Higher education is not about getting a job | Fred D'Agostino | TEDxUQ
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- Опубліковано 2 тра 2024
- Many people think the point of higher education is economic: graduates get better paying jobs and the economy gets the knowledge-workers it needs. But, there is another story. There is a role for higher education in skilling-up citizens so they can play an active and effective role in a democratic society. Hear from political philosopher, Professor Fred D'Agostino as he shares numerous examples of this alternative story.
Fred D'Agostino is Professor of Humanities at The University of Queensland and was Executive Dean of Arts and Associate Dean of Arts (Academic) during his ten-year stint at UQ. He is a philosopher, author of four books, sometime editor of the journals Australasian Journal of Philosophy and Politics, and Philosophy and Economics. He co-edited the recent Routledge Companion to Political and Social Philosophy. A member of the UQ Senate for four years, he is interested in the purposes and processes of higher education. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and has held Australian Research Council and Australian Learning and Teaching Council grants. His next big project is on "the disciplines" (e.g. History, Sociology) and how they work.
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A wonderful speech and am learning firsthand the experience of college.
Agreed higher education is not only about getting a good job. It should make for a more informed individual who can think critically and yet a more robust democracy. But I don't necessarily think it would make a more civil society because everyone does not have the same moral capacity. Hence some would use the added knowledge for good and others wouldn't. Thus not necessarily a civil society
Very informative lecture. I never thought about it in a sense of democracy, but I understand.
Let's make universities free of charge.
Great topic
I get that to be educated means to get involved with politics and be more aware. However how powerful and how aware are you going to be if your up your neck in debt and broke.
They should give college graduates the decision to serve in the betterment of society...government, social work, education and so forth in exchange there school loans should be taking care of also they should pay them for 4 years in this position....now I don't know why this proposal would be a problem if it wasn't about money and for the betterment of democracy. Everything's about money!
this is a great topic
"The greatest privilege of privilege is to help destroy privilege." is an amazing thought! I'm going to write it dowm!
how are you nowadays?
You have the fullest freedom when you have the means to maintain it.
The people barely making a living and homeless are not thinking about democracy, they are just trying to survive. Fullest freedom doesn't apply to these.
When the middle class finds itself jobless, wages depressed and their outgoings much higher than their incomings they are not thinking about fullest freedoms they are thinking about survival.
This is one of the problems of liberal arts professors, they don't live in the real world, only in a well insulated part of it. Facing real problems will bring them back into making sense.
I've found practical skills to be far more useful than the worthless theory that floats around and is still wildly espoused by cretins in university and politics. It is those practical skills that has built the property and many others, provided all the services, enabled a very good living to save and invest with. Practical skills!!! The theory led to homelessness.
8:10 PROCESSES! Is there such a thing as a single procesis?
Higher education is NOT ONLY about getting a job, that i agree. Certainly one of the purpose is to get a job.
The comment boxes are adorable. No India Pakistan.
Just praising of pure music.
The macro element is often rooted in plenty of theory. No one knows for certain how an idea once developed will perform in the economy, a professor can surmise. But until it is launched no one knows.
Frequent testing is required and that is often best done in the marketplace.
To think you can only learn in university and no where else is a fallacy many professors have. If that were the case the only innovation would happen at university and no where else. You can learn as you work and most people do. Try to improve something and you will learn, try to make something more cheaply, faster and from alternative materials and you will learn. Try something new and you learn.
No, it is about piling debt onto students for meaningless degrees which will not in the majority of cases enable employment in jobs with high salaries, many of which are now disappearing as robots and AI take over. It is also a great way of transferring the cost of education from the public purse, and delaying unemployment payments for a few years.
An easy fix would be to stop requiring one for a job, outside of being a doctor. Even then it should be right into med school for those folks. Add the technical into high school and make it 5 years and more rigorous with co-op. Every job can be ultimately learned at your place of employment, this is how its done regardless of college anyway. Then no one can take issue with this point of view. We would all agree.
why dont these college videos get more views ?!?!
Gumer Zambrano People want to follow the mediocrity machine. Most people know these videos exist but are too ignorant and are more willing to follow social dogma. They dont want to threat the machine and shine light onto its broken pieces
also because the way this dude talks puts me to sleep
For instance, going to the business/management school at a university... and being taught how to use SAP, is not really the best use of your time. Yes, companies use SAP and a lot would like you to know how to use it, but you should first understand what its being used for, why it's better than what was previously used, where are the future segments for improvement? Then learn SAP as an elective or on your own in a club or on UA-cam. Don't just make every required business course: "Accounting in SAP", "SAP's Supply Chain Management", etc.
Essentially it is only select university experiences which are worth running up a debt for. Universities are money making ventures and are not stepping to the podium to create in students acuity and cultivate full expression and belief systems
An open and free public higher education could first and foremost serve as a learning centre much more than "shaping individuals", if you want to shape individuals, you start at kindergarten teaching accurate topics and less brainwashing material. Any education, higher or not, serves as a model in which students learn how skills to handle the society they are given or born into, the issue then becomes when the school or university sees the student as a modeling agent for their academia, instead of an unique individual with unique views of the world and unique utopias. Shaping individuals for a base down rotten democracy and the neoliberalism capitalistic system is what happens now and it's not working. Hopefully the "new world" you talk about serves as an example of this old method's failure and does a better job at helping people achieve LEARNING goals, that will serve them in the future, both at life, politics, economics and jobs. The best way to model an individual to do your bidding of a better democracy is to serve by example, academia and higher university these days are examples on hierarchic systems in which the individuals must PAY to be a part of.
Very lofty words... But I’ve heard the stories of people RUINED by student loan debts. It’s time for students to acquire a marketable skill. This guy is speaking about the Little Rock Nine like it’s still 1957.
Higher education IS about getting a job. If not, just go down to the public library and get some books to read, you will get free higher education.
If you need a reading list, just reply with your interest, I or other viewers here can recommend some for you. Then you can use Facebook to form an interest group, for discussions, further learning ideas, etc. With these experience and knowledge you can participate in the democratic process of a civil society, you don't need university for this.
And here's something else I learned not from university, just because you can string some words together fluently, it doesn't mean that you are right.
Could not be more idealistic... :(
Part of the problem is that higher education does not foster multiple points of views to be a democratic citizen. Most professors are liberals, communists, socialists, atheists, and vote most often for candidates to the left or way left of the average American. Many rules and policies of colleges and universities are liberal or left, PC (politically correct) often anti traditional, conservative views and values. Free speech has areas and sometimes times of day or week you can use the areas for other than the thinking of the left so free speech is shut down and often it takes a law suit for colleges to allow free speech since they are overly concerned with hurting the feelings of some and offend some (good debate of ideas will necessarily offend some people but we can't have that). The ideal of higher education being for cultivating minds for a democracy is not supported by all the actions of colleges and their staff especially faculty. Colleges have become indoctrination seminaries for the thinking of the left, democratic party, extreme left ideas and practices. Buyers be ware.
"Colleges have become indoctrination seminaries for the thinking of the left, democratic party, extreme left ideas and practices." Quite the opposite. Because education is now a for-profit, not-for-society business, the typical modern university in the US is anti-left. The world's "education" feeds out of and into the pockets and wallets of the rich, which is the right wing
It's about initiation rights, hazing rituals, and getting into debt 😄 and that's just the classes.
The first two are choices
It would be nice if an arts degree really did skill-up (What an ugly phrase!) citizens, but between falling academic standards and instructors who are determined to impose their personal political views on their classes, a modern BA degree is often just a glorified high school diploma.
Howard Glen except without That 80k price tag
😊
Only if a personne went to a top intellectual institution. Most are not going to think and speak like this speaker from attending most of the colleges at which they are running up this debt. Select universities have this role
People should have the right of vote only if they have enough education...
Unfortunately, that leads to abuse of the system, encouraging education in demographics that vote for 'me', and pulling education from those who don't. If the day comes where we can perfect the ever evolving education system so that EVERYONE is educated EQUALLY, then MAYBE your idea would have merit. Even the best of us don't have the right to determine what someone's 'education' level currently is, since Life is it's own teacher.
You should put it the other way. Let's educate everyone so they know how and why they vote.
MrLargonaut Well I thought educated people would know what's best for humanity, but you're right there is always people that think only for themselves.
I agree that people should vote at a certain level of education, but only when everyone has an equal opportunity at education. That way the rich white demographic doesn't become the overwhelming majority of voters.
turn 'doesn't become' into 'is no longer', and your statement is dead on.
This video is bogus. What a crock of nonsense. If you want an education, get it from the Internet and books. You have no reason to waste money in a college for an education since it offers you nothing that can't be learned on your own. Besides, getting a college degree doesn't make you more money. Having skills gets you more money, and not a worthless degree. School doesn't teach you critical thinking. School just teaches you obedience. Remember, don't let your schooling interfere with your education. The more time you spend in school does NOT necessarily make you more educated. Self-education is far more important thing than learning nonsense from school.
+AmandaNerdBot I generally agree with your opinion on the effectiveness of schooling, but there is one thing I want to "add" on the correlation between higher education and more money. At least in my country, Korea, many skilled, affluent businessmen pursue higher education when they have enough time to set aside, because it not only helps many of their shallow customers feel secure from seeing a diploma hanging on the wall, but also leads them to sustain or open a new business. I know it sounds absurd and pretty ridiculous, but I swear to god, it is happening in Korea. That's why my dad, a successful accountant in my town, his peers, and other high-paying businessmen try to just get a diploma. In the sense of making money, it is not a waste of money. So, I would like to say that getting a college degree does not necessarily make us more money, but it will definitely be helpful when we want to make our going-well business get better.
If you do not know what to learn by yourself, you won't be able to learn it on your own because you don't have any idea of what is important or not. And nowadays, there is so much information everywhere, it would take ages to distinguish what is right from wrong! So yes, the school might offer you some orientation, tools and tips on how to learn by yourself and acquire skills effectively. There is one more thing: the school might show you some good things about discipline and respect, which is also very important for yourself as a person and for society.
I definitely agree with you, I couldn't have said it any better. When most people say, "get an education", what they really mean is to "get yor diploma or degree", they don't usually mean to gain knowledge or skills. If you want an education teach yourself or learn from someone who has skills and experience and most professors do not have either.
This guys stuck in the 1900’s where you couldnt go on the internet and learn anything you want for free
I may be reiterating the thoughts of this Ted Talk but these are my thoughts on this topic;
I think some people like I in the past have missed the point of education it’s not only to get A’s, be at the top of the class and get a good job and then ‘good’ money. Education more importantly plays a huge role in the social and political aspects of society, many great leaders throughout history have published the role of education in raising students who can inquire in the world and improve the world. Education instills responsible and democratic values into individuals thereby strengthening society. What’s amazing however ‘Education’ does this simultaneously whilst also creating a highly skilled work force. To go through high school with the attitude that you’re not learning anything or that you’d be earning much more money doing it yourself is a huge loss to the individual because it dismisses a large and valuable aspect of education. The other common attitude that you need to get straight A’s or else you’re not successful is also highly unrealistic for the real world and a huge missed opportunity. Education is more than grades and money, it’s a system. A system that keeps society civil and educated. There is much more to life than money if it weren’t then many billionaires wouldn’t still be working today.
Well, this video proves why we need higher education. Surely higher education is a lot more important than national objectives, democratic upholding, or strong societies, which philosophers and humanities professors are narrowly concerned about. Education gives rise to science that transcends all of these. Higher education, even in communist countries, give rise to technology that benefits citizens of every country.
I think Fred really proves why people need to be educated in both arts and science because his answer contradicts his premise.
Higher education is often very general. It does not serve a direct purpose.
If you pursue science you will find you need funding, that you have to fight for with plenty of others after the same funding. (The most successful professor of mine spent 14 hours a day on the phone looking for funding, on getting it he would farm out the projects to PhD students. Little of his time was spent in the labs. No money no progress.)
Higher education has been advertised incorrectly as something to get you better work, improve your progress in upward social mobility etc. This may be true for courses that have a high degree of relevance to the marketplace such as medicine. But it is not true of most other courses where the market has little demand for such specialties.
If you are rich already by all means study whatever you like and self fund it. But don't tell people it is a realistic situation for them to have the same opportunities as that rich person buoyed up by all that capital.
The Over payed Highly Educated Bankers 2008 ,proved with all the High Education best money could buy,knew nothing and brought the world economy to its knews.A person with F in Maths would do a better job.
Perhaps certain powerful people wanted the economy to crash for agendas beyond our sight, perhaps to reboot into more what the powerful elite want the economy to be, tragedy befall whomever and whatever it may as long as all the right people are forewarned and protected.
I'm cringing at the title itself, prior to even watching
If higher education is not about getting a better job then it needs to be free!!!
Don't forget the time you spend, even if the course, accommodation and food is free. You could be an incredibly skilled tradesperson after 3 or 4 years, if you worked really hard and took on other relevant work and courses. Oh you would also have some capital, tools and know who the customers were. Your start would be so much stronger.
If you went with the tradesperson example you would also be able to renovate old houses, to bring value in where other people have written it off.
There is plenty of value in work that has a shortage and a very high demand, where you are very skilled and where you get to fix up and own essential assets that keep pace with inflation.
Everyone knows the point of education is to get a job, that's why people go to college. You learn skills that are supposed to make you employable. Some of what you learn of course is a waste of time when it has nothing to do with your career goals, but let's not mislead people. Statements like his are also partially why a lot of people accuse colleges of being left-leaning. I'm for democracy but indoctrination...that's a no no. Don't see how school makes you a better person when many educated people are good and bad.
That's never how I saw education and it isn't its purpose either. If it were many feilds of study wouldn't exist. There's no useless courses. You're there to enlighten yourself and learn about the world.
higher education is just a form of segregation most less privileged children don't go on to a higher form of Education and it's more likely that kids with parents with higher education and that are more privileged move on to have the higher form of Education themselves.
There are ways to be educated other than college if anyone actually cared. Intellectual ability also separates us too.
why does he say conservative idea? does he mean republican idea?I thoght they were the undeucated lot.
+THEILOTH256 Regardless of who's more or less educated both parties are full of morons.
Not all of them.
This is terrible advice, High school should be enough for you to vote, be informed, and own property. There are a lot of problems with the K-12 educational system... if you fix those by teaching logic, how to read/interpret news media, and other things fewer people will go to college, and won't be "necessary" anymore.
Education major sucks.