Xref: utzoo comp.edu:1899 soc.college:2155
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!zodiac!joyce!gds
From: gds@spam.istc.sri.com (Greg Skinner)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,soc.college
Subject: Re: Qualified vs educated (was Re: Student preparedness)
Message-ID: <15814@joyce.istc.sri.com>
Date: 18 Jan 89 06:25:03 GMT
References: <52767@pyramid.pyramid.com> <5053@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> <56@rpi.edu> <9252@ut-emx.UUCP> <9343@ihlpb.ATT.COM> <15655@joyce.istc.sri.com> <13225@bellcore.bellcore.com>
Sender: news@joyce.istc.sri.com
Reply-To: gds@spam.istc.sri.com (Greg Skinner)
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park CA
Lines: 41

In article <13225@bellcore.bellcore.com> duncan@ctt.bellcore.com
(Scott Duncan) writes:
>I wrote:
>>Perhaps the trouble we are seeing with the education system now is due
>>to the fact that people are seeking to be "qualified" rather than
>>"educated".
>
>This is a nice point...can you continue with your opinions on this.  I think
>it also addresses a posting in soc.college about what the "real" world means
>to people (which is why I'm cross-posting to there).

When I was an undergraduate, I recall asking several of my friends
what they were majoring in and why.  Many of them said they wanted to
be engineers because of all the money they would make.  Few talked
about the love (or liking) they had for engineering or science.  They
viewed their education as a means to an end, as opposed to a
worthwhile experience in itself.  I'll admit I wanted to be an
engineer because of the money I'd make, but I have since realized that
I like engineering for its own sake.

I am not sure where this attitude comes from or what has encouraged
it.  I suppose it has something to do with the "popularity" of various
fields such as medicine, law, or engineering.  Because people can make
lots of money in these fields, people try to become qualified in these
fields.  Some schools cater to these people and manufacture them for
industry.  There isn't as much incentive for people to teach or do
creative research work, because it does not pay very well.  Within
industry, quickie solutions that will make lots of money are favored
over longer term solutions that will pay off (in terms of the service
they provide to others, as well as financially) in the long run.

If the values of society were not so dominated by money or fame,
perhaps we would have stronger education because people would feel
education was virtuous.  Unfortunately the images we are given (teen
idol, athlete, actor/actress) do not convey messages to us that we
should be more educated as a society.  They do convey to us that we
should make more money, though, so certain professions such as law or
engineering are seen as ways to meet a goal, as opposed to worthwhile
endeavors in themselves.

--gregbo