3 posts tagged “education”
I'm a little late writing about this topic, but I've been trying to figure out exactly how I feel.
When Columbia University agreed to let Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speak to some students, I think the University President was out of bounds to introduce him to the crowd the way he did. Calling out his guest's (because Ahmadinejad was a guest) record - both documented and unsubstantiated - and essentially calling the man a monster was no way to introduce him.
I always thought the whole premise of academic freedom has been to accept a variety of facts varying opinions and form one's own conclusions from that information. I'm actually rather embarrassed that he was treated so callously.
Look, I don't agree with what the man says, but I also don't believe I get the full story. So much of the news is delivered in sound bites and three-second tags that it's almost impossible to get the full story unless you happen to be there yourself. But I do happen to agree that the University President was rude in his introduction.
If this is what interesting speakers (and by interesting, I mean people with ideas, opinions, and possibly histories that differ from the masses) can expect as a guest lecturer, I shudder to think of how many minds will be conditioned to remain closed and not be allowed to grow and thrive.
Show us something that you are saving or budgeting for.
Submitted by foxsydee.
This is the more immediate (within 3 years) need:
This is the ultimate goal:
The above photos illustrate where the bulk of my money is likely to be spent for the next 22 years.
My neighbor at work starts up classes again next week. She's going to school part time for fashion design, and she's so excited about her classes and everything. It really makes me miss school.
Now, don't get me wrong - I've definitely got enough on my plate with a new baby coming, and we've definitely got enough upcoming expenses with the baby coming, too. And I'm really not interested in fashion design (I can barely put together a scrapbook page without consulting my color wheel). But there's this part of me that wistfully recalls my crazy days going to school full-time while I worked full-time... and was somehow insane enough to think that I needed a part time job on top of that during my second year. Hmmm...
The thing is, I like learning. I love to read, I love to discuss ideas and hear others' points of view. I like writing papers and, in some weird way, I like taking tests. Test-taking is like having an excuse to show off how much you know. Mind you, I didn't think this way when I was in high school and forced to take tests in subjects I didn't care about (biology, chemistry, physics, and all mathematics, for example), but I enjoyed it while working on my MBA.
Of course, my graduate experience is different from undergrad and earlier experiences, only because this time around, it was a choice that I made. Doing well in grad school was also important to me not because I wanted to make my parents proud but because I wanted to really learn this stuff and get a better job!
So, I miss school. I miss having a structured week with classes, homework, reading assignments, syllabi and tests. But I promised myself that I wouldn't go back to school until my kids are in late elementary or middle school, once they're old enough to understand and appreciate my choice to continue my education. My mother set the example of a constant thirst for knowledge for my sister and me; I'd like to make sure I set a similar tone for my kids, too.
