EDUCATION, DEMOCRACY,
AND THE LIFE WORTH LIVING
In
the article, “EDUCATION, DEMOCRACY, AND THE LIFE WORTH LIVING” by Mark Kingwell
(2012), Kingwell claims that today, a university education is attained for
material reasons. Kingwell bases his
claim on personal conversations and research.
Kingwell’s purpose is to make us aware that we are turning into a
society that does not value an education, but instead we are placing a monetary
value on education. Kingwell uses
specific examples based on statistical data, in order for us to see that
getting a college degree nowadays is not based on the need to have culture or
higher learning, but mostly for the dollars attached to a particular job. Kingwell is addressing an audience of college
students, as well as parents who plant to send their children to college or are
already have children attending college.
I
can’t tell you how many times I have heard people say, “Study this major
because you will get a good paying job and you will have a great career”. While there is nothing wrong with such a
statement, I would like to hear, for a change, “Obtain a degree that will make
you a better citizen by contributing to society and making a positive
change”. So I empathize with Kingwell,
when he says that we are losing our integrity by not “valuing” education.
Kingwell
breaks down his reasoning by first giving a personal account of his
conversation with a judge, who after finding out that he teaches philosophy
says, “But what will your students do with that?” Then Kingwell tells of his second
conversation with a woman who says, “Philosophy! Really! Do you have any idea what you’ll do with
that?” Clearly, the judge and the woman
are implying that a degree in philosophy serves no purpose. Furthermore, they are asking, what kind of
career can you fashion out of a philosophy degree? Kingwell asserts that many students of
philosophy move on to accomplish a degree in law and even sometimes become
judges. Kingwell gives us a further
breakdown as to why he thinks that too much market value is placed on education
by sharing that there is a consensus among universities to base the theme of
education on practicality and market competitiveness. Kingwell quotes Robert Campbell, president of
Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick as saying, Parents of prospective students “are looking
for a return” on investment in their child’s tuition. Kingwell further brings clarity
to his point by laying out the statistics of a 2010 survey of 12,500 students
who were asked, “What was the single most important reason in your decision to
attend university”, only 9 percent said “a good general education”, while 70
percent said they went to college to “get a good job” or “train” for a specific
career.” Kingwell delves further into his claim by saying that there is a
“standard position”, that his held by students, parents and universities. This standard position holds that while blue
collar jobs are declining, with a college degree, you will get a job in the
white collar market. Additionally,
college degrees must have a “$” attached to it, which leads to the soft option
that says if we don’t get degrees that is related to the job market, we will not
be competitive, thereby decimating our progress! Kingwell rebuts the standard position and the
soft option by saying that they are contradictory. Kingwell says that while we
continue to pursue a degree, the job market is becoming saturated with
graduates trying to find jobs in a depressive economy. Kingwell points out that if this cycle
continues there will be a disparity in wealth, resulting in the demise of
democracy. Also, in a democracy we need
people who can think critically without putting a monetary value on their duty
to society. Most importantly Kingwell is
saying that we must be virtuous in our character, and that virtue does not come
with a “$” attached to it. Kingwell says
that we are simply delusional to think that our status quo and wealth gained
from receiving a higher education make us contributors to society. Kingwell proves his point well. What kind of society will we have when most
of those seeking higher education are not doing it to rectify society’s ills or
to help cultivate the minds of the younger generations? If this trend continues, there will be a
breakdown in society from the top to the bottom. Confucius once said, “He who governs by means
of virtue is like the pole-star: it remains in its place while all the lesser
stars do homage to it.”
No one debates that gun laws are necessary in order to protect society, but the laws have to go both ways. They should be made to protect the government and police and also to protect the everyday citizen forging their way through life. As of now, it seems that the government can't get it quite right. Either their laws provide easy access to the buying and selling of guns, or they are to strict on those who feel that they are in need of protection. In this day in time, it is easy to get anything you want if you know the right people.
