By Jim Nichols

It is unfair to challenge the opinion of an unknown person since that person cannot make a defense. It was just an internet rant turned into a meme, after all. It was offensive and incomplete enough, however, that it deserves some pushback. 

The reader may be aware that there is a high amount of criticism today concerning education—education at any level including elementary, secondary, or college level. Much of this criticism has a clear political slant to it, but that is not the focus here. The focus instead is on academic content. It can be approached from two directions. One is the responsibility of parents compared to that of the schools and the second deals with the basic purpose of college higher education in the first place.

The internet meme presents in bold terms a criticism of the existence of a high school requirement of Algebra II. The broader criticism, however, was of other required courses that the meme writer found useless in later life. Although I have not worked with a quadratic equation since college, I, and other students (in that course and others), developed neuronal pathways and work habits that have been profitable all my life. The meme writer believes that the Algebra II requirement (and others like it) should be replaced by such courses as “. . . financial fundamentals including salaries, credit, budgeting, taking out a loan, careers, debt, buying a house, and filing taxes.” We would all agree that these are important tools for adult life. One wonders, however, if those life skills are not primarily the responsibilities of parents and guardians rather than schools. Much of that is also learned from after-school and summer jobs.

A recent printed prayer request was from a teacher of 15-year-olds. The teacher estimated that 70-85% of the class time was “social/emotional/relational, and experiential.” What time remains for Algebra II or Shakespeare?

Education critics need to re-aim their arrows not at what is occurring between eight in the morning to three in the afternoon M-F, but at what is occurring (or not) during the other times. Professional educators have wonderful skills; let us not ask them to be parents in addition.

To the second point, there are voices questioning the value of a college education. Once again, pragmatism is a major player in the questions. 

The tension is clear and loud. Students attend college for two reasons—to learn and develop skills that will allow them to have a career that makes them enough money to live and, at the same time, to allow them to find meaning and purpose in life. The first of these reasons is prominent and self-evident; the second is more subtle, but at least as important. Even before choosing a college major, students begin to feel a pull between these two goals. When a student expresses an interest in pursuing the humanities, social sciences, or the fine arts, he or she might receive the predictable holiday dinner question: “What are you going to do with that?” It sounds more like a knockdown question than a helpful one. With eighteen- and nineteen-year-old students caught in this tension, it is no wonder there is a mental-health crisis on campuses.

The need for financial certainty is clearly legitimate and education should help us achieve it. On the other hand, too many parents and students see college as simply a means to secure a lucrative job rather than a place to explore. 

Entering college should be a fantastic but fleeting period when the world opens to a student in unimaginable ways. Being required (yes, there is that word again) to take courses “outside your major,” sets the stage for thoughts and experiences that are impossible to predict before the first day of class.

My own bias is a hope that these explorations would occur with a religious undergirding of some sort. College students are not little children, but in many ways, they are big children. Having options to investigate but having boundaries simultaneously is the best way to learn.

How much does college cost? How much do graduates make? Was college worth it? 

Seeing higher education simply in financial terms misses a broader goal. Can we help these young people find security in work that is personally meaningful?

It’s not all about the money.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospital chaplain