It struck me back in college that the essential goal of education is critical thinking, whatever the “major” which naturally leads to efficient problem solving. That’s what employers want: they have a problem and they need you, whatever you do for them, to solve it.
I’ve now attended two Universities, one in the United States (Florida Atlantic University) and the other in west Africa (the University of Benin). There was—and perhaps still is—a marked difference in the students’ approach to scholarship. In the US, a vein of “un-seriousness” or mirth pervaded the atmosphere, a certain attachment to the gaiety expected of being away at college.
UniBen—as we called the University of Benin—students were, on the other hand, suffused through with a responsibility to their parents. They seemed to understand that a lot was expected of them, that jobs obtained after college were predicated on graduating with an excellent score. In fact, this atmosphere of seriousness began even before they were admitted. In my case, for example, I had to get high marks in pre-admittance grueling examinations that lasted several weeks.
So with this in mind, it is not altogether unexpected to read that an unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn’t learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication skills assumed to be at the core of a college education. In addition, it found that students spent 51 per cent of of their time—about 85 hours a week—socializing or in extracurricular activities.
Regardless, I believe Logic, as a course of study in and of itself, should be required for every year students spend in college.
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