Re: Door Slamming/Question

[Steve Krause <skrause@bgnet.bgsu.edu>]

On Thu, 6 Jul 1995, Jennifer Jordan-Henley wrote:

> And the study of literature, Steve, while certainly an end in itself 
> and a singular joy to many of us, can also be viewed as a practical 
> skill which not only teaches students to think critically, but enables 
> them to meet characters and situations that they would otherwise not 
> meet, thus improving their interpersonal skills and making them more 
> accepting of those around them. Surely you've seen students begin to 
> consider the worlds outside of themselves and relate it to their own? 

I agree with you about the joy and inherent "good" of the pursuit of 
knowledge and literature and art and what-have-you, but I still don't 
think literature gives us an unique skills.  Granted, part of a degree in 
English seems to have something to do with improving writing and reading 
and interpersonal skills, but so does virtually every other major.

But here's a true story for you on the "value" of this kind of 
education:  When I was 24, I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth U with 
an MFA in fiction writing.  Still wanting to teach part-time and not able 
to successfully apply for any "real jobs" (I had sent out about 40 
letters and resumes and was turned down), I decided to do temp work.  I 
went into a number of offices, shared my resume, told of my knowledge and 
skill as a reader and a writer, spoke of my good grades at the U of Iowa 
and VCU, mentioned my 2 years of teaching experience and the leadership 
skills it taught me, and even brought some clips of published writing.  At 
every interview, the interviewer looked at me blankly and asked "how fast 
do you type and can you work a computer?"  On other words, my degrees 
were irrelevant, and the only thing that being an English major _really_ 
taught me was how to use a computer and how to type pretty fast (all 
those papers I had to write, I guess...)  

I eventually got a temp job where I could use some of my writing skills
and that turned into a full-time job (though my employers weren't really
sure what to do about this strange MFA degree I had), but the moral of my
story is that my college career as an English major and as a writer was of
no _specific_ benefit to me at all.  I obviously value my college
education, and I think we should encourage everyone to continue to educate
themselves in and out of classrooms because it makes us better individuals
and a better society.  But I don't think that it necessarily does or
should make us "employable." 

==============================================================================
Steve Krause * Department of English * Bowling Green State University * 
Bowling Green, OH * 43401 * (419) 353-5104 * skrause@bgnet.bgsu.edu
* Now also available on WWW at http://www.bgsu.edu/~skrause/Steve.html *
==============================================================================