What should society expects of educational institutions and students?
What should society expects of educational institutions and students? To answer this global question, we may first have to answer preliminary questions: Who are the members of this society? Why educational institutions and students should listen to the society? And finally, educational institutions and students aren’t part of this society? Historically, Societies existed in every civilization. Religious and military institutions were playing the role of educational institutions and were marking the main lines to follow. People were listening to these institutions not for the knowledge acquired through years of studies, yet for the spiritual and military influence. Throughout centuries of misleading and deceptions, members of theses societies decided to sick the knowledge separately from religious institutions. They started questioning themselves and universe about basic questions to understand life and to improve the condition of existence of all human kind. This long process gave birth to a democratic system according to the western civilization. If we take for example the Greek civilization, the scholars were respected for their knowledge and became deciding elements in the society. Their quest was purely about understanding life, they were not looking for better salary or luxury life.
They were
financing mostly their own researches. Societies became more aware and invested
on educational institutions by trying to educate a large category of
population. According to some researchers, the first university in the world
known as The University of Al-Karaouine, Fes, Morocco was building back in 859.
In these days we
are hearing about the advantage of acceding to a college degree, parents live
for the day to see their protégé graduating. They spent their economies and if
it not enough the child will take a student loan. In this situation, I see two
anomalies: The first one, how can you give a loan to an individual who has no
job? He did not even graduate. How mature is this student to manage starting
his life with such handicap? Parents
should be more aware of the reality and not let the lead to the appearances.
Yes, they want to be proud of their child being a graduate student, but it is
worth it to spend all this money? Is their child really interest by acquiring
college degree? Or it’s just a parent
fantasy that is going to lead to an uncontrollable situation? Just to give you example,
according to Blake EllisCollege seniors who graduated last year owed an average of
$24,000 in student loan debt, up 6% comparing to 2009. At the same time,
unemployment for recent college graduates jumped from 5.8% in 2008 to 8.7% in
2009.”
To explain the second anomaly, let’s come back to the main question. Why we built educational institutions? The goal was not at all about money, it was about lighten the brains to improve the conditions of human life. When we started thinking that acquiring degree from a well-known university will guaranty us a well paying job a main link inside the cycle broke. These institutions started using our greediness by promising a good paying job if we invest on paying vertiginous tuitions.
We also hear complaints
about people without any education getting a lot of money by entertaining or
performing physical effort. We as society gave them this privilege and make
them icons. Everyone may practice football, but how many will reach a
professional level or even become a star? I will answer few privileged
individuals. Then a priory it’s normal to evaluate them for their outstanding
performance and pay them astronomic wages. Let’s return to the educational
institutions. In such environment we will find rare brains able to innovate and
invent the future. They will impress us by performing researches that may
change or even save our life. The only difference here, there is no fans
encouraging them in their laboratory or cable channels transmitting their
researches directly in primetime. These imminent researchers will earn a considerable
amount of money, but will never be compared to the sportive or scene performers.
We may ask why not? I will answer its question of demand, when we will be more
interest in their researches, the Medias will follow because we decide what we
want to watch. When you see your father scotched in front of the TV during week
end football and asking you to go to do your homework, which kind of example he
is giving you? When he is taking you to watch sport games, but never to a
science aquarium or scientist events, how can you expect from our kids to be
more involve in science?
This consummation society, made people think
that by paying such amount of money for a degree guaranteed them to find a well
paying job. It’s a kind of investment. I’m telling you, you forgot that anyone
can have a college degree, but only few will succeed. Person ready to work hard, practice every day
and able to invest time and efforts to reach his goal. Using the same
ingredients used by the exceptional athletes.
I’m telling you,
weak up people it’s not just question of money. Its more and these institutions
robbed you because there is no guaranty for job. Even the dream of having the
best educational system in the world dispelled. According to the World
education rankings: which country does best at reading, math’s and science?
Published in the Guardian, United States occupy the 14 rang worldwide. It has
to do with your qualification and skills. People all over the worlds are
getting the same education or even better for free. They are starting their
life without loans. They are way freer to take more risks by moving to other
countries to get a better job and specially to get experience that will make
them more competitive.
Finally, we are victims and responsible because the actual student who is paying loan today , is the same parent who will ask his child to follow the same way . Why? Because as human ,we try to find a safe environment or a safe plan and to stick with it. He will never asked his child to follow their instinct because there is no rational mathematic equation telling you how much you are going to make per year by following your instinct.
Sources
“ University of Al-karaouine.”
Wikipedia.org.Wikipedia Foundation Inc. 2 Nov.2011.Web.09 Nov.2011
Blake Ellis. “College grads: $24,000 in debt.”CNNMoney.com. CNNMoney.. 09nov.2011.
Jessica
Shepherd.” World education rankings: which country does best at
reading, maths and science?”the guardian.co.uk. 7 December. 2010. the guardian.
09nov.2011.