What do you think the aim and purpose of higher education should be?

1. Anyone who tells you that you go to higher education to learn a high-skill trade doesn't understand higher education's role in shaping history. Historically, a classical education was a prerequisite to shape a class of *leaders*, people who had the breadth of understanding of general subjects to speak with general authority on most fields, someone who, if not themselves a scientist or philosopher or engaged in the fine arts, can at least understand and speak to those people in an educated fashion. The goal of higher education was to create educated laymen, people who understand enough about the world to be able to think critically about things, have insight about how to make things better, and stand fast against misinformation and delusion. Treating education as only a career-path decision undermines this quality in the 'learned' populace and leads to otherwise intelligent people having a crippling lack of knowledge about many things they need to know. I trained as an electrical engineer at a top school and am a full stack developer, and the holes in my education are *obvious*, as revealed by the things I hear from my engineering peers about non-engineering-related topics. Filling in those holes is the pursuit of my adulthood.
   — FBX


2. To further an understanding of a certain field. This naturally makes you more attractive to employers in that field, but it is not the point. Professors should be teaching the field in its entirety, not ignoring ideas they don't like.
   — dingu-malingu


3. Chief among education's goals should be to foster an informed electorate in a democracy. Specifically: Citizens who keep abreast of issues, are adept at critical thinking, and can maximize individual talents and abilities to advantage, both for themselves and for the general betterment of society.
   — Back2Bach






4. I generally agree with the notion that it should be about teaching critical thinking and becoming more worldly in a general sense. The ones who want it to be about job training are ultimately the big businesses who demand employees who are already trained but aren’t willing to pay to train them. They love that right now those cost are shifted to the employees, making it their responsibility to go into debt to train themselves without any guarantee of a job in that field.
   — Rgrockr


5. I believe philosophy should be a prerequisite rather then an elective. Knowing the spectrum of philosophies can really change how we go about higher education in a very fundamental way.
   — squeeeeenis


6. Furthering humanity by empowering a deeper ability to question and combine information.
   — pauliesfreakin






7. To utilize the lessons of the past to innovate and benefit society in the future.
   — potatosack101