Ideas about education are changing in the United States．Education today is not just a high school diploma (文凭) or a college degree．Many s are not interested in going to college．They are interested in other kinds of learning．For them, learning does not end with a diploma．
Continuing education gives these s the opportunity to increase their knowledge about their own field or to learn about a new field．It also gives them a chance to improve their old skills or to learn new ones．Scientists, mechanics (技师) and barbers (理发师) can take classes to improve their work skills．．If they know more or learn more, they can get a better job or earn more money．
Continuing education classes give more s the chance to learn new skills．There is usually a large variety of classes to choose from: typing, foreign cooking, photography, auto repair, furniture repair, or swimming．There are only some of the classes available．
Some s take classes for fun or because the class will be useful for them．Other s take continuing education classes to improve their own lives because they want to feel better about themselves．
Almost any community college or public school system has a continuing education program．There are classes in schools, community buildings or churches．Most classes are in the evenings, so working people can attend．The classes are usually small, and they are inexpensive.
The new idea about education in the U．S．is that______ .