Continuing Education: What's The Point?

Let's face it; I rarely get to hear how wonderful continuing education is. I don't take it personally and I don't think anyone else at Design Arts Seminars does either. For the most part, it simply has nothing to do with the quality of the continuing education opportunities available. There are many quality programs available out there to fit any schedule and any budget (okay, there are also some very bad ones but you know what they are so they can easily be avoided). For one thing, I like to think that we offer quality continuing education programs in a variety of delivery formats for a reasonable fee. I am biased on that one but the evaluations our attendees turn in seem to prove me right but that's not the point. So what is the issue with continuing education? Why is it perceived as a costly, time-consuming inconvenience rather than as the opportunity it really is?