides in Him. Such a journey begins in the home. We must not conform to the image of the world--an empty pursuit of knowledge apart from Him. We must teach our children to transform a world and its educational system so that those pursuing emptiness might, too, see Jesus in all things, and so find Him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.