Shadows, #3, Barcelona, 2022
“The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think.”
The Importance of Critical Thinking Skills
And, with apologies to Uncle Al, I would slightly modify the above quote to say ANY education, not just college or university, should have as its ultimate goal the teaching of how to think and analyze critically.
Why?
Because this country is in crisis, and I believe it is no large part due to the fact that way too many folks are apparently unable to: discern fact from fiction, choose reliable information sources, or process information in a reasoned and logical way. Too many, instead, are too easily manipulated through their emotions and their fears.
Now why might that be?
Just Follow The Money!
I figure it’s a matter of our priorities in this country–that is, what we spend our money on.
We DO spend money on people who make things, on technology, on tools and machines, and on entertainment.
We DON’T spend money on teachers, philosophers, artists–those who might best advise and guide us on HOW best to use our technology and our leisure time. These are the people who would help us learn to think, to evaluate, to analyze… and to ultimately create a better world.
The Receipts: Time Magazine
A quick look at the two lists that follow and it is quite clear what we prioritize… what we truly value in our society.
This study, published in TIME, is from almost 15 years ago, but I did some Googling around and nearly every similar current list I could find–from a wide variety of different sources–reflected much the same as what you will read here.
Nothing much has changed.
“A new report shows some undergraduate degrees pay off more than others — literally. Using data from the U.S. Census, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s “What’s It Worth: The Economic Value of College Majors” report, issued May 24, looked at 171 different majors and found that the difference in earning potential between one field of study and another can be more than 300%. TIME took a look at the 10 highest- and the 10 lowest-earning majors…”
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Highest-Earning Majors
- Mining and Mineral Engineering
- Metallurgical Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- Mathematics and Computer Sciences
- Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
- Petroleum Engineering
-
Lowest-Earning Majors
- Health and Medical Preparatory Programs
- Visual and Performing Arts
- Communication-Disorders Sciences and Services
- Studio Arts
- Drama and Theater Arts
- Social Work
- Human Services and Community Organizations
- Theology and Religious Vocations
- Early-Childhood Education
- Counseling and Psychology
Another interesting comparison
2022 NFL Salaries (does NOT include endorsements/bonuses):
–Minimum was $705,000 for a player on the active/inactive list.
–Average NFL salary was $2.7 million.
–Aaron Rodgers was the highest paid at just over $50 million.
2021-2022 Teacher Salaries (does NOT include endorsements/bonuses…ha!ha!):
This is from the U.S. state that pays the most: Maryland.
–A first year teacher salary ranged from $46,000 to $56,000, depending on the district.
–As a teacher, you could just barely break 100K, after 23 years and a masters degree, in the highest paid district in the Maryland.
–A school principal with a doctorate could make up to $187,000. (Not bad! But how many years did it take to get there, along with the cost of advanced degrees?)
One Final Note
A lucky assistant teacher in Mississippi can earn somewhere between $15,000 and $30,000 depending on their education, experience, and district. (Poverty level in the USA for a family of four: $30,000/year.)
Future historians, archeologists, and anthropologists will surely note all of this (and sadly shake their big heads) in their academic analyses in the shadowy centuries after the fall of our Western “Civilization”.
“Growth for the sake of growth is the ‘ideology’ of the cancer cell.”
—Edward Abbey, 1927-1989
Shadows, #1, Barcelona, 2022
Shadows, #2, Collbató, Catalunya, 2022
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