Traditional Education: A Limiting Construct?

A intermix of apathy and arrogance, I spent the entire semester in my "Introduction to Fiction" class reading everything but that which was assigned. True to nature, I had procrastinated and postponed signing up for the mandatory course until my senior year of college. Innately rebellious and independent, anything that was "required" or I percieved as "expected" of me I met with bitterness and reluctancy. And this patricular class was no different. As I quickly looked over the syllabus the first day of class, I quickly concluded that in no way will I actually purchase, let alone read "The Great Gatsby" or "Cry, The Beloved Country" among others. For the following five months, I struggled with writing "opinion" papers and taking tests based on books I had never read. The ending result? A solid C-. Do I regret not reading? Do I regret not paying attention? Suprisingly, no.

It is during all those classes that I had zoned out the professors' voice that I learned the most. While everyone discussed "The Great Gatsby", I was engrossed in a book of my own choosing titled "The Cure Within: A History of Mind-Body Medicine" by Anne Harrington. A definitive history of biomedicine, mental health, new age cures and beyond; the book is one that you couldn't pay most people to read. Yet it is an account that I found interesting and applicable to my career, personal life, and own intellectual development. Dr. Harringtons work later influenced my own. In fact, it served as the foundation and backbone behind my own senior thesis; which focused on the biomedical model of medicine and its' application to psychiatry. Without going into much further detail, I feel as though my choice to ignore what was required of me ended up being more beneficial in the long run. While I am not advocating pushing aside school work in favor of reading whatever brings you personal enjoyment, I am questioning the very structure schooling is based upon.

With my undergraduate years quickly coming to an end, I have often thought about what I learned in college. Sadly, I found most of what I had learned was derived from my own experiences, independent reading, and personal exploration. They say that college is a place where you go to learn and find out who you are as an individual. If so, then why do most institutions require such mundane and tedious courses? Or, is a college education a prelude to what life is really all about? A journey through a controlled environment, characterized by rules, requirements and expectations?