Comments on: Emerging Adults’ View of Education http://blog.emergingscholars.org/2009/11/emerging-adults-view-of-education/ From InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:44:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: W. Brian Lane http://blog.emergingscholars.org/2009/11/emerging-adults-view-of-education/comment-page-1/#comment-2070 W. Brian Lane Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:54:01 +0000 http://blog.emergingscholars.org/?p=1604#comment-2070 I think Amy makes a very good point. The irony of approaching education with a mercenary "skill-seeking" attitude is that such a student also neglects personal development and introspection. I'm reminded of Percy's student who "made straight A's in school but flunked life." I think that's an avenue in which Christian college ministries and professors can serve: helping students develop holistically and not just making the grade. I think Amy makes a very good point. The irony of approaching education with a mercenary “skill-seeking” attitude is that such a student also neglects personal development and introspection. I’m reminded of Percy’s student who “made straight A’s in school but flunked life.”

I think that’s an avenue in which Christian college ministries and professors can serve: helping students develop holistically and not just making the grade.

]]> By: Amy http://blog.emergingscholars.org/2009/11/emerging-adults-view-of-education/comment-page-1/#comment-2066 Amy Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:11:08 +0000 http://blog.emergingscholars.org/?p=1604#comment-2066 Oh absolutely. College is a means to an end, and that end is the opportunity to build careers that are emotionally and/or materially rewarding. It's not about a quest for knowledge - but then again, most of the people I know were in the physical or social sciences, and we don't think about our education in terms of "knowledge" so much as "skills." The difference being that skills are obtained for the sake of how they'll be applied, while knowledge is obtained for its own sake. Compound on that the quarter life crisis that everyone my age (late 20's) is having right now, when we realize we aren't as happy as we thought we would be by now, and we can't figure out why. Perhaps it's because we didn't know what we wanted out of life when we were in college anyway, or thought it would all work out as planned, and so never knew to ask ourselves the right questions. Oh absolutely. College is a means to an end, and that end is the opportunity to build careers that are emotionally and/or materially rewarding. It’s not about a quest for knowledge – but then again, most of the people I know were in the physical or social sciences, and we don’t think about our education in terms of “knowledge” so much as “skills.” The difference being that skills are obtained for the sake of how they’ll be applied, while knowledge is obtained for its own sake.

Compound on that the quarter life crisis that everyone my age (late 20’s) is having right now, when we realize we aren’t as happy as we thought we would be by now, and we can’t figure out why. Perhaps it’s because we didn’t know what we wanted out of life when we were in college anyway, or thought it would all work out as planned, and so never knew to ask ourselves the right questions.

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