As it happens I have twins about to enter UK Universities, both to read Humanities subjects (PPE and Psych/Behavioural Science), so if nothing else affirming given the Big Mess end stage Capitalism seems to be dragging us into..
I count myself lucky in being able to say I had two full professors in college whom I've never forgotten, both in the English department, one an expert in Chaucer and even earlier literature and the other the guiding light for my final senior project in writing. The former was something of a task-master who made class participation one-half the grade received and called out at random the student from whom she wanted an answer. She taught her students to be prepared, which meant knowing how to think critically and offer an answer that was not just thoughtful but original. The latter, in conducting a class of 10 in creative writing, stressed the value of being truthful, of recognizing how facts can be used in writing to move one to action, or to heal, or to open oneself to going through a door leading to greater self-knowledge and awareness of a world larger than the "I". Both professors had a love of learning and exploration that was infectious, and both were inbued with curiosity, that intangible that ensures one is never bored.
No matter the subject, every class at my college learned how to do primary source research, one of the most invaluable skills I learned. It was a rare day in my long career as a writer and editor in subjects as diverse as global politics, international health, higher education, and employment law that I did not use what I learned at my humanities-based college.
Somehow, many colleges and universities turned a corner and became places where learning for its own sake became learning for a job. Fortunately, that was not the case for me, or for my son, who had been taught how to think critically, was gifted intellectually and creatively, and who was drawn naturally to the humanities. He graduated with honors from NYU's Gallatin School; his senior project there (every student at the school had to have an approved project) he titled "Zen and Psychosocial Acoustics." If that gives you pause, you probably are not alone; suffice to say it involved storytelling, an incredible amount of reading in world literature, with every book having to be defended, and a lot creativity in music studies (I can't describe it much beyond that). NYU was exactly the right place for my son to be. My implication is that for my son and others like him, going to college to study subjects to get a degree that guaranteed a job in some field offering a high salary would have been a disaster. We should not lose sight that fostering curiosity, instilling a love of wide reading, promoting awareness of the world, rewarding creative and critical thinking, and experiencing other cultures go a long way toward guaranteeing an informed citizenry. We all know what happens when those admitted abstract qualities are lacking.
Jay - great essay. I wrote a book in the comments over on Josh's site.
Wonderful essay and very moving to read.
As it happens I have twins about to enter UK Universities, both to read Humanities subjects (PPE and Psych/Behavioural Science), so if nothing else affirming given the Big Mess end stage Capitalism seems to be dragging us into..
I count myself lucky in being able to say I had two full professors in college whom I've never forgotten, both in the English department, one an expert in Chaucer and even earlier literature and the other the guiding light for my final senior project in writing. The former was something of a task-master who made class participation one-half the grade received and called out at random the student from whom she wanted an answer. She taught her students to be prepared, which meant knowing how to think critically and offer an answer that was not just thoughtful but original. The latter, in conducting a class of 10 in creative writing, stressed the value of being truthful, of recognizing how facts can be used in writing to move one to action, or to heal, or to open oneself to going through a door leading to greater self-knowledge and awareness of a world larger than the "I". Both professors had a love of learning and exploration that was infectious, and both were inbued with curiosity, that intangible that ensures one is never bored.
No matter the subject, every class at my college learned how to do primary source research, one of the most invaluable skills I learned. It was a rare day in my long career as a writer and editor in subjects as diverse as global politics, international health, higher education, and employment law that I did not use what I learned at my humanities-based college.
Somehow, many colleges and universities turned a corner and became places where learning for its own sake became learning for a job. Fortunately, that was not the case for me, or for my son, who had been taught how to think critically, was gifted intellectually and creatively, and who was drawn naturally to the humanities. He graduated with honors from NYU's Gallatin School; his senior project there (every student at the school had to have an approved project) he titled "Zen and Psychosocial Acoustics." If that gives you pause, you probably are not alone; suffice to say it involved storytelling, an incredible amount of reading in world literature, with every book having to be defended, and a lot creativity in music studies (I can't describe it much beyond that). NYU was exactly the right place for my son to be. My implication is that for my son and others like him, going to college to study subjects to get a degree that guaranteed a job in some field offering a high salary would have been a disaster. We should not lose sight that fostering curiosity, instilling a love of wide reading, promoting awareness of the world, rewarding creative and critical thinking, and experiencing other cultures go a long way toward guaranteeing an informed citizenry. We all know what happens when those admitted abstract qualities are lacking.