Blog Assignment #8 Delbanco

Ok, I am assuming I have a little bit of “free reign.” Professor Delbanco’s presentation pointed out a topic of interest for me. What amazed me, and what I did not know was that President Lincoln did not have any formal education. However, his ideas conveyed in his writings show that he was a man of great intellect and great emotional intelligence. So, this forces me to wonder why I have to pay 40 grand a year at Ursinus College. What is the point? Lincoln did not need any of this to be considered a great person, and to be honest, there are many people who have an education that I would not consider being great intellects. There are those who would say one of the following about college education: 1) the topics picked up for college education are crucial for a job, 2) college makes the student well rounded, especially in a liberal arts setting (I hear this all the time since I have been at UC), and finally 3) It is not what you learn or pick up at college that is beneficial, but rather the credentials, the status of being a member of the elite. I am of the opinion that the first 2 can be easily refuted, and that the 3rd is the most pertinent reason why people go to college. Most of the information I learn in school, and this is true for most, is 1) either not relative to the job wished to be pursued or 2) information that is irrelevant nonetheless and quickly forgotten. Apprenticeship, an idea foreign to society now, is a more practical means of learning the important stuff. Going further, I could say that although college may or may not make a person well rounded, a far cheaper and more practical alternative would be to read at one’s will. I can buy a lot of books with 160,000 dollars. So this leaves me to the idea that schooling is, for the most part, all about credentials. So, what got our society in this position---why are the college educated seen as superior? If Lincoln was around at present day, he would be laughed at for having no credibility.