Wall Street lesson: Back to Mark Twain

As public debate turns to the human consequences of the financial and economic turmoil, politicians and policymakers across the world have been insisting ever more stridently on bolstering science education in order to build a more economically prosperous future. Well, what about the humanities - the great branches of literature, history, philosophy and foreign language whose importance in pure economic terms is more opaque?

With growing prosperity, the fundamental purpose of learning has become inextricably tied with the pursuit of profit and economic expansion, as opposed to the life it prepares us for over the next half-century. And as we have grown lamentably quicker in pegging schooling to dollar signs, educational instruction in the world has grown increasingly focused on advancing vocational skills, aiming to produce wizards, culturally void, but capable of churning out widgets more cost effectively.

If this is really the true purpose of education, then why are we not promoting apprenticeships and on-the-job career training programmes more aggressively instead of touting the merits of increasingly expensive degrees?

Sure, we all want our children to succeed economically. But shouldn't we also be worrying about whether they are developing strong communication skills, forming healthy relationships and becoming independent, confident thinkers capable of questioning their surroundings and participating in democracy? An increasingly narrow educational focus is preventing the youth from developing the "soft skills" that might be critical for tomorrow.

Yes, we must equip the youth with the softer, non-cognitive skills to succeed in tomorrow's world - like the capacity to reason and communicate effectively or to cooperatively solve the problems we face. Global education systems should be focused on developing these human skills and building a greater understanding and appreciation for the world around us. We need to be promoting inclusiveness in a world that is still fragmented along so many lines while stringently emphasising ethical uprightness. The dubious lending practices that gave birth to the crisis on Wall Street have made apparent the moral bankruptcy of large segments of the market.

Surprisingly, the sorry state of economic affairs has not brought any grand realisations. Education is still viewed as little more than an economic stimulus package for the youth and parents continue to urge their children to quietly turn in exam sheets, aspiring only for them to become productive cogs in a broken wheel.

But this thought seems lost among many of today's students, parents and educators. And at this critical juncture, dismissing the importance of a broader and more comprehensive education is exactly what we should not be doing.

For centuries, man acquired the faculties of logic and reasoning through immersion in years of training - speaking, writing, reading, analysing and calculating. And it was the broader education that they were exposed to that allowed them to reason and ask the right questions, gradually framing the world we know by developing ideas, networks and institutions against the odds and despite their circumstances of birth. The benefits of this education accrued not only to those who underwent the training but, perhaps more importantly, also to those who didn't - so everyone was enriched by the application of knowledge. From the contracted, economic-driven education programmes so common today, what dreams can we expect to fashion for humanity?

Central task

The central task of education should be to inculcate intellectual curiosity and a thirst for lifelong learning; producing learning people in the habit of continually asking questions. Just knowing, in isolation, how to tally a balance sheet or perform a surgery is not the mark of education, but a means of existence. There is nothing wrong with pursuing a technical education, but I hope we can be wise enough to follow Mark Twain's example and not let one's schooling interfere with one's education.

We live in a world with scant regard for erudition and breadth of culture. Liberal-arts educated generalists, intelligent and capable of learning any skill quickly, often have a difficult time proving themselves to employers. Try thumbing through the classifieds looking for a job, the requirements are so precise that you have to have already done the job to get the job.

Whatever happened to the notion of an educated person? And the idea that being educated includes, at the very least, a nodding acquaintance with the world's literature, art, music, history and philosophy?

We seem headed along a tragically narrow path - away from the innovation and creativity that tomorrow's world needs more than ever. Let us not allow intellectualism and wisdom to become the impractical ideals of a bygone era and allow the insular, quotidian standards of the harried worker to take its place.

It is both the depth and the breadth of learning and understanding that defines people and their society, and marks the richness of their life and culture. It is time we made sure that global education policies reflected this, and our youth are adequately equipped for the challenges of tomorrow.

Rakesh Mani is a New York-based writer.