Amanda and I were listening to public radio recently when a fellow being interviewed rather mincingly suggested that perhaps education should be valued apart from its beneficial financial effects. She says to me, "Hey! You listening? They found someone who thinks like you." Yes, me and one other guy!
When people ask of students what they're taking up at school, they want to know what profession they mean to enter. If the answer is something like "literature" or "history," the next question is: So you want to teach? And the answer to that is: No, law school. All education is now vocational training. Politicians who "support education" are really just in favor of high-paying jobs. Education is a means, the end is affluence.
Everyone just assumes the role of education is to fit you for remunerative employment. But an education worth having should fit you for unemployment, too.
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