I was amazed from this conversation by how relevant it is to so many of the topics we have and will talk about. Although I think this is an interesting beginning to our conversation on Wednesday and I posted this anecdote in order to start thinking about finances within universities, I would like to focus on his comment of humanity students as being snooty. How could we have had that whole discussion without even considering how a student at a vocational school might perceive us and our education? This insight from a vocational student towards liberal arts students completely opened my eyes to a new part of the discussion I believe we completely avoided. Although we cannot fill in the voices of vocational students, how can we discuss vocational vs liberal arts without discussing “the other?” Ignoring vocational voices within our argument perpetuates the system of liberal arts students being elite, and while I understand this is a true classification, I believe it minimizes the opinions and views of vocational students as obsolete and unworthy. Sorry for how anecdotal this all was, but please let me know what your thoughts on this are!
Today I was talking on the phone with my boyfriend who goes to a large, private university. He attends the engineering and technology school and is a math and mechanical engineering double major with a minor in computer science and a concentration in physics. He is also a first-generation traditional college student (his parents and grandparents all either went to college and dropped out or completed their bachelor degrees as working adults after traditional college age). He was telling me about how last week his cousin, who is currently in her second year of college, was picked up by her parents at her large state school because she was struggling to get by. I commented on how it was a pity that large universities (like his own) are unable to give students the resources to succeed when they are struggling, commenting that doing so at small, liberal arts colleges like Oberlin is much easier because of financial costs and the ability to monitor all students’ academic achievements. He responded with frustration saying his school is able to afford more student support, rather they choose not to as evident in the billion dollar construction of the school’s second ice hockey arena. I responded discussing the readings we had this week, saying finances are more complicated with tuition and private and public funds complicating the financial structure of the university. He responded claiming that he believed it was simpler than that: it’s related to the fact that his school is a corporation that cares little about its students. He believes his university only cares about how to get students in, not on how to keep them there. I discussed the readings more, telling him about what I have learned. He responded with jealousy, saying he wish he could read more, but after a continued conversation, he concluded by remarking, “well that’s the thing with humanities people. They are all snooty.”
I was amazed from this conversation by how relevant it is to so many of the topics we have and will talk about. Although I think this is an interesting beginning to our conversation on Wednesday and I posted this anecdote in order to start thinking about finances within universities, I would like to focus on his comment of humanity students as being snooty. How could we have had that whole discussion without even considering how a student at a vocational school might perceive us and our education? This insight from a vocational student towards liberal arts students completely opened my eyes to a new part of the discussion I believe we completely avoided. Although we cannot fill in the voices of vocational students, how can we discuss vocational vs liberal arts without discussing “the other?” Ignoring vocational voices within our argument perpetuates the system of liberal arts students being elite, and while I understand this is a true classification, I believe it minimizes the opinions and views of vocational students as obsolete and unworthy. Sorry for how anecdotal this all was, but please let me know what your thoughts on this are!
2 Comments
Brittany
9/30/2015 06:57:00 pm
I can really relate to this, because my own parents thought I was 'snooty' when I was going to Oberlin! Part of this, I think, is that they had a hard time accepting that education could be so rewarding in an immediate sense and not just in a preparing-to-make-money sense.
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Elena
10/3/2015 12:38:15 pm
The emphasis on teaching humility is so interesting, especially since I always think of Harvard as a snooty school. I think that teaching humility offers a whole other dimension to this conversation because so much of our discussion a few weeks ago really was based around a snobbish liberal arts framework.
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Steven VolkI'm a professor of History at Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH) where I also direct the Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence (CTIE) Archives
November 2015
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