Education v Degree

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Is it still true? Many on this forum consider employable major from cheapest school as the only target of college education.

Education may be obtained in many contexts,not just colleges, and at many different price points, including free. Libraries and free or modestly priced online education platforms like EdX can provide limitless education in hundreds of topics, including interactive seminars. That is a different question than the cost benefit assessment provided by traditional residential colleges in the US. While I value the residential college experience, it seems highly doubtful that many of them are engaged in character education anymore, and some do not even even provide much in the way of core education in writing, critical thinking skills, etc. So I understand those who seek a credential at college, and find their education elsewhere.

Indeed. With the internet these days, in fact, there has never been a time in human history when it has been easier to gain an education (through the web, online books, online debates, etc.)

Andrew Carnegie needed only books borrowed from a library to gain an education (and become one of the most successful men in America). For him, access to a library was the difference between being an uneducated laborer and a historical titan of American industry (and richest man in America in his day).

These days, kids who have access to the internet have far more educational resources at their fingertips than Andrew Carnegie ever did.

College is so much more than career preparation. It is a wonderful opportunity to spend four years immersed in the life of the mind, to learn lots of new things, to struggle to grasp challenging ideas, to be fascinated by other people’s perspectives when you debate topics in class, to meet peers from all walks of life, to stay up all night debating an intellectual theory with friends. Think, wonder, grow. Learn to live independently, to listen, to think, to communicate your thoughts cogently both orally and in writing. Come out of those four years a better thinker and a human being with a more expansive view of the world than before you went to college, for having had this opportunity to spend four years reading, discussing, and living in the world of ideas.

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It is important to remember that a college does not provide you with an education. It provides you with the opportunity to obtain an education. It is up to you to decide whether you are interested in availing yourself of the educational resources that the college provides.