Higher education is not about getting a job | Fred D'Agostino | TEDxUQ

Many people think the point of higher education is economic: graduates get better paying jobs and the economy gets the knowledge-workers it needs. But, there is another story. There is a role for higher education in skilling-up citizens so they can play an active and effective role in a democratic society. Hear from political philosopher, Professor Fred D'Agostino as he shares numerous examples of this alternative story.

Fred D'Agostino is Professor of Humanities at The University of Queensland and was Executive Dean of Arts and Associate Dean of Arts (Academic) during his ten-year stint at UQ. He is a philosopher, author of four books, sometime editor of the journals Australasian Journal of Philosophy and Politics, and Philosophy and Economics. He co-edited the recent Routledge Companion to Political and Social Philosophy. A member of the UQ Senate for four years, he is interested in the purposes and processes of higher education. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and has held Australian Research Council and Australian Learning and Teaching Council grants. His next big project is on "the disciplines" (e.g. History, Sociology) and how they work.

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[jewelleglasgow]

Agreed higher education is not only about getting a good job. It should make for a more informed individual who can think critically and yet a more robust democracy. But I don't necessarily think it would make a more civil society because everyone does not have the same moral capacity. Hence some would use the added knowledge for good and others wouldn't. Thus not necessarily a civil society

[zabiqargha]

Let's make universities free of charge.

[jamesgreen]

They should give college graduates the decision to serve in the betterment of society...government, social work, education and so forth in exchange there school loans should be taking care of also they should pay them for 4 years in this position....now I don't know why this proposal would be a problem if it wasn't about money and for the betterment of democracy. Everything's about money!

[palmamingozzi]

A wonderful speech and am learning firsthand the experience of college.

[maximusprime]

I get that to be educated means to get involved with politics and be more aware. However how powerful and how aware are you going to be if your up your neck in debt and broke.

[theboss]

An easy fix would be to stop requiring one for a job, outside of being a doctor. Even then it should be right into med school for those folks. Add the technical into high school and make it 5 years and more rigorous with co-op. Every job can be ultimately learned at your place of employment, this is how its done regardless of college anyway. Then no one can take issue with this point of view. We would all agree.

[naimulIslam]

The comment boxes are adorable. No India Pakistan.
Just praising of pure music.

[destryed]

Higher education is NOT ONLY about getting a job, that i agree. Certainly one of the purpose is to get a job. 

[cutinapearson]

Very informative lecture. I never thought about it in a sense of democracy, but I understand.

[kynchan]

The macro element is often rooted in plenty of theory. No one knows for certain how an idea once developed will perform in the economy, a professor can surmise. But until it is launched no one knows.

Frequent testing is required and that is often best done in the marketplace.

To think you can only learn in university and no where else is a fallacy many professors have. If that were the case the only innovation would happen at university and no where else. You can learn as you work and most people do. Try to improve something and you will learn, try to make something more cheaply, faster and from alternative materials and you will learn. Try something new and you learn.

[gumerzambrano]

why dont these college videos get more views ?!?!

[proad]

8:10 PROCESSES! Is there such a thing as a single procesis?

[larryalobo]

Part of the problem is that higher education does not foster multiple points of views to be a democratic citizen.  Most professors are liberals, communists, socialists, atheists, and vote most often for candidates to the left or way left of the average American.  Many rules and policies of colleges and universities are liberal or left, PC (politically correct) often anti traditional, conservative views and values.  Free speech has areas and sometimes times of day or week you can use the areas for other than the thinking of the left so free speech is shut down and often it takes a law suit for colleges to allow free speech since they are overly concerned with hurting the feelings of some and offend some (good debate of ideas will necessarily offend some people but we can't have that).  The ideal of higher education being for cultivating minds for a democracy is not supported by all the actions of colleges and their staff especially faculty.  Colleges have become indoctrination seminaries for the thinking of the left, democratic party, extreme left ideas and practices.  Buyers be ware.

[youngidealist]

It's about initiation rights, hazing rituals, and getting into debt 😄 and that's just the classes.

[TheRealMJTheOneAndOnly]

An open and free public higher education could first and foremost serve as a learning centre much more than "shaping individuals", if you want to shape individuals, you start at kindergarten teaching accurate topics and less brainwashing material. Any education, higher or not, serves as a model in which students learn how skills to handle the society they are given or born into, the issue then becomes when the school or university sees the student as a modeling agent for their academia, instead of an unique individual with unique views of the world and unique utopias. Shaping individuals for a base down rotten democracy and the neoliberalism capitalistic system is what happens now and it's not working. Hopefully the "new world" you talk about serves as an example of this old method's failure and does a better job at helping people achieve LEARNING goals, that will serve them in the future, both at life, politics, economics and jobs. The best way to model an individual to do your bidding of a better democracy is to serve by example, academia and higher university these days are examples on hierarchic systems in which the individuals must PAY to be a part of.

[westlock]

It would be nice if an arts degree really did skill-up (What an ugly phrase!) citizens, but between falling academic standards and instructors who are determined to impose their personal political views on their classes, a modern BA degree is often just a glorified high school diploma.

[MsMikuHatsume]

This video is bogus. What a crock of nonsense. If you want an education, get it from the Internet and books. You have no reason to waste money in a college for an education since it offers you nothing that can't be learned on your own. Besides, getting a college degree doesn't make you more money. Having skills gets you more money, and not a worthless degree. School doesn't teach you critical thinking. School just teaches you obedience. Remember, don't let your schooling interfere with your education.  The more time you spend in school does NOT necessarily make you more educated. Self-education is far more important thing than learning nonsense from school.

[havek]

For instance, going to the business/management school at a university... and being taught how to use SAP, is not really the best use of your time. Yes, companies use SAP and a lot would like you to know how to use it, but you should first understand what its being used for, why it's better than what was previously used, where are the future segments for improvement? Then learn SAP as an elective or on your own in a club or on YouTube. Don't just make every required business course: "Accounting in SAP", "SAP's Supply Chain Management", etc.

[berrybares]

Essentially it is only select university experiences which are worth running up a debt for. Universities are money making ventures and are not stepping to the podium to  create  in students acuity and cultivate full expression and belief systems

[mpking-eyys]

Higher education IS about getting a job. If not, just go down to the public library and get some books to read, you will get free higher education.
If you need a reading list, just reply with your interest, I or other viewers here can recommend some for you. Then you can use Facebook to form an interest group, for discussions, further learning ideas, etc. With these experience and knowledge you can participate in the democratic process of a civil society, you don't need university for this.
And here's something else I learned not from university, just because you can string some words together fluently, it doesn't mean that you are right.