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Volume 5
Issue # 2
September 16, 2003
"The State of Education"
In light of Martha Piper recently getting the Order of Canada, I am
inspired to do a brief piece on a few things, not only surrounding the
world of education as I understand it, but also issues surrounding the
University as a whole. For those of you who don't know, Martha Piper
is the current President of the University of British Columbia and played
an integral (and possibly shady) role in ceasing the job action on campus
this past spring and doing what she could to get things "back on
track," as it were.
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Evil Martha Piper? |
I'm also inspired by a recent
lecture from my English professor, Lee Johnson. I am taking the one-term
version of Studies in Romanticism, and something that professor Johnson
emphasized was the context under which Romanticism was formed and fluorished.
With the
Industrial Revolution came an exodus from agriculture-based communities
to the development of the large cities we, for the most part, live in
today. Hence, romantic poets yearn for the days of old, and pine for a
return to nature. A second major event was the French Revolution in which
many people died. Questions arose. What is man? And why do men, so infinite
in faculty and divine in reason (thank you Hamlet) drive themselves to
destruction?
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The French Revolution
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What does this have to do with education and
university going-ons? These two themes are still rather prevalent in today's
society. A number of faculty members are nearing their retirement years;
indeed nearly a third of the faculty members in the Faculty of Arts at
UBC will be turned over in the next three years. What this translates
to is that UBC will be receiving "fresh blood," hopefully with
new inspirations, new ideas and such - hopefully driving more research
dollars to UBC which could turn out to be for the betterment of all of
us.
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I need not remind you of the events of September
11th or the War on Terrorism that followed to remind you that the concept
of man destroying him/herself still is at the forefront to this very day.
What you'll find on a typical university campus are mostly leftist-thinking
students and as such, we, as a collective student body, are anti-war.
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With the recent hikes in tuition, BC went from
among the lowest in average tuition to among the highest in Canada. Needless
to say, students were not particularly pleased; however, we have seen
a number of changes on the university campus - money has been spent, in
theory, for the betterment of students and for the betterment of education.
New facilities are always being built and a number of lecture theatres
are undergoing or have underwent a facelift. For those of you who go to
UBC, take a look at Angus 110 for example. It certainly is a lot nicer
than it was two years ago.
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The UBC Library and
Clock Tower |
But what does all this mean anyways? Thomas
Grey once said that the paths of glory lead but to the grave. No matter
how great you become, or how rich and famous you may be, we are all equal
when we are buried six feet underground. Some say that ignorance is bliss,
and I completely agree with that.
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Elvis impersonator or
psychological condition? |
WHAT? You read right. Ignorance indeed is
bliss. It's true. The more knowledge you gain, the more you realize you
don't know everything. In other words, the more you know, the more you're
aware that you don't know. So, what's the solution? Perhaps, just try
to know more....but what happens then? Indeed, it is quite the vicious
cycle. Nonetheless, I'd rather have the knowledge than not, even if it
means sacrificing a certain level of bliss. Take this analogy, for example.
Would you rather be yourself, or a resident of Riverview Hospital, a schizophrenic
perhaps, who has delusions of grandeur. That person would absolutely truly
believe that he is Elvis, for example, and he could very well be quite
a happy fellow. But would you want to live that lie? I'm thinking not.
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On a somewhat related note, a number of people
in the community see education as a means to an end. "I'm getting
a commerce degree so I can get into business." "I'm in Political
Science because I want to run for Premier one day." This is where
the argument against a number of Arts degrees comes in. What can you do with an English or
Philosophy degree? What many don't recognize is that knowledge, education,
and insight has value in and of itself, possibly far beyond that which
a job can provide. The public, by and large, is ignorant....but they are
happy.
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I'm a psychology major. "So, you're going
to listen to people's problems? Are you psychoanalyzing me now?"
These are typical responses I hear when I tell someone I'm a psychology
major....and not just people on the street who I could assume have little
education. My dentist asked me those questions the other day while she
was poking and prodding at my gums. Again, many people are unaware of
the sheer variety under the umbrella of "Psychology" - from
health to forensic to developmental to cognitive neuroscience...these
are all "psychology." Psychology is one of the largest departments
at UBC, and indeed clinical psychology ("being a psychologist,"
in the common perception) is one of the largest sections. But we mustn't
forget biopsychologists (the ones who "play with rats") or developmental
psychologists (who get to "play with children"), for example.
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Biopsychology at work
Developmental Psychology at work
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I am positive that every department has
similar issues to psychology, and there are misconceptions and stereotypes
of the people who graduate with those degrees. Few people realize the
amount of research, for example, that the people in English or Music
perform - but they're happy not to know that, apparently.
Ignorance is bliss. But I'd rather know that I am ignorant. |
