Column: Challenges of education
My father had one piece of advice that he continuously bestowed upon my brother and me, “Get a college education.” He embraced that philosophy because, without a degree, he had been passed over for various jobs. He was a smart guy, but the requirement for certain top jobs then was that college degree.
Throughout the next four decades, the drive to get an education beyond high school became even more intense. Once the Masters Degree in Business Administration became a thing, that was the next requirement for success. In fact, Masters Degrees in almost everything became more the norm than the exception.
In my case, credentialism and life-long learning was my guiding light. I needed x-number of credits to remain a certified educator and achieved that through obtaining multiple degrees. Then, to get into healthcare administration, I needed another set of degrees, certifications, and fellowships.
During that same time period, degrees became available at night or partially at home via the Internet. Then savage capitalism reared its ugly head in two ways. Numerous for-profit diploma mills and colleges began producing sometimes under-qualified students who couldn’t get jobs. At the same time, to help internationally based corporations make more profits, middle class labor jobs were exported by the millions. Follow the money.
Another challenge came as teaching toward successful outcomes from standardized testing was forced on the public school systems. This teaching to the tests resulted in a significant challenge for educators as they continued to work toward their overall goals of enlightening our students with multiple viewpoints. This change of teaching toward the test also deprived our teachers of the time to expose their students to important educational areas such as civics, the arts, and geography. This severely limited their knowledge base in both government and world matters.
Oh, and let’s not forget the cyber charters, they can represent unbridled capitalism. The head of one 80K student system in Pennsylvania received a $26M annual salary, and the money for that salary is coming mainly from property taxes. Cybers charge Pennsylvania full tuition. (Researchers have found that students regress a year in mathematics for every year spent in cyber.)
Also during the ‘60s, we saw the liberalization of academia become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Liberals hired liberals, and consequently, conservatives hired conservatives. This resulted in one sided educational exposure, and education being questioned as a means to an end by some in politics.
Add the fact that many academic institutions have often been challenged to manage themselves in fiscally responsible ways. The only thing a college student or their parents could count on each year was an increase in tuition. This has resulted in tuitions that are oppressive and students graduate with debts equivalent to the price of a home mortgage. Plus they often can’t find jobs that pay a significant enough salary to provide them with even a middle-class lifestyle.
Another outcome of the new educational requirements is a move to encourage students to interact extensively with each other online to discuss subject matter even in areas such as hard science. One of my erudite science professor friends sent me an email describing this academic exercise as a Sisyphean catastrophe that is propagating all sorts of misinformation.
My dad was smart, but his knowledge came from curiosity, from reading, from researching, and from constantly querying and seeking information. I would not trade my education for anything because it was not only good, it was damn good. Giving up on education would take us back to the Dark Ages, and that should not be an option.
My take-away from all of this is pretty simple. Curiosity and open-mindedness is the key. Without both, “dumb as a rock” becomes a compliment. Facts are facts until proven otherwise. Be curious and well-informed. Utilize multiple sources, and avoid the Sisyphean propagation of misinformation because that’s what has gotten us into this mess.
So, there you have it. Look up Sisyphean, it’s a great term. The term credentialism is also not my invention, but it’s pretty accurate. In spite of all of these challenges, teachers continue to be heroes as they help to positively influence our future leaders every day in every way.
Nick Jacobs is a senior partner with Senior Management Resources and a Trustee on the Board of Southern California University of Health Sciences.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Nick Jacobs column about the challenges of education
