Unit8

　　Ithasoftenbeenremarkedthatthesaddestthingaboutyouthisthatitiswastedontheyoung.

　　Readingasurveyreportonfirst-yearcollegestudents,Irecalledtheregret,"IfonlyIknewthenwhatIknownow."

　　ThesurveyrevealedwhatIhadalreadysuspectedfrominformalpollsofstudentsbothinMaconandattheRobinsResidentCenter:Ifit(whateveritmaybe)won'tcomputeandyoucan'tdrinkit,smokeitorspendit,then"it"holdslittlevalue.

　　Accordingtothesurveybasedonresponsesfromover188,000students,today'scollegebeginnersare"moreconsumeristicandlessidealistic"thanatanytimeinthe17yearsofthepoll.

　　Notsurprisinginthesehardtimes,thestudents'majorobjective"istobefinanciallywelloff".

　　Lessimportantthaneverisdevelopingameaningfulphilosophyoflife.

　　Accordingly,todaythemostpopularcourseisnotliteratureorhistorybutaccounting.

　　Interestinteaching,socialserviceandthehumanitiesisatalow,alongwithethnicandwomen'sstudies.

　　Ontheotherhand,enrollmentinbusinessprograms,engineeringandcomputerscienceiswayup.

　　That'snosurpriseeither.

　　Afriendofmine(asalesrepresentativeforachemicalcompany)wasmakingtwicethesalaryofcollegeinstructorsduringherfirstyearonthejob—evenbeforeshecompletedhertwo-yearassociatedegree.

　　"I'lltellthemwhattheycandowiththeirmusic,history,literature,etc.,"shewasfondofsaying.Andthatwasfouryearsago;Itrembletothinkwhatshe'searningnow.

　　Frankly,I'mproudoftheyounglady(notherattitudebuthersuccess).

　　Butwhycan'twehaveitbothways?Can'tweeducatepeopleforlifeaswellasforacareer?Ibelievewecan.

　　Ifwecannot,thenthatisaconvictionagainstoureducationalsystem—kindergarten,elementary,secondaryandhigher.

　　Inatimeofincreasingspecialization,morethanever,weneedtoknowwhatistrulyimportantinlife.

　　Thisiswhereageandmaturityenter.

　　Mostpeople,somewherebetweentheagesof30and50,finallyarriveattheinevitableconclusionthattheyweremeanttodomorethanserveacorporation,agovernmentagency,orwhatever.

　　Mostofusfinallyhavetheinsightthatqualityoflifeisnotentirelydeterminedbyabalancesheet.

　　Sure,everyonewantstobefinanciallycomfortable,butwealsowanttofeelwehaveaperspectiveontheworldbeyondtheconfinesofouroccupation;wewanttobeabletorenderservicetoourfellowmenandtoourGod.

　　Ifitisafactthatthemeaningoflifedoesnotdawnuntilmiddleage,isitthennotthedutyofeducationalinstitutionstopreparethewayforthatrevelation?Mostpeople,intheiryouth,resenttheSocialSecuritydeductionsfromtheirpay,yetaseeminglyfewshortyearslaterfindthemselvesstandinganxiouslybythemailbox.

　　Whileit'strueallofusneedacareer,preferablyaprosperousone,itisequallytruethatourcivilizationhascollectedanincredibleamountofknowledgeinfieldsfarremovedfromourown.

　　Andwearebetterforourunderstandingoftheseothercontributions—betheyscientificorartistic.

　　Itisequallytruethat,instudyingthediversewisdomofothers,welearnhowtothink.

　　Moreimportantly,perhaps,educationteachesustoseetheconnectionsbetweenthings,aswellastosee