Somewhere in Kanye West’s discography, surely within his trifecta of albums commenting on education, he talks about how foolish it is to pursue education. Instead, it makes most sense to make as much money as fast as possible because that pays off now.
Unfortunately, we’re not all Kanye West. Our priorities can’t mirror his circumstances.
I certainly do find myself thinking about how foolish it is to expend such a raft of time and energy on something like education when, in the end, it is merely a circular progression. Scholars learn so that they may perhaps add a bit to the material being taught, which they teach to the next generation before they die. It is progression toward nothing in particular lest the collective mind, or the process, is deified (in which case it is a theosis of sorts). For those who are not professional scholars, they spend the money to be told what to think so they can regurgitate that thinking in the civil sector in order to be paid enough to pay off their debt from that education.
I think it’s important to realize that the majority of the American education system is an exercise in the “liberal arts.” This designation refers to the seminal education of the hyper-wealthy who were free to study that birthed education as it is practiced today. Today, it is our immense wealth that allows us to spend 20 years of usable life in academics, and some to go on to spend their lives in academia. Even those who struggle to pay for school throughout this process, or who sacrifice lifestyle for an education, are still wealthy enough to have that option. There are those who cannot afford to sacrifice lifestyle because they do not have enough to even offer a sacrifice.
In some sense our society sanctifies formal education. (Certainly some sections of society completely write it off as something pretentious or something. Those who recognize a value within it set it apart as I said, and set scholars apart as somehow more than this world.) Other societies do not value it in the way we do. It is certainly our tradition that teaches us to value education, that is, it is not inherently a man made desire to be educated in the academic sense. The argument is easily made that education in a larger sense, learning new concepts and skills, is both inherently desirable and inevitable insomuch as it is the foundation to any survival skill, but it should be recognized that this does not refer specifically to how we are educated and what education entails in America. (This “egocentric assumption,” that we presume others view situations the way we do, is a problem in the States. It is a way of thinking fundamental to our reputation as arrogant and inconsiderate.)
Among my peer group, the understanding of this broader sense of education, the true nature of its value to humanity, and especially proper attribution of values to tradition must be developed. Through this development, we may recognize that our lives are necessarily measured by neither education nor anything else that is part of our tradition. If we are conscious of our upbringing, we are free to accept or reject it. We are free to prioritize what will come to be important and fulfilling to us as an individual. I suggest engaging this freedom in such a way that your tradition, what has already been instilled in you, is claimed as your own rather than incidentally shaping you. In this you will find intentionality in your actions as they becomes increasingly your own. Moreover, you may act with fervor in the tradition in which you were raised surrounded by the community with which you may belong. Your identity will be both of a healthy tradition and of your own conclusions.
I find that I need to assure myself that in order to live my life in such a way that I’m satisfied at the end of the day, that I’m living in a righteous way (a way corresponding to the values instilled in me that I have chosen to maintain, the values I have come to believe to be most worthwhile, and the taking advantage of my talents and exploiting the areas in which I’m willing to have to persevere), education is a valuable pastime. Though it can be difficult, tiring and frustrating, education is important to me. I study, literally, because it passes the time, but also because it gives me goals. It makes me feel good and productive. It prevents my life from stagnating. It gives me unique opportunities. It is a good networking tool. It helps me explore my interests. Furthermore, it has provided me with the closest thing to legitimate religious expression I think I’ve experienced, and in this sense the circularity of academics is outside of the point; the point resides in the process through which whatever faith I’m able to maintain is expressed. (There is, perhaps, far more faith expressed in attempting again and again to prove That Which Cannot Be Proven than there is in accepting It as reality on faith alone. In this, surely faith is synonymous with foolishness, but I hear no one denying that. What is significant in faith is not its strict observance of reason, but rather the reason present in the motivation to wake up in the morning <God as the deification of hope>. I would rather claim faith in Hope and have reason to rise each day than claim utterly reasonable confidence in myself to produce and succeed, finding myself “vain and bitter”* in relation to those around me.)
Sometimes an education is painful—it’s difficult, costly, and at times seemingly unaffecting. [A base but right analogy:] though knowledge sometimes burns going down, at least it makes my belly warm.
Unfortunately, we’re not all Kanye West. Our priorities can’t mirror his circumstances.
I certainly do find myself thinking about how foolish it is to expend such a raft of time and energy on something like education when, in the end, it is merely a circular progression. Scholars learn so that they may perhaps add a bit to the material being taught, which they teach to the next generation before they die. It is progression toward nothing in particular lest the collective mind, or the process, is deified (in which case it is a theosis of sorts). For those who are not professional scholars, they spend the money to be told what to think so they can regurgitate that thinking in the civil sector in order to be paid enough to pay off their debt from that education.
I think it’s important to realize that the majority of the American education system is an exercise in the “liberal arts.” This designation refers to the seminal education of the hyper-wealthy who were free to study that birthed education as it is practiced today. Today, it is our immense wealth that allows us to spend 20 years of usable life in academics, and some to go on to spend their lives in academia. Even those who struggle to pay for school throughout this process, or who sacrifice lifestyle for an education, are still wealthy enough to have that option. There are those who cannot afford to sacrifice lifestyle because they do not have enough to even offer a sacrifice.
In some sense our society sanctifies formal education. (Certainly some sections of society completely write it off as something pretentious or something. Those who recognize a value within it set it apart as I said, and set scholars apart as somehow more than this world.) Other societies do not value it in the way we do. It is certainly our tradition that teaches us to value education, that is, it is not inherently a man made desire to be educated in the academic sense. The argument is easily made that education in a larger sense, learning new concepts and skills, is both inherently desirable and inevitable insomuch as it is the foundation to any survival skill, but it should be recognized that this does not refer specifically to how we are educated and what education entails in America. (This “egocentric assumption,” that we presume others view situations the way we do, is a problem in the States. It is a way of thinking fundamental to our reputation as arrogant and inconsiderate.)
Among my peer group, the understanding of this broader sense of education, the true nature of its value to humanity, and especially proper attribution of values to tradition must be developed. Through this development, we may recognize that our lives are necessarily measured by neither education nor anything else that is part of our tradition. If we are conscious of our upbringing, we are free to accept or reject it. We are free to prioritize what will come to be important and fulfilling to us as an individual. I suggest engaging this freedom in such a way that your tradition, what has already been instilled in you, is claimed as your own rather than incidentally shaping you. In this you will find intentionality in your actions as they becomes increasingly your own. Moreover, you may act with fervor in the tradition in which you were raised surrounded by the community with which you may belong. Your identity will be both of a healthy tradition and of your own conclusions.
I find that I need to assure myself that in order to live my life in such a way that I’m satisfied at the end of the day, that I’m living in a righteous way (a way corresponding to the values instilled in me that I have chosen to maintain, the values I have come to believe to be most worthwhile, and the taking advantage of my talents and exploiting the areas in which I’m willing to have to persevere), education is a valuable pastime. Though it can be difficult, tiring and frustrating, education is important to me. I study, literally, because it passes the time, but also because it gives me goals. It makes me feel good and productive. It prevents my life from stagnating. It gives me unique opportunities. It is a good networking tool. It helps me explore my interests. Furthermore, it has provided me with the closest thing to legitimate religious expression I think I’ve experienced, and in this sense the circularity of academics is outside of the point; the point resides in the process through which whatever faith I’m able to maintain is expressed. (There is, perhaps, far more faith expressed in attempting again and again to prove That Which Cannot Be Proven than there is in accepting It as reality on faith alone. In this, surely faith is synonymous with foolishness, but I hear no one denying that. What is significant in faith is not its strict observance of reason, but rather the reason present in the motivation to wake up in the morning <God as the deification of hope>. I would rather claim faith in Hope and have reason to rise each day than claim utterly reasonable confidence in myself to produce and succeed, finding myself “vain and bitter”* in relation to those around me.)
Sometimes an education is painful—it’s difficult, costly, and at times seemingly unaffecting. [A base but right analogy:] though knowledge sometimes burns going down, at least it makes my belly warm.
*See the poem "Desiderata" by Max Ehrmann.
thats what she said.
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