By RJ Snell, Oct 16, 2009 in Musings, Questions, Pedagogy and Teaching
I grew up on a farm/ranch in Alberta, Canada. The grass isn't particularly great there, at the intersection of high plains, foothills, and brush.
A constant question for the rancher concerns the holding capacity of the pasture. How many head of cattle can a certain bit of range hold so as to provide sustenance for the cattle without damaging the future growth and land? There is a constant tension, then, between immediate productivity and future sustainability.
I see a certain analogy here to liberal education. Of course we aim to assist the knowledge, marketability, earnings potential, social mobility, etc. of our students (especially at a school like mine where we have many students who are the first generation to attend college). College serves the good of order.
But at the same time, I bitterly oppose the professionalism of college which replaces "good work, citizenship, and membership" with "social mobility" (Wendell Berry).
What is the holding capacity of my student's souls? How much ought I push them towards knowledge, towards mobility, towards graduate school, towards bettering themselves, when I know full well much of that mobility comes at the cost of good work, citizenship, membership or their own families and communities? Certainly I'm convinced many graduates with their new degrees in "entrepreneur studies" fully intend to violate the holding capacity of our economy, of the land, of community, of religious teaching, of moderation, of wholeness.
When should a university demand a stop? when does it say "enough"?
2 Responses to "Turning Students Into Farmers"
Lee Trepanier on Oct 16, 2009
It's a difficult balancing act, and it is something that I struggle with my students too. On the one hand, you want them to become better citizens and scholars; on the other hand, you do feel an obligation to them so they are able to survive when they leave your program. Generally speaking, I focus on the first part and only on the second, if the student is willing to meet me half-way on it (shows initiative). Of course, these things have to be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Gabriel Martinez on Oct 22, 2009
I agree with both RJ and Lee. I see this particularly in my field of economics. Many students major in Econ because they really wanted to major in business (or entrepreneur studies), and we don't have that major. But economists typically think that Econ is interesting in itself, as a liberal pursuit. We are rather disgusted when people ask us to predict the stock market. We would want students to go into economics because they love it, whatever the consequences.
I typically throw them a bone :-), meaning that I try to show them how this set of equations (which is so fantastically cool that you could just nerd-out over it for the next seven years) has some relevance to what they are interested in. "Hey, this is a problem that you've heard about at the Thanksgiving dinner table: here's a way to think about it."
But then I try to make up for this, and encourage their liberal-ed side, by being extraordinary enthusiastic about the nerdiest things.