The Myth Of A Balanced Education

A BFU student quoted an unknown source and stated "School is obedience training for the untalented."

That seems rather harsh.

I have said that college is frequently just a vocational school for lawyers and accountants. That is also a bit inaccurate as vocational schools are usually much more efficient than colleges.

Perhaps my assertion on the Squidoo BFU page is more accurate:

"College costs too much time and too much money. The core learning acquired by your investment in a formal college education is bureaucracy survival." - Allan Wallace

The reality however is that there is truth in all of those ideas, but much more can be said. The Germanic inspired industrial age definition of a university consists of a lecture and research facility. Educators have embraced this format while offering lip service to prior higher education models. College is sold as a way to get a better job, but a softer side is sometimes also displayed - the historic goal of a balanced education.

Classical college archetypes created leaders by opening students eyes and minds to great achievements upon which they were expected to build. Todays required "general education" courses are taught in a stupefying montage of discrete bits and pieces of information. Undergraduate general education is no substitute for true balanced education.

All effective schooling, all enabling education, all empowering learning, is at its heart self education. It is student desire that drives learning, not the lectures of supposed authorities. Lectures monopolize the ears, putting creative thought to sleep. By contrast a genuine balanced education opens the eyes and therefore opens the mind.

The content of most "general ed" courses can be learned by reading a book or two over a weekend. It is a farce to pretend this small exposure to information, because it is outside the vocational goals of a modern student, is a balanced education.

You can have a well rounded education. You will have to get it yourself. Explore ideas of great thinkers, by searching for and reading material that will expand your personal horizons. Don't fall into the trap of balanced education as defined by someone with a vested interest in making their teaching job simple. You do not want to be simple.

Build on the thoughts of others within your self-created balanced education. Create within yourself a versatile leader worth following -- by opening your own eyes and mind to the broad knowledge that surrounds you.

.