Literature, Philosophy and Choices - Why Education Matters

I am undertaking an undergraduate degree in literature and philosophy next year, as this video explained why I love the two subjects so much.

[jimkirk]

Despite my 40 years, your videos have enriched my perspective in general. You seem wise beyond your age, and I think you'll do exceedingly well in all of your chosen endeavors.

[officiallycaitlin]

I was awestruck when you said that books were a virtual reality! It blew my mind

[brownhairedgirl]

You’re got a lot more grit than most people in your age demographic, me including (I’m turning 20, this July!). To be able to think these things and have these opinions and notions are somewhat quite relatable to people like me, but the ways in which you’ve expressed them are definitely beyond your years. I have just started college in March and then had to study online, due to the pandemic, but I can definitely agree that education is so important. Our perspectives will continue to change because of the experiences we live out in life, and whether ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ or desirable/not, make us who we are and who we will become. Keep all this up :D Subscribed!

[wrinkleintime]

It’s so interesting to hear someone talk about going into college exactly 1 year after graduating with a Comparative literature BA!
I was definitely a very academically inclined teenager, though I’ve always had trouble with reading due to adhd and information processing issues. I’ve always been a good reader, high reading level, tracked into honours and AP, very good at writing (Better than with speaking) etc. So of course I went to college planning to double major in both neuroscience and English lit. I ended up studying comparative literature and education instead due to health (mental and physical) and money issues getting in the way. I definitely did not have the usual college experience : never partied, or went out, or drank or even made that many friends. I was working all the time, I needed a job to stay in school and that job was actually pretty life changing!
I was a reading mentor for a literacy development program : we went to urban elementary schools and tutored kids with low reading levels. By low I mean 5th graders who read at 1-2 grade levels, many kids also didn’t know English yet. My minor in Ed was an interesting juxtaposition to hardcore liberal arts studies because it made me realise some terrible things about academia and the reality of the education system as a whole. There is a lot of elitism in academia and many narratives are lost because someone was not able to write them down or study at a university, especially the histories of non European people!
I also learned that getting to study literature was an incredibly privileged thing! I find a lot of value in studying literature and arts, but I would be a liar if I didn’t say that I sometimes feel like I wasted my time :’) Mostly because I became more sensitive to injustices in education and how we OVER value academic education. Many times the best way to experience life is to live life! There are experiences you cannot get from books, like getting to meet kids and their families, the sacrifices and struggles. I’m the first in my family to go to uni and graduate and from a community where all my friend were in the same place. Most of the knowledge that was passed on to me came from real people in real situations, and I never partied or drank in college ;)

I always think about going back to uni to get a masters or PhD in literature since I miss getting to read and discuss lit, but my heart pulled me in another direction and I’m getting a Master’s in teaching, so I can become an elementary or middle school teacher, hopefully a middle school English teacher! I was put off from how exclusionary hard core academia is and how we learn more times from actually being in communities and learning from each other. Also my interests sort of gravitated more towards social justice than just the study of literature.
I feel like we need less elitism in academia and more incorporating the narratives and experiences of people who would otherwise be silenced, especially people of color. That’s one thing I learned in my ed classes : studying something as an academic is different from living those experiences. I can read about Cuba during Castro’s regime in books about Cuba, but they will pale in comparison to my dad telling me about his time in the army cutting down sugar cane and escaping to the US on a sinking fishing boat. Just like we can research how kids in poor communities cannot read well but we never experience the things kids are learning orally from their families, elders, communities and lived experiences. Reading is important but not accessible to everyone. I think a lot about older people in my family and the things they’ve taught me and some never learned how to read! And the kids I taught who had dyslexia, or English wasn’t their first language and how brilliant they still were. We need to start putting more value into knowledge that comes from outside college studies and how important those experiences are!

Literary and philosophy studies are still incredibly important though and I think we definitely need to put more effort and money into humanities studies than we already do! There is so much beauty and importance in reading and studying literature- and literature includes films, visual art, poetry, music and oral histories! During Comp lit studies we really got delve deep into more mediums than just written literature. All important to study and to include who we can in the hopes that better understanding of experiences can help us shape the world we live in.
So I wish you lots of luck in your literature studies! I’m so excited for you and the things you will learn! But don’t be scared to live a little and learn a little from the real world too ;) and stay critical about the education system itself and how academics can work towards being more inclusive of all narratives! Think about what is being left out as much as what you are learning. Like you said, thinking critically! The wonderful thing about literature students is the ability to listen to other’s narratives! Which is why I still feel like it is so important even if the system itself is flawed.
So, Go forth and do wonderful things! 🙌

[heranzekarias]

Although your field of study might be a minority, what you talk about is relevant to every single field of study. What you teach us are the essentials for not only school but life. Thanks man.

[gwendolyn]

I highly recommend to take a Communications class in college. I did it out of necessity of a credit and wasn't expecting to learn so much about myself in that class, Its so useful and eyeopening and i think it will help aide anyone looking to go down this intellectual journey in not only being able to give out a message to someone but we were also taught about body language, cultural languages, and most importantly how to Receive a message from another . 10/10 Recommend.

[midnightmoonlight]

"literature is a virtual reality machine... you are accessing other people's experiences, you are accessing experiences beyond yourself, which is hard to get."

[babyfacekillah]

I agree with your point that people need a critical thinking faculty. However, I believe this can be attained in multiple ways, and not just through reading books. One example of how critical thinking could be achieved is through listening to long video essays. Although video analyses are riddled with bias and other people's interpretations, there is still merit! It can really help create foundations for people to base their ideas on if they just don't know where to start. When I watch video essays about my favorite philosophers and other people's interpretations of them, it reveals a lot of insight to me that I might have passed over if I read it. Why should we privilege one form of media over the other? Doesn't the act of listening to a video still contain the same amount of significance and validity as the act of reading a book?

[andhereismyspout]

This is /brilliant/!
This is a kind of wisdom that most young people (myself included) would never have gained at your age.
I also appreciate the way that you take stands on avoiding harmful things in your life that may be "popular" but the way you have an intelligent and intentional reason behind those decisions, because if other people look down on those decisions, having an intelligent and wise reason behind them gives you security against their judgement, if that makes sense? Sometimes we do the right thing without thinking on a deeper level about our reasoning for that thing.

[jaredengland]

I love how youtube gives us the perspective of young people. Good work brutha

[amadexmilby]

I'm 28 years old and the ideas you are talking about with changing how see thing and having a different perspective is something I started thinking about until the last couple of months. I realized that I have never had an independent thought in my life until all this stuff with the pandemic, (which I won't get into). When I was still in college towards the end I was just getting into moral philosophy. This video is proof that you can start a journey at whatever point in life.

[aliyah]

I just adore the way that you speak with passion and the way you talk about topics that matter to you. <3 keep it up, I look forward to more of these videos. You make me wanna study literature and philosophy now.

[socratesandstorybooks]

I have an English and Philosophy BA . I love them both too! There is so much hidden treasure in them.

[ljkuhlman]

On your point to actions and consequences I usually try to explain it to people as deviations from point of origin. In that moment of time and space, you can't see the difference of the paths from the decision and consequence, but expand the line (or path) out in time and space (say 5 years) and the points on those lines are a vast distance apart. Thanks for the vid R.C. Waldun. I'm impressed by your maturity and conclusions you've come to this early in your life.

[jethrobodine]

I'm 62 and have always been a reader. I went to community college for 2 years but never got my degree. I'm not saying that's good. I'm not saying it's bad. I was lower working class, had to pay my own tuition, and lived at home in the rural farming community I grew up in, about 10 or 15 miles away. I had to drive the old junker my Dad gave me, that was constantly breaking down. I love the liberal arts, but majoring in them would've been an extravagance I couldn't afford, in the eyes of my class and culture.

I read philosophy, literature, pop fiction, some science, anything that will give me insight into what I call "my well-being", a thing I have yet to define in any clear or simple way. I'm drawn to Existentialism, not as an academic subject to be understood "correctly", but as a constellation of ideas and perspectives that explore the inner person and his relation to his world. Three of my favorite authors are Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, and Peter Straub. I don't just read. I think. I ponder. Many, I'm sure, believe I think too much. But I'll think as much as I want.

I may be wrong, but I don't think much of what you're say will resonate with people your age. I'm not trying to flatter you, just stating frankly, that "you're rare". I don't suppose you even want to be. The life of the outlier is hard. Good luck to you on your learning journey. I'm not going to tell you it'll be easy. But I think it'll yield great rewards. I'm still on my mine. I still have a lot to learn.

[gjori]

I know this is a very serious and thoughtful video. I'm new to this channel, and even with all this great advice, I just cannot get over the fact that you said "Doing alcohol."

[leonardab]

Simple but very on-point perspective, and eloquently delivered. I wish more young people (and older generation as well) were as excited as this guy about learning and education.

[badlove]

could you make a video comprising a list of books youve read and how do you get to know which to read now and the nexts? how and when did you start your intellectual journey?

[shirleyvaleriatian]

I love your ideas about literature and philosophy and strongly agree with what you say about our society. I am a high school student from China and am really interested in stuff like literature, philosophy or current events as well. I think it would be even better if you can make your videos or ideas into a podcast so that people can listen to it whenever they want to and your voice is really nice to listen as well.

[lute]

Ive been watching a lot of your videos. You’re a very impressive young man. As much as I appreciate your passion and perspective, I am equally surprised by how early in life you’ve found it. Judging by the path you seem to be on I’d say you’re going to have a rich and beautiful life. Thanks for sharing some of it with all of us. Take care, and keep it up 👍