I’m a teacher and will state without any trace of false modesty that I’m damned good at what I do. I love to teach. I live to teach. More to the point, I used to love my job. Unfortunately, that job has changed so much over the past few years that I no longer recognize it. As a colleague said to me recently, “All this paperwork really interferes with my teaching.” I concur and hope to explore here and in future posts what has happened.
So there are a few things I need to know. Let’s start with what’s bothering me the most lately. When did I miss the memo stating that the purpose of post-secondary education is job training? Yes, I was bored and missed most of the ‘80’s but I’ve tried hard to keep up and pay attention since then. Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe the purpose of education is to open minds and that it is not, and never should be, to train and place workers.
Wasn’t it was Socrates who said, "I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think"? I value exposing students to new ideas, helping them to think critically and, building their self-esteem. I get up out of bed each morning to do those very things. The rewards are great and can’t be expressed in formula, rubrics or spreadsheets.
A person who has the ability to read, write and think logically will be a better citizen, a better parent, and, of course, a better employee. But here’s the rub, we cannot measure the value of an individual’s education by a resume or a W-2. How I wish the paper pushers would stop trying!
Focus on this mission statement from Bates College:
Since 1855, Bates College has been dedicated to the emancipating potential of the liberal arts. Bates educates the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. With ardor and devotion -- Amore ac Studio -- we engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action. Preparing leaders sustained by a love of learning and a commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world, Bates is a college for coming times.
Read through the mission statement for USM:
The University of Southern Maine, northern New England's outstanding public, regional, comprehensive university, is dedicated to providing students with a high quality, accessible, affordable education. Through its undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, USM faculty members educate future leaders in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering and technology, health and social services, education, business, law and public service. Distinguished for their teaching, research, scholarly publication and creative activity, the faculty are committed to fostering a spirit of critical inquiry and civic participation. USM embraces academic freedom for students, faculty, and staff, and advocates diversity in all aspects of its campus life and academic work. It supports sustainable development, environmental stewardship, and community involvement. As a center for discovery, scholarship and creativity, USM provides resources for the state, the nation, and the world.
Here’s a like to the mission statement for Harvard College which is really too long to post here: http://www.harvard.edu/siteguide/faqs/faq110.php
Do we really want to stray too much further from these ideals? I’m advocating “Amore ac Studio”. How about you?
I like your post and agree with you. I think that a well-rounded education (typical liberal arts stuff) enables a person to do anything they want to do if they are motivated and willing to work. There is a difference between education and training. Those seeking higher education need to be informed of the difference and to understand that neither education nor training guarantees a job or a successful career, although they certainly help. There are no guarantees in life, and life is not "fair."
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is in the midst of furthering her education mainly for the purpose of securing solid employment, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I have always been a true academic in the sense that I love to learn for the simple reason that it makes me a better, more aware person. Now, I've had to focus my educational sights on a specific purpose due to what the labor market dictates. When you said that you believe the purpose of education is to open minds and not to train and place workers, you got right to the heart of the matter. The companies that hire people used to train them to do the job. Now they want to hire people with enough education and experience to mean they won't have to "waste" time and money on that. Remember "on-the-job" training? It is a thing of the past except in huge companies that have a set block of time they devote to a training process.
ReplyDeleteWe are in a very strange marketplace, where everyone is focused on the bottom-line and "quantifiable results". It's hard to quantify the value of opening someone's mind and making them think, whereas it is easy to measure job placement rates and things of that ilk. As such, institutions such as yours have arisen to tout their ability to place workers and provide affordable education, but at a cost to the institution itself; including (among other things), increased paper-work and bureaucracy related to churning out these "job ready" candidates.
ReplyDeleteIn the current climate, as a student, you really need to focus more than ever on what it is you "want to be when you grow up", so to speak. This is because employers are looking for relevant skills and experiences that allow you to hit the ground running if they hire you. No one is interested in training new employees or taking a risk on someone's "broad liberal arts background" and seeing if it works out.
I honestly feel that, financially, someone looking to go to college right now would be better off honing in on a career track and getting job training/a degree specifically focused on that trajectory. We are becoming a nation of specialists and people are being compensated as such, at least in the short-term.
Granted, the flip side to this is the long-term security you have as an employee. If you get a specialized degree in say, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), you are in great shape if you can get a job and hold it in that field. Should you be unable to get a job, or that career becomes less prosperous, or you lose interest in it down the road (hello, auto industry) you are pretty screwed since all your eggs are in this basket. THAT is what all the ITT Techs of the world aren't telling people in their sleazy ads as they saddle kids with unmanageable debt and ride off into the sunset with the government's, and subsequently the taxpayers, money.
Hopefully the priorities shift somewhat and we can get back to the point where there is value in a broad knowledge base and employers look for candidates who can think critically and solve problems instead of robotically performing one specific task or set of tasks really well and being otherwise helpless.
I think part of the problem lies with the employer. (And I am fully aware that taking this from the p.o.v. of the employer further kills the idea of learning for the student's sake.)
ReplyDeleteWhat does the employer want? Do they want a critical thinker or do they want somebody that can perform a function? If they want a critical thinker, then they should require a degree (be it a AA or BS or whatever) from an accredited institution of "higher learning." If, however, the employer only wants somebody that can perform a function, then a degree should not be required. There are certificate programs (at all levels) for a reason.
Now, if the employer does want a critical thinker, then the student/prospective employee should know why the employer is looking for somebody that can interpret history, Shakespeare, and algebra. Too often, people in various positions at the institution of higher learning will stress the training aspects of an education and downplay the core because it's harder to connect the core to a student's future.
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteVery well written and very well said. It is unbelievable that education is such a low priority with so many institutions.
I agree with everyone. How's that for political? A true liberal arts education would be ideal for all and should be part and parcel of a public (free) education. Specialization after that is up to the individual. I have no problem with job training if it is in fact job training and not an oppy for so called career colleges to steal tuition from well meaning and often rather desparate students with GEDs. If you choose to train someone to do a specific job, train them with people who 1. know how to teach and 2. know the field professionally. Meanwhile, one hopes that the students have the baasics, they can read, they can write a decent paragraph they do some figurin'.
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, I think what is truly missing in our education system is teaching people to think critically, or more to the point, to think. The rote memorization of so-called job skills, the culture of teaching to the test, etc., has been the ruination of our young people. It was rare that I ran into a student who could think critically and it is rare that I run into adults who bother to think critically (or perhaps have never thought to do it). Swallowing whole whatever is said to them by someone who looks to be authoritative on the subject is the catastrophic result of a very poor education and the inability to think on one's own.