This ain’t your parents’ university!
Canwest Media recently reported on Statistics Canada’s analysis of the results of a UBC study that indicated that university graduates today are less literate than graduates of generations past:
“While literacy among the general population improved between 1994 and 2003, those in the upper echelons of education were not as literate as graduates a decade earlier, the federal agency said Monday.
“This may point to an education system that is doing better for those at the lower end, but doing a poorer job of generating literacy for those at the top,” said Statistics Canada.”
…
The result is a narrowed literacy gap in Canada, with fewer lower achievers and fewer higher achievers, which is considered internationally to be the standard for a solid education system.
…
“Meeting the skill needs of a larger and more diverse population is likely to imply less educational effort being devoted to those whose initial skills clearly exceeded the minimum level,” said Statistics Canada.
In other words, a university education today may not ensure that you work your literacy muscles as hard as in the past.
The findings are entirely in keeping with some of the other reading I’ve been doing (Jeff Rybak, to name just one author) that highlights the “all things to all people” mentality that many Ontario universities have been (or have felt) forced to adopt.
University is no longer a sacred ivory tower for the academic elite, and generalist degrees have fallen in popularity to specialized and professional programs, many of which may not be chock full of old-school literacy goodness.
Of course, this doesn’t in and of itself mean that university has just become a holding-pen for young adults who are pressured to enroll by a credential-worshiping job market.
It does mean, however, that it has never been more important to examine why you want to go to university and what you hope to take away from the experience, even if you’re the type of academic student who never felt the need to ask yourself these questions before.
It’s no longer good enough to go to university because “that’s what academically-oriented people do.” You can no longer assume that an Ontario university will cater to your needs and goals simply because you’re the typical academic-ish kind of kid.
The universities may say you’re still their target market. I’m sure in many ways they wish you were still their target market. But in reality, universities cater to a wide range of students attending school for a wide range of reasons.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this diversity of function and purpose is the immediate problem.
The problem is that while the attitudes and perceptions of the “university isn’t for me” student have changed concerning university education, those of the “traditional” university-bound student have not.
What I mean by this is that a kid who 10 or 20 years ago wouldn’t have thought of himself as “university material” is bombarded today with the message that university is absolutely for him.
But, if you already think of yourself as “university material” then it’s easy to ignore the sideshow of the new, cool face of university. Because most of us do have this traditional picture of university in our minds, it’s easy to assume that your academic university program will just be there for you, Norman Rockwell-like, complete with dog fetching pipe and slippers.
The article above reminds us that a narrowed literacy gap (few low achievers but at the same time, few high achievers) is the international standard for a good education system. That indicates a good system, but what’s good for the system isn’t necessarily good for any one individual inside the system.
What I take away from this article is that you have to take personal responsibility, now more than ever, for your own education. Simply following the Ontario university track doesn’t guarantee that your academic kid’s academic potential will be realized.
This isn’t a slag against the universities, nor is it a call to arms to demand we return to an archaic system that doesn’t serve our modern marketplace.
It is a reminder, though, that school in general (and that includes post-secondary institutions) is meant to provide a solid education to everyone. . . which can perhaps mean a spectacular education to none.
If spectacular is what you’re going for, just keep in mind that as an academic student, you’ll have put just as much effort into researching and choosing your school as:
- the student who needs to find a school that can accommodate his learning differences;
- the student who needs to find a program that will allow her to continue to train for the Olympics;
- the student who needs to ensure that the buildings and residences are wheelchair accessible
Ours is a university system of choice where everyone’s needs and expectations must be explicitly spelled out. Know what yours are, and don’t make any assumptions about what the university is or isn’t offering you.
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