He’s for it. As long as the youngsters don’t get any foolish ideas, such as reaching the same pinnacle plateau that Maurice occupies as they amass knowledge, he believes they should continue learning indefinitely.
But not merely in school, he adds. True knowledge–and especially, wisdom and reasoning–seldom emerge from a conventional classroom or textbook, whether in grade school, high school, or the university. Maurice has seen too many allegedly educated persons, even with postgraduate degrees, who cannot even hope to be called knowledgeable and wise beyond their narrow specialties.
Teachers should be among the highest paid workers in the land, Maurice believes. How can it be otherwise? Parents entrust their offspring to these purveyors of learning. Shouldn’t they be the very best, and their individual educators remunerated accordingly?
When it comes to higher education for young people–or young pigs–Mr. Maurice is mystified. Why, he asks, isn’t everyone entitled to the best possible education that can be provided. When he hears what parents have to pay to send a single child through college, Mr. Maurice practically falls off his chair.
Although he himself is a party pig, Maurice has misgivings about the “fun” atmosphere at many universities, where keggers and sundry misbehavior appear to take precedence over diligent study. Still, he realizes that young folks need to “let off steam,” as it were; so he offers them a bit more leeway than would ordinarily be the case.
What really gets Mr. Maurice’s dander up–and he does not like to observe rising dander–is the emphasis on education as preparation for a better job. Now, he would certainly like to see more people get higher-level positions and earn more money. After all, he might find a way to get a cut of their increased earnings.
Regardless, the purpose of education is learning to think and analyze and reason, Maurice insists with unaccustomed passion in his booming voice. If that’s your goal, go to a trade school. Maurice endorses those wholeheartedly. Universities are supposed to function on a loftier plane, in Mr. Maurice’s estimation, and classes are supposed to be difficult and worth the effort. When he hears about the fluffy, innocuous subjects that some students wind up “studying,” the teeny hairs on Maurice’s pelt immediately stand on end.
Mr. Maurice heartily endorses sabbaticals, and not just for college professors. Everyone should get “time off” periodically to study and learn a new subject, in a new place, under new conditions, he insists. Not so they can loaf around in exotic locales, he hastens to add; but to prepare themselves for even greater productivity upon their return.
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