I usually mostly agree with Reich, but this leaves me uneasy: Too often in modern America, we equate “equal opportunity” with an opportunity to get a four-year liberal arts degree. It should mean an opportunity to learn what’s necessary to get a good job. I disagree with the idea that the principal outcome of education should be a good job. And I disagree with the opposition that Reich sets up between a liberal arts education and technical education. It seems to me that to be a well functioning society, which we really arent right now, we need not only liberal arts majors but also plumbers and software designers whove been exposed to anthropology, history, philosophy, and the like. And we need to stop valuing people primarily according to the job they have. As for college being a waste of money, we could fix that easily by making it free. One more thing: Im not sure if Professor Reich has noticed, but the trend now is to evaluate even liberal arts programs on the basis of what jobs their graduates end up with. In other words, the arts and sciences are becoming vo-tech programs, too, a logical outcome, I suppose, of hyper-capitalism. Were all doomed.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 16:21:01 +0000
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