Am I a Slacker?

Dear CRCers:  

With Thanksgiving coming up, I'm nervous about talking with my family about what I'm concentrating in. I already know they think I'm wasting my time by not studying something more practical. I guess I'm starting to doubt myself, too.  

Signed, Am I a Slacker?

Photo from WebPT.com

This William Cronon essay, Only Connect...: The Goals of a Liberal Education, should be required reading for all students at liberal arts colleges (The American Scholar, Vol. 67, No. 4 [AUTUMN 1998], pp. 73-80 [8 pages]; published by The Phi Beta Kappa Society; available via your JSTOR account).  So many of us truly believe that several Brown concentrations are not "practical." Yet a concentration, together with the other classes you choose to take as part of your 30-32 classes, and all of the other pursuits you choose as a college student, means you're fostering your own process of "liberated" thinking and being.

Put in perhaps a less lofty and more pointed way:  All Brown students by virtue of being here will graduate and be in positions of privilege and power, affecting change and other people's lives.  Therefore, using your time in college to not navel-gaze but rather deeply understand yourself, your place in the world, and what matters to you is actually the most practical, and noble, thing you can do here.

Finally, of course most of us need to take stock of our obligations (to family, college loans, etc.), and figure out a way to "earn our bread."  Most of us need to be concerned about having health insurance after graduation; we all need to pay attention to how the numbers will work in our favor. But arguably, engaging in both these big questions isn't mutually exclusive.

Try talking with your family about the things you are getting out of the classes you've really enjoyed; look together at the alumni data the CareerLAB has compiled about the kinds of jobs and careers Brown alums go into.