“Time is money”— or so they say. It’s a phrase that ironically enough seems to be as old as time itself. Given that it has passed through the ages I think we ought to give it a fair amount of consideration which most of us do in our day-to-day activities. If you currently hold a job for instance I think it is safe to say you expect to be compensated for time spent in said capacity. I assume this astute guideline applies to all time— that is to arrive at my main point— time spent in class.
Attending a four-year private university is not exactly the cheapest of endeavors. Yet for some reason many of us have developed an attitude of indifference toward the value of time inside the classroom. Education seems to be the one thing we are willing to get less than what we paid for. To illustrate I have sketched a situation that seems to describe many of us on a weekday afternoon.
You look up at the clock waiting … waiting … waiting. Five more minutes you think. Won’t he ever finish? This class takes forever. Of course you want to learn. That is why you’re in college. But this is just ridiculous. A minute later papers start to rustle. Backpack zippers are heard around the room indicating the strong urge for precipitate departure. Two minutes later the professor concludes (a minute early) and 27 scholarly people are set free.
Sound familiar? If not read it again. I’m sure something will ring a bell. The truth is we are all guilty of this type of behavior from time to time. Some of you probably think I’m being too dramatic— after all it’s just one minute right?
I decided to exercise some simple arithmetic to see just how valuable the various humanities math history science and art classes truly are; hour by hour and minute by minute. Turns out they are very valuable— at least $75 for every hour of class. If you don’t believe me take a minute and do the math. This finding is based on tuition divided by how many hours a week are spent in class for the entire semester. It’s not rocket science but it’ll do.
It is neither my goal nor my intention be a downer on the high cost of tuition that accompanies coming here. I don’t want you to sit in class and run calculations through your head about how much it is costing you to sit there. We all know deep down that attending Pepperdine is both costly and a privilege and this newfound knowledge should only serve to strengthen the feeling.
My one and only goal here is to get you thinking and really questioning your attitude. Ask yourself the following questions: Why am I here at Pepperdine? What am I trying to gain? What have I truly learned so far and what am I hoping to learn? The answers to these questions will shape your views toward education in general and hopefully make for a better attitude in the process. To quote the great Socrates— you may have heard mention of him in first-semester Humanities— “Education is the kindling of a flame not the filling of a vessel.”
If the flame is not there you can do something about it. You can go to class anyway you can engage in discussion and you can think about the application of what is being taught. Not only will you be getting your money’s worth (yes that is an attempted guilt trip) but you will also be taking part in what a college education is all about.
My hope is that this apathetic attitude will be turned around. I admit— even I have a long way to go in order do so. I simply ask that you join with me in this scholastic endeavor. Regardless of how much an hour of class costs that hour provides the opportunity for learning new ideas exploring current ones and reinforcing old ones. No matter which class you are in take an interest in it. Fan the flame.
