Debating higher education

There is currently a major debate in the United Kingdom about the question of tuition fees for university. It seems that universities in England and Wales will be charging around £6000+ per year. This raises the crucial question of how to pay for tertiary education and how widely available it should be. Political parties are, predictably, doing their best to score points against their opponents but beneath this political cross-fire is an emerging public debate on the definition, purpose and value of a university education.

Various positions are being played out in the letters pages of the ‘quality’ newspapers. For example, the value of technical (vocational) education is juxtaposed with the value of education in the traditional academic subjects. Also,  the relationship between higher education and the world of work allows some to call for an increased role for employers in setting the agenda for higher education.

This is an opportunity for a wide-ranging debate on the value of a good education per se and not simply as a training ground for employment. It is a time to set out the value of the humanities and sciences as a field of nurture for the human mind and soul and to share this vision with the political class. To do this requires a degree (no pun intended) of both courage and prudence allied with well-stocked arguments. There is no shortage of good reading material: why not start with ‘The Idea of a University’ by John Henry Newman.

Education: a serious business

Many schools today seek to make the school environment and the process of learning one of fun. While we should all vote in favour of fun and laughter in its rightful place–-and the school is one of the rightful places-–-this should not blind us to the serious nature of education as a process of proper human formation.

The profession of educator is one of the key links in the chain of civilised behaviour. How many teachers would see themselves as such today? It is time to reclaim the ground from those who describe the educator solely as one who teaches skills or who trains the student in the how to pass public examination. The educator is fundamentally the one who leads the child into the wider world of ideas and who introduces the student to the joy of learning through reading, reading and reading again.

The rediscovery of the joy of deep learning is one of many educational challenges we face today. Modern educators must lead by example and immerse themselves in the world of ideas, especially the history and philosophy of education. This will be a key step in reclaiming the 'lost world' of the liberal arts and sciences for our children.