Higher education is very important for improving our society, inventing new things, and furthering our national interests. Most of the benefits of higher education are long term and lead to creating the wise men/women our nation needs to thrive (We might call them scientists, professors, community supporters, spiritual guides, military experts, business leaders, etc. The people who guide society.) One becomes increasingly aware of the world around them and the beauty of that world. Unfortunately, they also become aware of the dishonesty and selfishness that hold the possibilities of a nation back. Even give away your ideas to others if there is a benefit in doing so thereby squashing future innovation. We have a hard time growing if we don't have the human capital to get there and we can't develop that capital if we close the paths.
Not everyone had a chance to become "educated" and some groups are at a major disadvantage in the educational process. That not only means lost knowledge but also lost skills. Worse, even though there are some potential solutions many times we thwart those advances that draw in different peoples to the world of knowledge for elitism, racial/religious differences, and self interest. The purpose of knowledge is to learn and the purpose of wisdom is to solve but they have nothing to do with one's wealth, except if wealth frees you from the toils of work later in life. As a matter of point, those who have unique backgrounds often learned the most through necessity and the best positioned to teach. Educational Attainment
Thus, opening up access to higher education to encourage the best and brightest to come forward is something that interests me. There are way to many people blocked out from opportunity because they were treated poorly by society or they didn't have the financial resources or wealth to get ahead. To me opening up the pathways in a reasonable and sustainable way is important because all of society can benefit from new ideas and new people taking on leadership positions. There should be greater blending of the new and old to keep the nation growing.
The other thing I'm thinking about is not only how to develop a competency based learning system but also deeper learning through neural development. Education has been shown to change the brain and the way the brain works is less in formal structure then it is in subconscious structure. Current education uses more formal structure but it is possible to use the way the brain thinks on a subconscious level level to further deep learning through neural connectivity (i.e. integrated examples, symbolism, open ended questions the brain must scan the environment to find the answers, interrconnected concepts, self-awareness/development, etc.).
You may want to read about Teaching and Brain Changing. This article just came out but the concept has perculated for 10 years while the tactical idea has been 4+years in the making. Where technology and learning can be matched it could happen but that often depends on commitment to a greater purpose. We keep going back to that in this discussion and education has taught me that not all people are particular interested in advancing society and get stuck in a types of underdeveloped ideologies that hold us all back.
There is a path and a method that seems reasonable to pursue that could change higher education to create long lasting processing and retention of information in a way that enhances people's critical thinking abilities and lives. That of course doesn't mean such ideas will see the light of day because well.....we may not be there socially yet. There are so many factors involved outside of the purpose of education and creating wise men/women in society. As a mentor once told me, "Wouldn't it be great if the purpose of education was education?" I might change that with my experiences to "Wouldn't it be great if the purpose of education was knowledge?" and "The purpose of whole person development with that knowledge is wisdom so to improve our environment?"
What education didn't do for me was change the world. While I believe the world is getting better, stronger, more fair and more noble each passing generation it does have its times when it doesn't feel like that. That doesn't mean everyone is on board with the purpose of education nor knowledge for knowledge sake. Wisdom appears unappealing in some circles. There are some opposed to higher education and some within higher education opposed to non elite opportunity that doesn't cater to wealtheir classes. Me, I feel all people, regardless of background should have opportunities to max out their lives and contribute to society. That perspective is not always appreciated. Sometimes its radically opposed. Empirical Evidence of Wisom
Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in the search of it when he has grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul.
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