ORIGINAL: AW1Steve
I don't think the problem is education , it's educators. I went to college from 1979 to 1985 (no , I wasn't trying to do a "Bluto", nor was I particularly stupid , just a series of recall from the US Navy Reserve). After a disastrous 1st year trying to major in political science, I switched my major to history. I'd heard that the purpose of higher education wasn't to teach you information , but to teach you to think, to in effect , learn to use that knowledge. Traditionally that meant studying the classics. (Sorry , I do badly with languages , so no Latin or Greek for me). Once I had my BA , then I would go on to get a technical degree MA.
The other thing I did was to pick the oldest , stodgiest professors I could find. I referred to them behind their backs as the "bow tie brigade". What I found was that they generally taught in the "Classic way". I would learn "historiography", the "scientific method" and the most damning and hated (but most effective) of all, "The Socratic method". When these old geezers taught me , I really felt that I learned to THINK. (My high school chemistry teacher used to say every morning "I don't mean to swear at you so early in the morning people , BUT THINK!!!!").
Some of my younger professors didn't get this technique. Or approve of it. I secretly think they were more interested in indoctrination than teaching you to think for yourself , then effectively debate your point of view.
Current graduates are as one of my favorite columnist likes to say (Professor Glenn Reynolds of "instapundit" fame) "Today's graduates are CREDENTIALED , not educated". [:D]
That's a fair point. There's a lot going on that has caused this shift (in my mind) around the economics of it.
- The classics don't have anywhere near the value they held previously.
- There's significantly less value on education for the sake of self-betterment, or for educations sake alone, and instead on making it tied to careers and earnings.
- The cost of education is massively higher (despite increased access) compared to previous generations, so there is strong emphasis on getting a good RoI for individuals.
The end result is that there's less concern about the more intangible benefits (ie. the critical thinking/information processing side of it) and more around the tangible benefits (passing X exam that provides Y credential which adds Z to my final salary).
I will disclaimer that I am not hugely familiar with the US situation but imagine that it would be reasonably similar with that of England (no tuition fees in Scotland!).
