piece of paper

I'm talking to a guy about where he went to high school. "Glenville" he says. I remark that the school is a beautiful building. "Doesn't matter how beautiful the building is, it's the education that counts. I was one of those 'slow learners' in the LD program, you know. They pushed me through and gave me a piece of paper at the end. Didn't care if I learned anything. The paper isn't worth anything. It's whether or not you have an education. I have the piece of paper, but it doesn't mean a thing." Well, maybe it doesn't, but I am sitting in front of a man who knows a heck of a lot more than that paper is meant to represent.