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There is a pretty good piece today on Real Clear Policy about why the university system in the US is failing. Namely, the claim is that universities no longer teach marketable skills having instead transformed themselves into ideological re-education camps to produce unthinking drones. I think that point has much to speak for it. How often do we hear about the huge number of college grads that have to take minimum wage work because they did not get a degree that makes them suitable for the labor market? I have experienced that myself with my History degrees. While I love history and will continue to study it, I have to admit that a graduate degree in history is about as worthwhile as a piece of used toilet paper in the current labor conditions. That is why I went back to school and am now completing a degree in IT, a field where there are actually jobs.What do you guys think; are colleges and universities doing a good job of preparing their students for entry into adult life?
Didn't read the article, but is there any mention of the student's choice of major? That's not the college's fault when a student studies something worthless like gender studies instead of something that could actually lead to a job.Quit blaming the universities and saying they failed when it is completely the student's responsibility.
The article does not blame the universities for student's choice of major. It is mainly talking about a bunch of humanities professors who are upset because the Governor of Florida wants the land grant schools in FL to lower tuition for students seeking technical, scientific, and engineering degrees. That is a pretty good idea in my book and it is similar to Rick Perry's $10,000 science and engineering degree proposal in TX.I blame the universities and our public schools for convincing them that so many humanities/philosophy/non-scientific degrees will make for a prosperous career. We cannot all write best-selling history or poli-sci books and that is about the only way to get rich absent a science based degree.
I think there are different ways to look at this. To begin, we need to separate the politically-energized college courses (which get all the press) from the others which are not all about off-the-hook professors lecturing on the evils of Republicans and the White Man.So, are these other humanities classes "worth it"? I would say yes, they can be. Today isn't really much different than decades go; there weren't jobs for "hired philosophers" back then, and there aren't any today. So why would humanities degrees be any more "worthless" today than yesterday? I can say this - the humanities has never been solely about the direct application of skills to one's field (unless, for example, one is going into academia).A humanities degree (ideally) teaches students how to think which can then be applied to a variety of fields. I recall hearing back when I was in college that philosophy majors actually scored higher on the LSATs than pre-law majors. Why? Because philosophy is about logic, about applying rational thought, and following the arguments of others. Similar things can be said about other fields within the humanities - literature, history, theology, etc. Humanities degrees can also teach students how to write. Often times, humanities fields involve the writing of essays, which is a different skill set than analyzing business charts or software code. Writing is one of the most basic skills needed across a variety of fields, and the humanities can help foster this.Humanities courses fail when they do not teach the correct skills necessary to approach the field. Universities need to realize the importance of basic skills which students can use in the humanities which can later be transferred to other fields. I recall a year or two ago when something like 1/3 of an entire business class in Florida was caught cheating on an exam. As an employer, would I rather hire someone who might know how to create a SWOT analysis but cheats on exams, or a philosophy major who can think and write and knows a thing or two about ethics but may not know the ins and outs of the business world? For me, the answer is not all that difficult.
Phidippides, You are spot on about the LSAT and philosophy majors. Logic is a term bandied about, but it is an entirely different monster when studied like that. And Logic is one half of the LSAT. So it definitely helps. Now, about the lawyers, what was it Shakespeare said? 😉
I am not, emphatically not, arguing that Humanities should go away. My point is that a humanities degree is very difficult to translate into a well-paid job. I still do and always have believed that the liberal arts are part and parcel of a four year degree and should remain so. I have never argued otherwise. I just think most kids should be getting degrees that will not only help them but also allow them to get meaningful employment once they graduate. If nothing else, such degrees would help them pay for their college debt so I and my tax dollars don't have to. That is all.
I would still disagree with such an assertion, or at least the premise of the assertion. I think a humanities degree can help with meaningful employment after graduation. The fact is that most people, upon graduation, will be entering the field of business – not history, not biology, not literature, etc. When I was getting my MBA, I recalled thinking that many of the concepts of the business world seemed like the codification of common sense; that is, the rules that guide businesses aren't necessarily esoteric, but accessible and understandable once laid out in basic form. In my opinion, one does not need to be a business major to succeed in the business world.So where does the humanities come in? I think humanities degrees help greatly in the business world in the writing of grants, in the arguing of taking one course of action over the other, in editing position papers. These are skills that college students probably will not learn much of with non-humanities degrees. The bottom line is that a humanities degree can prepare students for meaningful employment. However, humanities courses need to give students the proper skills. If the criticism of the humanities is that some programs have been watered down and don't teach the concepts and skills that they should be teaching, then I would probably agree, but I don't think this trumps the basic fact that humanities degrees can be valuable.
