Posted by Rick Denney on December 19, 2003 at 14:12:06:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Teaching and reality posted by Mary Ann on December 19, 2003 at 11:07:09:
You are still making my point, though not in the way I thought. You got an education for education's sake, and you have benefitted from being educated, thought perhaps not in the size of your paycheck. I've worked with many folks who might call themselves tradespeople, and some of them are remarkably well educated. They still pursue that education, and are prepared to express what they've learned on a high level for their own enjoyment. Some of those tradespeople have degrees in otherwise unusable subjects like literature and history, and some learned it on their own. I also know engineers and doctors who are relatively uneducated and who don't care about education. They earn lots of money, perhaps, but they are the ones with nothing to do when they retire.
But having a good general education provides its own benefits. All during the time you were an RV mechanic (your were an RV mechanic? we need to talk!), you could still live a life of the mind, with an appreciation for music, literature, and the other acquired tastes of education. That has value beyond its earning potential, and when parents provide that for their kids, it is a great gift. When taxpayers provide it (within reason, of course, and when it's done correctly, which it often isn't), it improves their lives indirectly whether they realize it or not.
So, the question is, does a person gain intelligence in college or do they merely express it in college? Of course, it's the latter, as you say. But it's not intelligence I'm talking about. It's the skills associated with expressing that intelligence. One might be a great storyteller, and still not have enjoyed the breadth of perspective on life and history that comes from reading great literature. One might be a natural musician of great ability, and never conceive of music beyond a three-chord country song. (That will get me flamed, I'm sure.) These cross over quite a lot. One who has enjoyed the study of music history has the skills and interest to study any history. One who has learned to read music fluently has obtained the skills to read any language fluently. Education is not the talent for knowledge, it's the vocabulary of knowledge. Of course, one can gain that vocabulary outside of college, but college, when properly approached, is an efficient place to gain a good start and a good appreciation for it.
Rick "who would rather have that life of the mind and be poor than be rich and dull" Denney