The Decline of Higher Education As A Humanitarian Issue

Lately, higher education has been on my mind not only due to the fact that I am graduating tomorrow from one of the finest institutions of learning in the Midwest, or that I want to pursue higher education administration, but also because it has been frequently featured in the news in relation to the economy. Many news articles posit  questions like, “Is Higher Education Worth It?” or “Liberal Arts Majors Are Least Likely To Be Employed in this Economy.” Some statistics report that most students report going to university solely to get a job, and that the majority of people who graduate from college never again crack open a book.

Forum threads mercilessly debate the monetary “value” of a liberal arts major, and most of these discussions conclude that the liberal arts are “worthless” and that the people who study them do not deserve to be employed. Obviously, I deserve to have a decent job, but I would rather be unemployed and keep my liberal arts degree (thank you very much) than be employed and be a mindless corporate drone.

What happened to learning for the sake of learning? Why do we disparage the liberal arts so much? Why is everything in our society evaluated on financial payback, rather than intellectual enrichment?

My case for higher education in the liberal arts is one that I will keep brief.

1)      Liberal arts as resistance.

Education is being structured by big business to feed their skill-based needs. I am educated to benefit myself and the needs of the world, not a corporate agenda.

2)      Liberal arts as personal development.

As an eighteen-year-old, I didn’t know enough about myself to choose a vocation. The Liberal arts allows a student to study everything, and then after graduation, choose his or her life path.

I am still trying to decide.

3)      Liberal arts as the foundation of leadership.

Some of the greatest people in our society studied the “worthless” liberal arts. To name a few: President Barack Obama, Wolf Blitzer, Madeline Albright, John Stewart, (and many CEOs as well: Carly Fiorina of Hewlett Packard, Michael Dell of Dell Computers, Michael Eisner of Disney). Need I even mention pretty much every former president, as well as all great philosophical thinkers, and scientists?

4)      Liberal arts as flexibility.

Our economy is dynamic, and most of the skills or vocation based knowledge that people spend four years learning will be obsolete in the next ten to twenty years. Liberal arts knowledge stays with you, and gives you the tools to learn on the-job training as quickly or quicker than vocation majors.

I find studying something I love to be a better use of my time than studying something that won’t even be relevant in the near future.

I know that my choice to be a liberal arts major is unconventional in this society where “skills” are more important than brains. I also know that I will need to develop “skills” to be employable, but I have no doubt that my education has prepared me for learning them.

A word of advice for those high school students looking to get a bachelor’s degree in the liberal arts. It is not an easy road for a variety of reasons. People may look down on you or criticize your major. You  may also find it difficult to begin your career directly after graduation (or not), and you will probably need to get a masters or professional degree to further develop your career (I am). However, you will be ahead of the curve in your thinking and your drive for bettering yourself.

Despite the lack of instant gratification of a job after graduation, I do not regret the last four years of my life, because in the long-run I will have benefited far more from my education than is evident in my paycheck or in my societal status.

The decline of higher education in my mind is a humanitarian issue.  Basing education only on workplace skills, we are eliminating free-thinking, and witnessing the decline of knowledge. We are also seeing the encroachment of corporate hegemony into our personal lives. I’m not completely anti-corporate, because I know that our free market system is responsible for  the standard of living that we enjoy in our country. However, I do not want corporations to control how I think, and what life plan I choose. Education is a very personal choice, and I have exercised my right to choose free from corporate attempts to design me into what they choose.

Perfect Timing?

My phone and facebook have been deluged with messages from relatives about how ecstatic they are that I am no longer in Egypt. I often think about the consequences if the 25th of January revolution began little more than a month earlier. How would I have felt about not being able to communicate with relatives via the internet or a cellphone? What would the situation be for me, a foreigner entrenched among Egyptians? What would I have seen? A part of me is glad that I'm not a witness to the gore, the police brutality, and the chaos of the brink of anarchy. Another part of me wishes I were on the streets of Cairo to witness history.

The revolution is really no surprise to me. When I was living in Cairo, protests popped up all over the country in response to the results of corrupt parliamentary elections. People were also on edge because of hunger, and many were angry at the whisperings of deadly police actions. The tension hovered thickly in the air, and permeated all facets of life. Little sparks would fly between different groups: in recent months Christians and Muslims have been battling over rumors of slights and wrong-doings, culminating in the bombing of a Coptic church during New Years mass. Tension also amassed between the socio-economic classes. I was a firsthand witness to laborers protesting against their meager wages at the American University in Cairo. As a woman, I experienced the tension between genders. Men, who are frustrated with women's gains in society, will seek to humiliate them in public spaces in order to reclaim lost power. This tension coming from many directions became almost unbearable to endure. Anyone who had spent a minimal amount of time in Egypt (the real Egypt, not the tourist Egypt) would know that something big was about to happen. I was overjoyed when I landed at JFK airport on December 17th. I had made it home alive.

When I came back, I tried to explain what I and others perceived about Egypt - - - that it was like a powder keg. Everything was ready, all someone needed to do was light the flame. 

That flame turned out to be the ousting of long-time Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in the Jasmine Revolution, which inspired Egyptians to rise up against their government. 

If it is successful, this event (the 25th of January revolution) could become one of the most significant of 2011.  But what most new stories glaze over is how this so-called "revolution" is important, besides the fact that it will eventually topple an authoritarian regime. As someone who lived in Egypt for a short period of time, and who has (briefly) studied Middle East politics, let me offer my insights. 

1) It will change U.S. relations with the Middle East. 

Hosni Mubarak is our number one ally in the region, whose police-enforced torture state is partially funded by the American government. Although I appreciate the fact that one of the primary goals of the police force, that is currently spraying bullets, water canons, and tear gas at civilians, is to keep foreign visitors safe, I also understand how oppressive that force can be.  If Mubarak is out of office, there is no telling what the new governing body's relationship will be to Western nations. It may become more isolationist and/or hostile to foreign involvement. 

2) An Islamic Republic

After the 1979 Iranian revolution, most people shudder at the idea of an Islamic Republic. Since the primary opposition party in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood, it is highly probable that Egypt would become an Islamic state with sharia law as the basis of the judicial code (though not as conservative as Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, which subscribe to a very conservative interpretation of these laws). This could have implications for social laws (i.e. Muslim dress could become mandatory for women . . . which doesn't really matter since most Egyptian women wear the veil), and stricter stances on drinking, arts, education, etc. 

3) Israel. 

Egypt, although passively hostile towards Israel, is officially tolerant of its existence after the two nations signed a peace treaty in 1979. A renewed religious mandate against Israel may create more instability in the region. 

A shift in government in Egypt, the largest economy in the Middle East will undoubtedly have lasting implications for the United States and Israel, if brought into being by a 'revolution.' Some Americans may find this uprising of "angry Arabs" alarming, but in order to abide by our nations principles, we should respect the right of people to construct a government for themselves, even if we do not see it as in interest of the United States.

Purpose

If I can't help the world through the Peace Corp (because, really, can any of you who know me see me boiling my own water to take a shower?), then I will at least become aware of the world's problems and try to enlighten others in the process. 

I'm a very opinionated person, with a lot of criticisms about U.S. foreign policy and neo-colonialism, therefore I seek to offer a more offbeat view of biased newstories. Enjoy.