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| First lady Michelle Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) |
In his critical review of the Obama Administration's approach to educational reform, acclaimed author and professor Henry A. Giroux quotes Drew Gilpin Faust, the current president of Harvard University:
"But even as we as a nation have embraced education as critical to economic growth and opportunity, we should remember that [public schools], colleges and universities are about a great deal more than measurable utility. Unlike perhaps any other institutions in the world, they embrace the long view and nurture the kind of critical perspectives that look far beyond the present."
(Truthout.com, May 25, 2010 - article provided by Prof. Antonia Darder).
As you pursue your college education, your self-awareness in the context of your future place and opportunities in society ensures that you maximize the utility of your education to yourself and your family, but also to society . College is not just about skills and market value - you have the fundamental opportunity to rediscover yourself as a person in the broader context of your place in life, and you should use this moment in time to critically evaluate how and what you will contribute as a future leader. By going back to school, you are proving that you are special, that you want to advance, and hopefully, that you want to make a positive difference not just in your life, but in the lives of others.
As Prof. Giroux laments, some forms of education represent "egocentric, consumerist values that [...] correlate with [...] a world of greed without limits." (Giroux, 2010)
Whether you agree with him or not, as you complete your coursework, you will hopefully evaluate the mountains of new information accompanying your studies and lectures with a critical perspective that will maximize the unique and valuable distinctions that will inform your future decisions and send you on a path to meaningful, ethical, constructive, and, of course also productive, endeavors.
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