John Bozeman, PhD
Aug 22, 2017 · 1 min read

Junaid’s analysis may contain a flaw in its premise in that he assumes that “education” is a single thing which must be governed by a single paradigm, which can either be mile-stone based or more individualistic and free-form. I think that it would be better to realize that that there are a lot of different forms of education, and that different people have different needs, temperaments, and goals. One person may want to form a meaningful long-term philosophy of life, while another is primarily interested in acquiring immediately-useful marketable skills. Both goals, I would argue, are honorable ones.

Part of this confusion may be of our own making: a person can earn something called an “accredited bachelors degree” from an ivy league school, from a religious institution, or from a vocationally-oriented technical college. However the focus of the degree will vary tremendously in terms of the assumptions of the educational institution, the program of study, and the underlying goals and intent of the student. This confusion can be a weakness in that it is confusing to a new student trying to chart a path to the degree. However it is also a strength in that it also allows interdisciplinary mobility that would not be possible in a more logically structured system.

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    John Bozeman, PhD

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    Educator and occasional philosopher