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[eldrad]

I had a talk with a friend over dinner today during which he told me I had changed his view on education through our talks a couple years ago. In particular I'd given him an appreciation for education. In my mind education is not the means to some end, but rather a goal in and of itself. I take classes and do work nearly entirely for the enjoyment

Comments

[skolem_hull]

This makes a lot of sense, but I want to want out that there's some middle ground between your view ("I take classes and do work nearly entirely for the enjoyment of learning...I will also completely drag my heels on assignments which I find (personally or generally) pedagogically fruitless") and "view of education as a means to increased money."

My personal attitude is that education is valuable for its own sake, but nonetheless on the rare occasion when I'm asked to carry out a worthless assignment, I will usually do so. (Not so much in the interest of "increased money," but rather in the interest of a successful future as an academic. These are similar in that they're both special cases of doing something which is not pedagogically useful as a means to some end.)

I wouldn't claim that my attitude is superior to yours, however. I think it's good for me, but it's not the case that an attitude which is better for one person is better for everyone else. (Though I probably do believe that placing some value on education "as its own fruit" is a good attitude for everyone or almost everyone.)