After the American revolution, America's intelectuals had to justify their existance.
While some people say America was anti intellectual its more correct to say that after a brutal revolution the people of the America's were suspicious of a whole lot of European things including the European intelectual tradition. The european ideal of education was one that went back to greece and it was based on the idea that being educated makes you a more complete person.
Telling that to a collection of people who just finished a bloodsoaked revolutionary war, that have very little money and have a very legitiment worries about constant frontier attacks is a very good way to be ignored at best. So america's intelectuals had to justify their existance and that justification was simple. Pragmatism.
Education can help make you more successful, that is the justification for education in America the start of the 3 Rs. Practical research was paid for and used to improve the lives of common american's. It was used to create skilled labor and good employees to make society richer. As time went on there was a deal struck between corperate america and our educational system.
Training people costs money, sucks and there is a chance another company will pouch your best people. Let us train people for you, our students will take the fincial cost of training upon themselves and you can just hire them out of the gate. It was a damned good deal, well for every one except the smucks stuck with college loans.
Thing is the colleges broke the deal, they got political they got preditory, its become a mess and they forgot the one word that americas entire intelectual tradition is based on pragmatism.
Colleges are expected to have a Return on investment, and that isnt happening.
Its for this reason among many others that I think the college bubble will burst, the ones that survive will be the ones that drop the bullshit and remember that the relationship between America and its intelectual class is purely transational fail to do your job and you will lose everything.
While some people say America was anti intellectual its more correct to say that after a brutal revolution the people of the America's were suspicious of a whole lot of European things including the European intelectual tradition. The european ideal of education was one that went back to greece and it was based on the idea that being educated makes you a more complete person.
Telling that to a collection of people who just finished a bloodsoaked revolutionary war, that have very little money and have a very legitiment worries about constant frontier attacks is a very good way to be ignored at best. So america's intelectuals had to justify their existance and that justification was simple. Pragmatism.
Education can help make you more successful, that is the justification for education in America the start of the 3 Rs. Practical research was paid for and used to improve the lives of common american's. It was used to create skilled labor and good employees to make society richer. As time went on there was a deal struck between corperate america and our educational system.
Training people costs money, sucks and there is a chance another company will pouch your best people. Let us train people for you, our students will take the fincial cost of training upon themselves and you can just hire them out of the gate. It was a damned good deal, well for every one except the smucks stuck with college loans.
Thing is the colleges broke the deal, they got political they got preditory, its become a mess and they forgot the one word that americas entire intelectual tradition is based on pragmatism.
Colleges are expected to have a Return on investment, and that isnt happening.
Its for this reason among many others that I think the college bubble will burst, the ones that survive will be the ones that drop the bullshit and remember that the relationship between America and its intelectual class is purely transational fail to do your job and you will lose everything.