Garrett James
Senior Educational Consultant with BDZ Education. Over 25 years in higher education administration. ArchivesCategories |
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What is the value of education?8/21/2022 No one ever thinks of education and the whole educational machine as a business. Well it is. It is probably the most misunderstood business concepts globally. When people speak of education, school, university, etc., the initial thought that comes to mind is usually of two types: 1. What is the value or worth of the institution? 2. What is the cost to attend? Why do we consider the value or worth of an institution as opposed to the value or worth of the individual who will be attending? What I'm getting at is many global institutions have elevated themselves to the status of king maker. The decider of who becomes who. And most often these decisions are based on qualities and realities totally unrelated to the value of the individual, but rather the net value the resources the individual will bring to the institution. You don't need to look much further than the huge scandal that involved many high profile people in the US and Canada. Securing places for the untalented kids in "amazing" schools for a price. These kids' value was their parents money. Blinded by the money, the ones that truly need and deserve the education are left to fend for themselves. Often giving up on an education dream due to lack of resources. And there, the value of the individual is reduced to the resources or money they can bring to the table. As a result, the brightest and best or not truly the brightest and the best, but only those that had the resources to get through the door. What if the educational machine stopped being a business, and became a general service for all? After all the true value of education is not how much the degree or diploma cost, but what it does for the individual. Consider the cost for a college student to become a plumber or electrician. Many would look down their noses at such professions and would not see much "value" in the education. But then consider the cost for someone to go through school and elevate themselves to be a teacher or nurse. Most likely those that spent the 4 to 6 years in school to become a teacher or nurse will never earn what a plumber or electrician would make. So why do we have such an obtuse opinion of the value of education? Why is it necessary to place more value over university degrees to college or vocational school diplomas? Should we not look at the value of education in terms of the individual and what education can do for them? Is the business of education a true representation of society? Or has it become a simple way to create and differentiate those who can and those who can't? A quick look at the high salaries of university administration and teaching ranks shows you just what the "value" of education is... List of university president and professor salaries: 1. https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/2021/05/08/highest-paid-university-presidents/ 2.www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-public-universities-run-by-highest-paid-presidents 3. www.macleans.ca/education/uniandcollege/top-10-highest-paid-university-officials-in-canada/ 4. bog.ubc.ca/accountability-at-ubc/canadian-university-compensation-comparators/ 5. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/sunshine-list-ontario-university-1.4050452 6. https://higheredstrategy.com/faculty-salary-data-2020-21/ 7.www.theguardian.com/education/2019/feb/12/vice-chancellors-pay-universities-england-2017-18 8.thetab.com/uk/2020/01/21/see-how-your-uni-vice-chancellors-pay-compares-to-everyone-elses-139325 You can search more and find more...
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