WL>  MS> Widespread downsizing not only makes that a 
WL>  MS> questionable assumption, but it makes kids doubt it.
WL> 
WL> The US white collar labor economy has undergone important 
WL> transformations
WL> in the past twenty years that many people have not yet recognized.  
WL> In the
WL> new model, leaner meaner company, people are individually responsible 
WL> for
WL> their financial security and advancement.  And this leaner meaner 
WL> company
WL> culture is spreader further and wider.  What do people need to do to
WL> thrive in this culture?  Constant learning and growth.  
    "Constant learning and growth", though, is more likely to mean becoming 
and staying current with the employer's and industry's products and practices 
than it is to mean getting another degree at some university.  
    Kids can see this.  They can see that academic learning no longer pays 
off in the era of downsizing, but self-teaching to know your employer's 
products does.
WL> sought after new employees are exactly those that have mastered the
WL> "learning to think" that liberal arts education used to specialize 
WL> in.
    "Used to" doesn't count (or pay off) any more.
--- Simplex BBS (v1.07.00Beta [DOS])
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