Knowing how to think, or knowing how to do something...useful!

In recent years, I’ve noticed a trend – academic institutions increasingly adopting and adapting the best that the training industry has to offer. And that’s indeed a big change.

No one would argue that educators retain the imperative to truly educate: to open students’ minds to new information, ideas and concepts, and (some would say most importantly) how to think – deductively AND creatively.

Years ago (not that many!), I was in a position to make a donation of a comprehensive training curriculum to a leading public university on behalf of my employer (a very large, extremely innovative IT vendor). Not only was it refused, I was reminded that they were “in the business of educating, not training.” They were happy to take cash. But content? No thanks – they knew better. Ironically, three years later, certification in that curriculum was one of the prerequisites to entering that university’s Computer Science major!

Moreover, as a result of the current economic situation, more and more educational institutions are looking more seriously at an often ignored component of their charters: preparing the student to enter the workforce – and in doing so, building the workforce of the next generation. Many have added skills training to their curricula, be it technology, management, production, or even specific functional skills. One need not look hard to find these offerings at some of the finest secondary educational institutions on the planet.

Increasingly they allow students, even encourage them, in some cases, to sit for professional certification exams – thus equipping them with a demonstrable credential, hopefully improving their job prospects upon graduation. Who’d have thought that academe would see commercial certifications as a value-add to their degree?

Having been in the training business for a decade or more, most understand the limits of training versus a broader, liberal education. Students (I have a few in my own house) need to learn much more than specific skills – but it wouldn’t kill me to know that the tuition I’m paying also equips my kids with a skill or two that might help them make their way in an increasingly challenging job market!

So ask yourself: What is the point of education? Can it both expand the mind and prepare the student for the job market? Why not!?