So, here’s something I’ve noticed in my role of observer of the human condition.  People fall into one of two camps when it comes to education.  There’s the “get an education to make a good living” camp and the “get an education to make a meaningful life” gang.  For some, education is the means to an end.  For our family, it’s an end unto itself.

Maybe this has been obvious to you for a long time, and right now you’re saying, “Well, duh.”  It’s not that I didn’t realize other people felt differently about the role of education in everyday life.  However, as a result of my job-searching quest, I’ve developed kind of a theory about this phenomenon.  Bear with me.

I think business people, in general terms, are suspicious of highly-educated people.  Now hold on, I’m not saying that your average business person is stupid or uneducated.  I’m saying that they seem, as a rule, to see education as a necessary evil.  The ultimate goal is not lifelong learning, but “serving your four year term” to enable you to reach some pinnacle of business acumen.  In their world, money equates to how “worthwhile” you are.  They can’t tell you the difference between the romantic and the baroque period and don’t see how understanding it could possibly benefit them in any way.  I get the distinct impression from some of them that if you DO see this as an interesting bit of information–well–you’re just hopelessly irrelevant.  As someone who has spent a good bit of her life in various academic settings, this baffles me.  I guess it has its origins in the old adage that “those who can’t do, teach.”   Of course, having been in both business and academic settings, I’d like to tell some of those smug corporate types that if they want a real challenge, they should try giving up their cushy corporate budgets and the co-workers who are all pretty much like them, and try keeping the attention of 40 or so 18-year-olds from every racial, ethnic and  social background imaginable.  Oh, and throw in that most of them don’t want to be in class.   And did I mention that you’re grossly underpaid?

Of, course, this distrust cuts both ways.  Many academics I’ve worked with view the “business class” as vocational drones, incapable of complex thought or study.  Good for making (or contributing) money, but not someone you’d invite to liven up a dinner party or discuss any book other than the latest “pop business” tome.  This is often an unfair assessment as well.  May I say that some of my best friends are business types, and we’ve had some pretty lively parties–and meaningful discussions!

This chasm between philosophies makes itself apparent in college choices, as well.  Certainly there are financial, religious and geographical influences that often determine where people send their kids to school.  But, I’m amazed when I hear someone say that “It doesn’t matter” where you go to college.  That somehow, as long as you get the “license to do business” when you graduate, all colleges are pretty much the same.  It’s just a hoop to jump through so your “real life” can begin.  The rat race being “real life.”  Eek.

We’re spending way too much money for tuition for our son, because from the day he was born, we pledged to provide him with whatever education was going to maximize his potential as a human being (first) and his area(s) of academic interest (second).  This was much more important to us than driving new cars, wearing designer clothes or having the most “toys.”  The four years he spends at this institution will shape his entire future–vocation being the lesser consideration.  College is where you learn to make it without Mom and Dad, love diversity, loosen up your rigidity of how things “should” be, and lose yourself in subjects you never thought would interest you.  We take it as a good sign that our son couldn’t wait to go back to school after his Christmas break.

In short, we hope we’re raising our kids to be knowledge geeks–just like Mom and Dad.