The ideas expressed by Catherine Brown in the interview are underpinned by her personal experience with education and, therefore, I tend to agree with the presented standpoint. Indeed, the sole focus on teaching people to become good employees is insufficient for claiming the efficiency of their activity in the long run. From this perspective, readjusting college education to globalization needs is not an appropriate method of educating individuals since it does not allow developing their flexibility. The mentioned desire to have this aspect “under my own power” stated by the author correlates with the requirement to control the process while receiving extensive knowledge instead of limiting the information (Brown, 2018). Thus, the most urgent areas for study laid in the basis of present-day curricula might lead to the failure to ensure the consequent independence of learners in their decisions in life.
In turn, the attempts to avoid generalizations when elaborating suitable methods of educating individuals correspond to the fact that critical thinking skills cannot be promoted by relying on the existing field-specific approaches. In this respect, the part of the interview, which stood out to me the most, was the statement that, for the author, education has never been “something that I did every day without thinking” (Brown, 2018). It implies that she carefully analyzed the new information to distinguish between the abilities that can be beneficial for her in the long run and those applicable to specific tasks as per the selected profession. This intention appears to be advantageous for both educators and their students, striving for academic successes aligned with the changing nature of reality and market conditions. Hence, focusing on controlling the process is essential for adhering to practical considerations instead of theoretical suitability for jobs.
Reference
Brown, C. (2018). She never saw a classroom until college. Now she has a Ph.D. and a lot of thoughts about education. Forbes. Web.