Our Opinion: Is it time to rebalance components of education?

What is the purpose of education?

Is it:

• To offer instruction in a broad range of disciplines?

• To nurture ideas, imagination and the ability to analyze data?

• To prepare students for the jobs of the future?

• All of the above?

A nationally respected educator suggested in remarks Monday that schools are providing inadequate job preparation, and that continuation of the trend is not sustainable as a society.

Bill Daggett, founder and chairman of the International Center for Leadership in Education, made presentations to local teachers, administrators and civic leaders.

He cited alarming statistics regarding dropout rates and the need for remedial courses in colleges and universities for high school students who choose to continue their education.

And, with technology replacing mid-level jobs and an increasingly aging population, Daggett said between 70 and 80 percent of young Americans will need public assistance.

As a preview of what is coming, he said 3.5 million quality jobs in the United State remain unfilled, largely because the 13 million unemployed people are not qualified to do them.

"We have a skills gap," he said. "What you major in matters," he added, arguing that a culture change in education is needed.

His arguments are persuasive, insofar as they pertain to job preparation.

We are not resistant to change that highlights job preparation as a component of education, as long as the focus doesn't eliminate, replace or overpower other valuable aspects of education.

At the risk of being labeled old-fashioned, we believe a broad, liberal arts education provides an important foundation for life-long learning. Students study, research and practice subjects that interest and intrigue them. A vital part of education is instruction in how to analyze data, separate fact from opinion and develop concepts and ideas.

Skilled workers do much more than follow instructions in a manual; they apply reason and discernment not only to solve problems, but to anticipate and prevent them.

The best educators prepare students not only for jobs, but for life.