What is the value of education?

Looking at college tuition now running over 80k/year in many places, I was curious to hear your thoughts on: what is the true value of education in our society? What purpose does it play and how should it be approached or improved? 

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I’d say traditionally, education was viewed mainly as a pathway to acquiring knowledge and skills and was designed to prepare people for professional roles. However, it also entails the holistic development of individuals, cultivating not just intellectual capabilities, but also emotional intelligence and social responsibility.

The ideal education system should foster a desire for learning and critical thinking, encouraging students to be curious, to question, and to explore different fields and ideas. It should not be just about rote memorization or the passive absorption of information, but rather promote active engagement with knowledge, cultivating the ability to analyze, synthesize, and apply it creatively

 

Pre industrial age: to learn something about "life", mainly humanities

Post industrial age: a piece of paper that signals your ability to follow orders from above for a protracted period of time without rebelling too much 

 

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