Thought for the Day – July 18, 2017

I read a piece in the NYT today on “pragmatic” Democratic governors. (The NYT reporter uses “pragmatic” and “pro-corporate” interchangeably where I don’t believe it’s justified, but I digress.)  One of the governors interviewed was Steve Bulloch of Montana.  I have a favorable impression of him but that’s beside the point.  In the article, Bulloch was touting apprenticeships as an alternative to free college.  I have a favorable view of paid apprenticeships as well as tuition- and fee-free public college. Vocational training is a good thing and it’s a good thing when people can use their college education to obtain gainful employment.  That stated, it’s important not to regard college as high-level vocational training.  The greatest value of higher education isn’t that it enables better employment opportunities, it’s that it advances Enlightenment values.  Paraphrasing what I think is a spot-on description:  The purpose of education is to help people to learn on their own. It’s the learner who is going to achieve in the course of education and it’s really up to them to determine how they’re going to master and use it.  The greatest value of an education is that it fosters the impulse to challenge authority, think critically, and to create alternatives to the status quo.  (I suspect that’s why so many Republicans don’t view college favorably.)  Is college the only place where you can get that kind of education?  No, but it’s a great opportunity for you to do so if you’re so inclined.  Compared to life in the rest of the world, the barriers are low.