Author Topic: What's the point of a college education?  (Read 3639 times)

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Offline Sal Atticum

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What's the point of a college education?
« on: October 03, 2006, 01:35:42 PM »
http://scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience/2006/10/whats_the_point_of_a_college_e.php

A good read, and something that I agree with.   Although it is often that something I agree with can be considered a good read.  Good as in informative; I'm not discussing the quality of the writing.
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Anon

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Re: What's the point of a college education?
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2007, 07:18:19 AM »
OK, well not to sound to brash here, but that author really does not understand why Colleges and ultimately Universities were formed.

Back in lets say 1901 - who went to college?  Namely people interested in science and research.  That was the whole point, for the most part, of going to college.  Attending a college, was not vocational, it taught you to be a scientist, doctor, lawyer, etc.  Think back to your greek history, which ones were educated - the elite.

As time progressed, these colleges formed universities and eventually opened its doors to more of the public as a means to fund their higher level degrees and programs (liberal arts eduction anyone?).  Fast forward some more, and you start to see more and more resumes with a Bachelors, so how do you segregate and find smarter and more qualified applicants -- well you need a masters degree of course. 

This is perpetuated into today.  Everyone expects hands on experience and a 75K/yr job as they exit the university system.  These students and much of the populous really have forgotten what the true purpose of higher education was really intended for.

Sure, the university system has evolved, but the biggest issue it faces is giving a quality education to large masses of people.  Truthfully, the system does a piss poor job of this.  I have a BS and an MS, and I can't say honestly it was money well spent -- it was a means to an end.  Ultimately, I treated my role at UND as two fold.  One, I worked my ass off to get through my classes, and I worked full-time in an entry level job in a field I was going into the entire time.  When I was done, all I had was a piece of paper that said I showed up to class and could take tests - the REAL VALUABLE information that makes me highly marketable today, was learned worked at the job.

Quite frankly, if you are at the top of your class in high school, attending a university will do little more than what you could have taught yourself or learned while performing a job.  I think as time goes on, and especially with higher costs of tuition, the higher education system will fold in on itself and people will start returning to the 1900 philosophy of hiring smart hard working individuals for the job.  Or, at the very least, dump a liberal arts based education entirely - it is not necessary.

Offline talksalot83

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Re: What's the point of a college education?
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2007, 04:18:12 AM »
As someone who came from a community college for a technical program to UND, I can say that there is a place for all kinds of education.

I didn't come here for the education I got at the community and I don't expect the same things, but I do know that experience and hands-on training (depending on the career path) can be very important. There are certain scholarships that I wouldn't have received if it weren't for my training in technical program and working in the field previous to UND.

If you walk out of a college with no technical ability (whether that's writing or computer programming) what-so-ever, I hope that you're a philosophy major. No job is going to hire an employee that has three degrees, but no skills that will benefit the company.

Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: What's the point of a college education?
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2007, 08:51:32 PM »
Quote from: talksalot83
I didn't come here for the education I got at the community and I don't expect the same things, but I do know that experience and hands-on training (depending on the career path) can be very important. There are certain scholarships that I wouldn't have received if it weren't for my training in technical program and working in the field previous to UND.

If you walk out of a college with no technical ability (whether that's writing or computer programming) what-so-ever, I hope that you're a philosophy major. No job is going to hire an employee that has three degrees, but no skills that will benefit the company.

Undoubtedly, you need the skills as well, but I think that there should be a balance between teaching skills that may or may not last, and teaching how to teach oneself the skills that are needed (e.g., by making students research papers, by making students figure out problems for themselves, etc.). 

College is not specific job training--if it was so, it would be under the auspices of the corporate world, who would be dictating how everything was to be done.  Universities have traditionally been a place to learn about what one wants to learn about, and to expand one's horizons (either academically, socially, or both).

I'd rather hire someone who knew how to figure out an answer to a problem than someone who had memorized what buttons to push, on the off chance that a problem did arise.
JUST EXTRA POLISH. I DO SOME WORK WITH EXCELL SO I KEEP THE CAPS LOCK ON :-P

Anon

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Re: What's the point of a college education?
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2007, 10:06:29 AM »
Quote
College is not specific job training--if it was so, it would be under the auspices of the corporate world, who would be dictating how everything was to be done.  Universities have traditionally been a place to learn about what one wants to learn about, and to expand one's horizons (either academically, socially, or both).

I disagree with this.  A liberal arts education, while not new, was never the intent of a college more less a University's goal.  It was created to essentially funnel people through like cattle, gather funds, and put those funds basically into the intent of colleges, which was to breed researchers and create doctors and lawyers.

Nowadays the intent of Universities and the liberal arts education is to create "well-rounded" individuals.  How is that so, when the vast majority take watered down curriculum to satisfy their graduating requirements. Soc 101, Psych 101, Music 101, etc....  Who here is guilty of that crap?


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f it was so, it would be under the auspices of the corporate world, who would be dictating how everything was to be done.

Seriously, is that not how it is now after you graduate?  You have a piece of paper that essentially says, hey I am grown up now and I can leave the sand box.  You start working for a corp (which I do) and you are funneled through a system where you don't really grow personally, you are molded into what they really want and/or need. 

So the education you received is nothing but a sick joke, the corp is paying you big dollars to fill a need and be what they need you to be.  The real advantage here is - Do you have the ability to make yourself dynamic and feel future needs as they arise and not see the tail end of the job service line in 10 years.  Adaptability and a sharp IQ is what you really need to survive in the corp world.

Now, that is just the corp world, sure you can become part of numerous professions that have little to do with the corp world - but then again - some of the same rules apply.


Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: What's the point of a college education?
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2007, 03:47:04 PM »
Quote
College is not specific job training--if it was so, it would be under the auspices of the corporate world, who would be dictating how everything was to be done.  Universities have traditionally been a place to learn about what one wants to learn about, and to expand one's horizons (either academically, socially, or both).

I disagree with this.  A liberal arts education, while not new, was never the intent of a college more less a University's goal.  It was created to essentially funnel people through like cattle, gather funds, and put those funds basically into the intent of colleges, which was to breed researchers and create doctors and lawyers.

Although we aren't talking about why a lberal arts education was created, I just have to ask what all those colleges are for that don't have a relation to research fields, medicine, or law?  College now has a worth to the people who are involved.  I know people who were History majors. Why?  Because they enjoy history, not because they thought it would get them a job as a lawyer.

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Nowadays the intent of Universities and the liberal arts education is to create "well-rounded" individuals.  How is that so, when the vast majority take watered down curriculum to satisfy their graduating requirements. Soc 101, Psych 101, Music 101, etc....  Who here is guilty of that crap?

Until I started graduate school, I never took a class that I was not interested in.  Ironic, eh?

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f it was so, it would be under the auspices of the corporate world, who would be dictating how everything was to be done.

Seriously, is that not how it is now after you graduate?  You have a piece of paper that essentially says, hey I am grown up now and I can leave the sand box.  You start working for a corp (which I do) and you are funneled through a system where you don't really grow personally, you are molded into what they really want and/or need. 

Yes, it is that way--after you graduate.  Exxon is not here teaching us how to do Geology, Dow is not here teaching is how to do Chemistry, Random House is not here teaching is how to do English.  If universities are what you claim they should be, we would be accepting corporate control of every detail of our education.

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So the education you received is nothing but a sick joke, the corp is paying you big dollars to fill a need and be what they need you to be.  The real advantage here is - Do you have the ability to make yourself dynamic and feel future needs as they arise and not see the tail end of the job service line in 10 years.  Adaptability and a sharp IQ is what you really need to survive in the corp world.

I do not agree that education is a sick joke, because I do not agree that all education is for is to get us a place in the corporate world so we can waste away our lives in a cubical doing someone else's work.  True education should be as much about deciding what you like as deciding what you are good at. 

Many people need to be educated how to be adaptable--without the basics, you cannot learn to adapt to change.  The corporate world, as much as they want hot young minds, does not want to teach them from the ground up.

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Now, that is just the corp world, sure you can become part of numerous professions that have little to do with the corp world - but then again - some of the same rules apply.

Which makes me quesiton what the corporate world is doing that makes it so much better than anything else.
JUST EXTRA POLISH. I DO SOME WORK WITH EXCELL SO I KEEP THE CAPS LOCK ON :-P

 

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