Recently Brady and I were talking about our college degrees- their value, their abilities to get us a job, the work we put into them, the people they shape us into, the way they enrich our family and increase our potential to serve.
College is expensive and time consuming. I wonder if most people are reaping from their college experience what they intended. Tell me what you think.
As far as the job market goes Brady and I have somewhat “useless” undergrad degrees (Psychology and Exercise Sciences.) Both of us selected our undergrad majors as a means to get into grad school. When I tell people my major l generally roll my eyes to suggest “Yes, I do realize that I didn’t select the most useful, lucrative bachelor’s degree.” But should it matter?
What makes a college education worthwhile?
Needless to say, now my days are not filled with anything scientific but spent counting to 20 and singing the ABCs. I finished my undergrad 4 years ago and those days at BYU seem so long ago, so distant.
I really cannot remember a thing I learned my first few semesters while taking general education classes. At the same time I will never forget many of the friends I made, the fun I had, my host family during my study abroad, and the way these changed my view of myself and the world. Were those 2 semesters of mediocre grades "time wasted?"
Many people have different reasons for going/ finishing college. Some of them are laudable, some I think are bogus.
Sometimes women in college feel they have no incentive. They want a family and will never use their degree. Is it okay to pick an easy major, do easy classes until one gets a ring on their finger or a positive pregnancy test? Is it okay to go to college just until something better comes along?
If women just want to be mothers should they have to challenge themselves academically? How much weight do you give to the “just in case my husband dies” attitude towards women’s education?
Often people don't finish college because their career doesn’t require it – artists, sales reps, military. . . is it okay that they completely missed out on this social rite of passage? Are they skipping out on life’s lessons?
Is it alright to spend time and money on a degree that you are only half–heartedly interested in but that is easy and quick?
Should we be pushing our kids towards getting graduate degrees now that the job market is flooded with 4 year degrees?
Are some degrees truly “better” than others? (Of course the world needs philosophers, anthropologists, art historians, but enough to warrant getting a degree?)
Should people only study majors that can land jobs?
If we are truly looking to develop personal attributes why don’t more people spend 4 years volunteering, traveling, and soul searching?
After saying all that, basically I think the ideal cases for going through school are a) if you are pursuing something you are passionate about and or b)if you'll make money because of it.
My parents always assumed and expected us to get at least a 4 year degree. As much as I think that people should pursue their lives as they see fit, I would flip if one of my own kids told me they were opting out/dropping out of formal education. There is something commendable about taking on any challenging, lengthy task and furthermore finishing something that you started.
5 comments:
With my psych degree, I admit that it wasn't the most difficult one out there, but that didn't hurt my feelings. When I started at BYU, I didn't really care if I ever graduated, but by the time I had declared a major I knew that I did want to. I remember sitting in my Clinical Psych class my senior year and realizing that I loved learning and I loved psychology. I never had any plans for grad school, and I kind of feel that I got my education for educations sake, but that's okay with me. I hate to admit that the GE humanities classes I took made me a more well-rounded, educated person, but they did.
"Tell you what I think???" Are you really sure you want to open that box of mirrors??? ☺ If so, you may want to try this:
A. Insert one of the following in the place of "college education" (or any of its referents in your questions such as "it" "general" "scientific" "grad school" etc.) as these appear in your blog:
a. true religion
b. partly true religion
c. false religion
You might also find it interesting to insert true, partly, or false "motherhood" in the place of "college education" or "fatherhood"
Then extend the exercise to how you might address the issues you raise when you are 50 or 75 years old. And finally consider your views after you have passed through the veil separating mortality from the the Spirit world.
At this point you will probably really enjoy playing in the sandbox with Liam--even if Brady wants play too.
Love, Grandpa Flinders
Whew... all those questions and not a lot of answers....yup you are definitely married to Brady Firth!!!
Seriously I think you make some great points. My wife as a degree in Marriage Family and Human Development and me in Mathematics. She works as a grants coordinator in the Ag dept at Nebraska and it has very little to do with her degree.
I like your thoughts.
By the way tell Brady hi for me!
Education for educations sake? I thought everything was about money?
Alright, so I'm late reading this post, but I thought I'd put in my little opinion. Someone recently asked me if I feel bad that I spent 4 years of my life doing a degree in Exercise Science (Fitness and Wellness Mgmt to be exact, people!) when all I do now is chase around a 16-month old and clean up peanut butter hands and toys off the floor. I told her that, no, I don't feel like it was a waste, because I'm a better person for what I learned, and the experiences I had in school helped me become the person I am today. Which is to say, I am the mother I am because I went to school.
As a side but a big note in my opinion, you and I chose possibly the most important major we could for our families, because we feed our kids right and do active things with them. I feel like the fact that I took Dr. Aldana's crazy nutrition class (you took that too, didn't you?) makes me want to do a better job at feeding my kid whole foods and give his body a healthy experience, a chance to grow up fairly unscathed from the crappola foods of today. That doesn't mean that a NutriGrain bar or a sucker doesn't get into my kid's stomach every now and again...but overall, I feel like what I learned at school it being played out again and again in how I raise my kid.
Anyway. You posed some really good questions. And now I'll stop answering them with my own opinions. =)
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