The Post-Journal
Is College Important Anymore?
OCT 21, 2023
ROLLAND KIDDER
I must tell you up front that I am not in that camp. I
come from the “old school,” and believe that there is a lot more to college
than just punching a ticket to get a job.
To that end, I enjoyed reading a recent article in the
Financial Times titled “University is
more than just a springboard to a job.”
I am a case in point. I went to college for four years
and got a “Bachelor of Arts” degree in history. Then went to seminary and
received a “Bachelor of Divinity” in theology. Then, after spending 3 1/2 years on
active duty in the Navy, I went to law school and received a “Doctor of Jurisprudence” degree.
Interestingly, I never ended up being a history teacher,
minister, career Naval officer or much of a lawyer. I eventually went into
politics full-time in the state legislature, started a natural gas exploration
company, then worked as an investment advisor and ended my working career as
Executive Director of a non-profit organization.
Okay, I admit that I was a bit “over-educated,” yet, I have always believed that the various levels of formal
education I experienced helped me in the long run in wending my way through
life. Sometimes life is more of a pilgrimage than a straight line when it comes
to making a living.
The Financial Times article did state that “degrees tend to boost earnings,” “open networks that can provide a life-long career advantage,” and help greatly in “critical thinking skills.”
The overall gist of the article was that a university
education has benefits beyond monetary benefits or in just being a means or
pathway to a good job.
Getting away from home and being out on your own in a
university setting helps you grow up. It exposes you to new ideas. Life becomes
an open-ended opportunity not just a narrow track. Most often, it will lead to
a specialty and a job–but it also will open you up to the bigger world which is
out there.
The article concludes with these words: “The value of university is not only about the
individual but also public good. Education should help inform citizens, vital
in an age of disinformation.”
No, college is not for everyone, but we should also not
underestimate its importance and the good it can do. My guidance to my kids was
always: “Pursue your dream, and
strive to get a college education along the way.” I still believe that is good advice.
We need to work as a society to make college more
affordable, yet it will probably always require some personal investment.
Despite its cost, as my Dad used to say: “Getting a college education is like incurring a mortgage to buy a
home–it is a good debt to have.”
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