JD, I love your commentary on your children finding their vocation. When my oldest son went to college, he decided to be a history major. I told an acquaintance that, and she laughed in my face and said she made her children pick a major where they could make money. Well, the history major is now a successful history teacher who is much beloved by his students.
JD, I love your commentary on your children finding their vocation. When my oldest son went to college, he decided to be a history major. I told an acquaintance that, and she laughed in my face and said she made her children pick a major where they could make money. Well, the history major is now a successful history teacher who is much beloved by his students.
> she made her children pick a major where they could make money.
Interesting. Since no man can serve two masters, and must despise one, perhaps being compelled to choose this one will lead to them despising it (this is how I would write the plot if I were an author, but God comes up with better ideas than I do.)
Forcing another adult (when we're referring to an over 18 year old college student) to study what you want them to is a very strange convept to me. I guess I just value fostering independence higher than others.
You know, I almost always agree with Bridget, but not this time! hah.
My parents didnтАЩt have the means to support me into adulthood, nor could they help much with school. They therefore told me that while I could do anything I wanted for work, I had to pick what sort of work I wanted to do first and tailor my education around it. Sure, I could major in English or history тАФ if and only if I had concrete plans regarding how to use that degree.
This was some of the best advice they ever gave me and IтАЩm grateful for it every day. I think that putting the work first and deciding about school based on that is definitely the right call, as sometimes going to college just for the sake of going to college turns into idolatry of class markers. Also, I now have more or less the minimum amount of debt and school necessary to perform exactly the work I love.
So while I try to be MUCH nicer about it than your friend, I am definitely with the people who roll their eyes at history majors! Although it is WONDERFUL (and lucky, to be honest) when it turns out well! And I am glad it did here. We obviously need history teachers!
But doesn't this approach devalue the love of knowledge? The joy of discovery? Life is about so much more than work. I studied abroad in college, learned a couple foreign languages, and I barely use them at all to make any money in my l life now, but I absolutely treasure those experiences looking back now as a 45 year old. They greatly have enriched my inner life and give me something more to pass on to my son.
I donтАЩt think it does, since while the Venn diagram
of тАЬlove of knowledge and joy of discoveryтАЭ does sometimes overlap with тАЬgetting a degreeтАЭ I donтАЩt think itтАЩs a very *large* overlap.
IтАЩm very much for the love of learning for its own sake and a life of the mind outside of work. I just donтАЩt think higher education is the best means to that end, especially not if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and *especially* especially if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and no good career prospects.
For instance, I decided I wanted to learn French circa 1998. I never pursued formal education beyond high school classes, but IтАЩm conversational in French, can follow French podcasts, and can read French newspapers and modern novels (Victor Hugo and Proust are still beyond me). BecauseтАж..I just kept learning French. Because I value and love the French language.
JD, I love your commentary on your children finding their vocation. When my oldest son went to college, he decided to be a history major. I told an acquaintance that, and she laughed in my face and said she made her children pick a major where they could make money. Well, the history major is now a successful history teacher who is much beloved by his students.
> she made her children pick a major where they could make money.
Interesting. Since no man can serve two masters, and must despise one, perhaps being compelled to choose this one will lead to them despising it (this is how I would write the plot if I were an author, but God comes up with better ideas than I do.)
Forcing another adult (when we're referring to an over 18 year old college student) to study what you want them to is a very strange convept to me. I guess I just value fostering independence higher than others.
You know, I almost always agree with Bridget, but not this time! hah.
My parents didnтАЩt have the means to support me into adulthood, nor could they help much with school. They therefore told me that while I could do anything I wanted for work, I had to pick what sort of work I wanted to do first and tailor my education around it. Sure, I could major in English or history тАФ if and only if I had concrete plans regarding how to use that degree.
This was some of the best advice they ever gave me and IтАЩm grateful for it every day. I think that putting the work first and deciding about school based on that is definitely the right call, as sometimes going to college just for the sake of going to college turns into idolatry of class markers. Also, I now have more or less the minimum amount of debt and school necessary to perform exactly the work I love.
So while I try to be MUCH nicer about it than your friend, I am definitely with the people who roll their eyes at history majors! Although it is WONDERFUL (and lucky, to be honest) when it turns out well! And I am glad it did here. We obviously need history teachers!
Prudence is a virtue :)
But doesn't this approach devalue the love of knowledge? The joy of discovery? Life is about so much more than work. I studied abroad in college, learned a couple foreign languages, and I barely use them at all to make any money in my l life now, but I absolutely treasure those experiences looking back now as a 45 year old. They greatly have enriched my inner life and give me something more to pass on to my son.
I donтАЩt think it does, since while the Venn diagram
of тАЬlove of knowledge and joy of discoveryтАЭ does sometimes overlap with тАЬgetting a degreeтАЭ I donтАЩt think itтАЩs a very *large* overlap.
IтАЩm very much for the love of learning for its own sake and a life of the mind outside of work. I just donтАЩt think higher education is the best means to that end, especially not if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and *especially* especially if it leaves one with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and no good career prospects.
For instance, I decided I wanted to learn French circa 1998. I never pursued formal education beyond high school classes, but IтАЩm conversational in French, can follow French podcasts, and can read French newspapers and modern novels (Victor Hugo and Proust are still beyond me). BecauseтАж..I just kept learning French. Because I value and love the French language.
That really doesnтАЩt require 100k of debt.