I Teach the Humanities, and I Still Don’t Know What Their Value Is

T. A. Gardner said:
They generally don't. But many women do go to college to find a suitable husband. It is a valid strategy for that purpose too. It isn't a "snotty comment" but a rational one. If you were a female and wanted to get married to a reliable, productive, and well-off man, chances are much greater of finding one on a college campus than in a dive bar. Getting a liberal arts education to put yourself in a better position at the same time is a double win.
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Sorry, but few -- if any -- women take out massive amounts of debt just to hang out on a university campus and catch a man. Yep, sometimes ppl meet in college, but more often they put off serious relationships until after graduation, whether they are male or female.

It is misogynistic to the extreme to claim that's why women go to college. Guess what, Bubba? Women with an education don't NEED a husband. Oh, and dig this:

Women Continue to Outnumber Men in College Completion
The number of women pursuing higher education has increased steadily over the last 40 years, outpacing men in both college enrollment and graduation.

Per the above, "...women accounted for nearly 60% of all college students by the end of the 2021-2022 academic year."
 
T. A. Gardner said:
And, there it is from someone with a lifetime of experience folks! Right from the insano's own mouth, so-to-speak...
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I didn't take psychology until college and, yes, the military gave me a lot of insight into spotting people ill-suited to serve.

You, Terry, have problems. You know it but refuse to admit it. By your actions and posts, you are erasing all the good you did in your service to our nation.
 
Cypress said:
You said Einstein wasn't philosophy.

A philosophy of science is not an undergraduate elective philosophy class. At best, it's an upper division class only philosophy majors might take.

A class about Einstein's philosophy of science would put people in the chairs, even non-philosophy majors if presented as a survey course.

If you want to save philosophy departments, you do not need to worry about upper division classes only a handful of philosophy majors take. You need interesting survey course electives that would appeal to the college Community at large.
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Correct, but she's clearly irrational.

Both philosophy and humanities classes have a place in higher education. A class in each should be part of any core college degree just like a basic economics, math and general science class should be part of their education. The old term was "well-rounded education". I don't know what they call it these days, if anything.

While specialization is important in a highly complex society where very few people can know everything, I also agree with Robert Heinlein: "Specialization is for insects." He was a libertarian who understood the need for civilization and society but also understood the need for self-sufficiency. Having a well-rounded education is part of that self-sufficiency.


"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
-- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love.
 
Doc Dutch said:
Correct, but she's clearly irrational.

Both philosophy and humanities classes have a place in higher education. A class in each should be part of any core college degree just like a basic economics, math and general science class should be part of their education. The old term was "well-rounded education". I don't know what they call it these days, if anything.

While specialization is important in a highly complex society where very few people can know everything, I also agree with Robert Heinlein: "Specialization is for insects." He was a libertarian who understood the need for civilization and society but also understood the need for self-sufficiency. Having a well-rounded education is part of that self-sufficiency.


"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
-- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love.
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Agreed. We might as well just have vocational schools if all you want to do is teach engineering principles to students.

A broad based liberal education made me a better writer, a better thinker, a better citizen, regardless of what my major was.

If philosophy departments want to survive, they can't have old boring guys like that professor you had, teaching about old dead Europeans. They need to update and rethink themselves.
 
Cypress said:
You said Einstein wasn't philosophy.


A philosophy of science is not an undergraduate elective philosophy class. At best, it's an upper division class only philosophy majors might take.

A class about Einstein's philosophy of science would put people in the chairs, even non-philosophy majors if presented as a survey course.

If you want to save philosophy departments, you do not need to worry about upper division classes only a handful of philosophy majors take. You need interesting survey course electives that would appeal to the college Community at large.
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You really do not know what philosophy of science is. Did you ever attend college?
 
Cypress said:
Agreed. We might as well just have vocational schools if all you want to do is teach engineering principles to students.

A broad based liberal education made me a better writer, a better thinker, a better citizen, regardless of what my major was.

If philosophy departments want to survive, they can't have old boring guys like that professor you had, teaching about old dead Europeans. They need to update and rethink themselves.
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Agreed about vocational schools. They are great at what they do, produce trained workers, but are weak on the "liberal arts" side. I dislike those that charge college rates for such a skill such as ATI: https://auto.edu/programs/

When I first decided upon a retirement career as a welder, I looked at the schools. They didn't want to talk on the phone but insisted I stop to see them. That should have been my first clue they were rip-off artists. They wanted $26K for a welding training class of 1 year and offered a loan that was from a bank, not the college. I saw young late teens and twenty somethings signing up for an education that cost me $5000 in classes and about $1300 in gas over the course of two nights a week for a year and a quarter. Unlike my previous education, all we did was weld. Schools like ATI push classes over skills, which is completely contrary to what the students need.

My first big project was a trebuchet. Is a wider understanding of the world why so many blue collar workers, even though who went to a vocational school, end up hating anyone who has a more well-rounded education?

https://www.thoughtco.com/liberal-arts-definition-4585053
Liberal arts is a field of study based on rational thinking, and it includes the areas of humanities, social and physical sciences, and mathematics. A liberal arts education emphasizes the development of critical thinking and analytical skills, the ability to solve complex problems, and an understanding of ethics and morality, as well as a desire to continue to learn.

Liberal arts are increasingly important in the diversified job market, with employers choosing to hire liberal arts majors because of their ability to handle complex situations and solve problems with ease.

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Doc Dutch said:
Agreed about vocational schools. They are great at what they do, produce trained workers, but are weak on the "liberal arts" side. I dislike those that charge college rates for such a skill such as ATI: https://auto.edu/programs/

When I first decided upon a retirement career as a welder, I looked at the schools. They didn't want to talk on the phone but insisted I stop to see them. That should have been my first clue they were rip-off artists. They wanted $26K for a welding training class of 1 year and offered a loan that was from a bank, not the college. I saw young late teens and twenty somethings signing up for an education that cost me $5000 in classes and about $1300 in gas over the course of two nights a week for a year and a quarter. Unlike my previous education, all we did was weld. Schools like ATI push classes over skills, which is completely contrary to what the students need.

My first big project was a trebuchet. Is a wider understanding of the world why so many blue collar workers, even though who went to a vocational school, end up hating anyone who has a more well-rounded education?

https://www.thoughtco.com/liberal-arts-definition-4585053
Liberal arts is a field of study based on rational thinking, and it includes the areas of humanities, social and physical sciences, and mathematics. A liberal arts education emphasizes the development of critical thinking and analytical skills, the ability to solve complex problems, and an understanding of ethics and morality, as well as a desire to continue to learn.

Liberal arts are increasingly important in the diversified job market, with employers choosing to hire liberal arts majors because of their ability to handle complex situations and solve problems with ease.

884ga2.gif
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Those for-profit private vocational schools look sketchy.

I think a good public community college has a lot of certification programs on vocational careers.
 
BidenPresident said:
You really do not know what philosophy of science is. Did you ever attend college?
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^^^
Trolling.

Why are you so angry all the time, BP? You especially hate men. All the RW dumbasses despise you so you can pat yourself on the back for that, but why do you hate Cypress? He's always been nice and well-thought out.

Why do you continue seeking to provoke him but run from me? That's bullying behavior. Were you bullied, BP? For being "different"?
 
Cypress said:
Those for-profit private vocational schools look sketchy.

I think a good public community college has a lot of certification programs on vocational careers.
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They do. That's where my night classes were; a small community college. The point being all we did was work on our skill set of welding. I can't see the A/C classes, automotive or truck driving classes being any different compared to an AA or AS degree from a community college.
 
Doc Dutch said:
Looks to me like she is losing her faith in her own career. At age 47, she could be having a midlife crisis. Her autism may be a factor in not finding an answer soon.

As for Humanities, it's a good field. Human beings are often trisected into mind, body and spirit. The hard sciences cover the body and spiritual/religious pursuits the spirit. Humanities...and behavioral psychology, covers the mind. <---notice the plug there. LOL


https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/13/agnes-callard-profile-marriage-philosophy
The philosopher, who lives with her husband and her ex-husband....was diagnosed with autism in her thirties.
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in her own career. At age 47, she could be having a midlife crisis. Her autism may be a factor in not finding an answer soon.

As for Humanities, it's a good field. Human beings are often trisected into mind, body and spirit. The hard sciences cover the body and spiritual/religious pursuits the spirit. Humanities...and behavioral psychology, covers t
 
BidenPresident said:
That's where my night classes were; a small
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...?

We had about 10 or less in my night welding classes. I really enjoyed them; I was usually the first one there and the last one to leave. It was a lot of fun. Once I caught myself on fire. No injuries, so you wouldn't be interested.

Not having money for college, and since my one and only Plan A was cancelled by Congress, I continued to live at home, take college full time and work part-time as a clerk in a store. I completed all of this without debt. My dad helped me with a roof over my head, two good meals a day and my auto insurance. Wanting the college experience, I took out a small loan and moved to an out-of-town (90 minutes) small college town (UNC, Greeley, CO) where I continued full-time college, part-time work (same chain) but with a lot more drinking and sex.
 
Doc Dutch said:
...?

We had about 10 or less in my night welding classes. I really enjoyed them; I was usually the first one there and the last one to leave. It was a lot of fun. Once I caught myself on fire. No injuries, so you wouldn't be interested.

Not having money for college, and since my one and only Plan A was cancelled by Congress, I continued to live at home, take college full time and work part-time as a clerk in a store. I completed all of this without debt. My dad helped me with a roof over my head, two good meals a day and my auto insurance. Wanting the college experience, I took out a small loan and moved to an out-of-town (90 minutes) small college town (UNC, Greeley, CO) where I continued full-time college, part-time work (same chain) but with a lot more drinking and sex.
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Not having money for college, and since my one and only Plan A was cancelled by Congress, I continued to live at home, take college full time and work part-time as a clerk in a store. I completed all of this without debt. My dad helped me
 
BidenPresident said:
in her own career. At age 47, she could be having a midlife crisis. Her autism may be a factor in not finding an answer soon.

As for Humanities, it's a good field. Human beings are often trisected into mind, body and spirit. The hard sciences cover the body and spiritual/religious pursuits the spirit. Humanities...and behavioral psychology, covers t
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You're repeating what I wrote, so I readily agree. :thup:
 
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