An Education Debate for the Books - washingtonpost.com - 0 views
-
-
Joellen Kriss on 28 Aug 09A debate that my cousin who has a degree in The Classics from Oberlin has with my Uncle, during which he famously stated "I think you are confusing education with job training" and is definitly something that has added thought to my own education.
-
-
"People all think that in a bad economy, they need skills for a job," said Christopher Nelson, president of St. John's. "What they don't realize is that a liberal arts education will give them skills for life, and that will get them a job."
-
St. John's is one of a handful of American colleges that offer a curriculum built upon great works of literature, art, science and mathematics. Students read and discuss texts by Homer, Euclid, Chaucer and Einstein. There are no majors; students graduate with broad knowledge in several disciplines but a specialty in none, and without anything approaching vocational skills. Investing in a St. John's education requires a leap of faith.
- ...1 more annotation...
-
Article from the Washington Post that discusses the downward turn in applicants to schools like St. John's College where the emphasis is on a broad liberal education. Students at St John's don't choose a major and receive a broad education with very little in the way of job training. It raises an interesting debate about learning for the sake of learning, rather than learning with an objective (job placement, test scores, etc).