Upon founding University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson proclaimed in a letter to an acquaintance, "This institution of my native state, the hobby of my old age, will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind, to explore and to expose every subject susceptible of it's contemplation." This Jeffersonian ideal underpinned higher education at the University for many generations, inculcating within students a broad set of values that shaped the personal and social decisions that they made throughout their lives. Unfortunately, to a large number of students now attending Mr. Jefferson's University, this notion of higher education must seem rather antiquated. After all, attending college has become a quintessentially economic decision that has much more to do with securing one of the dwindling spots in the upper crust of American society than it does with obtaining an enhanced worldview along the lines of the one that Jefferson promoted. Never has this educational emphasis on marketable skills rather than abstract values been greater than it is now during the worst employment situation that America has experienced in many decades. Paradoxically, however, the economic crisis now confronting the nation demands a renewed devotion from students to academic studies that will infuse them with the principles needed to rebuild America into a stronger nation that can thrive in the 21st century.
Of course, the shift from a "values-based" education to that of a "skills-based" education did not happen overnight. Rather, it has been the result of a gradual fragmentation of society into specialized economic spheres, a process known as the division of labor. This phrase, coined by Adam Smith in his seminal work The Wealth of Nations, refers to more than merely the changes undergone in the economy's industrial sector. It also encompasses the trend wherein individuals have become less generalized in their overall body of knowledge in order to gain expertise in one specific trade or skill. Contemplation of social values, once considered a universal duty of all citizens, is now merely another one of those "trades" in which a rather small group of people can specialize. For everyone else, such values are of little personal significance since they do not directly relate to aptitude in fields such as commerce, medicine or engineering.
Individuals interested in those areas must instead focus on acquiring the distinctive skills necessary to differentiate themselves from the multitude of others competing for the limited spots at the top of the occupational heap. This often means sacrificing the pursuit of a broad-based values education featuring insights from areas such as philosophy, religion and cultural studies. For even if the desire to obtain such an education exists, there is tremendous external pressure to forego such purportedly superfluous studies. Consider all of the students who are pre-med or bound for the School of Commerce and who have essentially had their schedules dictated to them by their advisors. Nothing about the educational experience offered to these students suggests that the University remains a place "based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind, to explore and to expose every subject susceptible of it's contemplation."
This is a truly unfortunate phenomenon since those same students will soon be called upon to resolve the growing conflict within the nation's system of values. Throughout most of its history, America has held the principles of liberty, tolerance and equality to be paramount, but in recent years the boundaries and relative importance of these ideals have become increasingly unclear. With current leaders apparently unable to resolve these tensions, those who are now studying in college will have to determine whether issues such as rising economic inequality can be addressed with policies that require privileged members of society to relinquish a measure of their individual liberty. If such an approach is deemed unjustifiable, can the curtailment of liberty be acceptable in the interests of national security? These are questions that can only be answered with an adequate understanding of America's tradition of moral thought and with a firm conviction in one's own personal system of values.
Given that economic realities will continue to push students away from an education oriented toward developing such understanding and conviction, the University and other colleges should focus on promoting classes that combine marketable skills with opportunities for new perspectives. Foreign language classes fit this criterion, for example, by providing students with instantly attractive credentials as well as a window into another culture's values and history. These sorts of educational experiences can be the building blocks for greater engagement in the development of personal principles, and they represent a chance to unshackle the human mind from the economic constraints that are presently preventing the advancement of Mr. Jefferson's grand vision for the students of his university.
Read More
CARTER: U.Va. Health owes clarity to transplant patients
By Nathaniel Carter | YesterdayUnfortunately, this negative press is fully the fault of U.Va. Health — it failed to address significant stakeholder concerns when crafting its justification.
EDITORIAL: Upholding medical amnesty is a collective effort
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoUniversity leadership, Greek life organizations and students themselves must recommit to the safety provided by an effective and knowledgeable use of medical amnesty.
KURTZWEIL: Dockworkers’ unions cannot avoid the threat of automation
By Paul Kurtzweil | 3 days agoInstead of continuing to demand decreased automation, the union should work with the legislature in the hopes of driving investment into the reorganization of the current workforce.
