It is such a common misconception in younger students, especially those interested in science related fields that they do not need to focus on the humanities. I really related to your post and your realization that these skills really are essential for a meaningful and productive life. I really liked your statement in the last paragraph, “Students should know human emotions are meaningful signals of exploring the world and themselves.” I think that our education system should spend more time evaluating the emotions we all feel and developing the tools to harness those emotions into actions.

Thanks for your post. I see that many challenges that Higher Education may have to adapt to, but I was thinking about the humans themselves. Educators play an important role in the higher education systems, they are the ones who form professionals to go contribute to the world, but also they raise the new and future mass of professors. In other words, professors have an important role in how the world is shaped through the actions/contributors of those they have “educated”. How are the differences between undergraduate and graduate education? What should we need to consider in terms of these challenges for both?

Thanks for sharing this comment! IT reminded me of Nisbett’s book “The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently…and Why” (2003). Here, he discussed the core cognitive and cultural differences between the East and the West whose roots lie in ancient China and Greece and which have developed over time and continue to exist today. And I think this translates to education as well. Through various studies, Nisbett concludes that Easterners have a more holistic view of the world, one in which all aspects are interrelated and interdependent, emphasizing the importance of relationships, whereas Westerners take a more analytic approach to life and view the world via categorization and rules, emphasizing the importance of independence. His thesis is that the modern differences in cognition and intellect between the East and the West lie in the ecologies of ancient China and Greece, which “were drastically different—in ways that led to different economic, political, and social arrangements” Do you think this applies to other cultures? How about when the same course is taught to multiple cultures?

I agree that education is one of the remarkable methods to find or recognize the true dream works in mind. It is not easy, and lot so challenge both students and educators faced during the process. The responsibility of education is not only transferred the dream ideas in real-world individually but also helps students to meet and conquer the challenges in 21st century.

Thank you for this post. It is so interesting to read your perspectives based to the experiences you were exposed to. I like the idea that easy should not be goal, but it shouldn’t be hard either. I believe that promoting inclusiveness will definitely make the learning process more encouraging.

I agree that we need to educate people in a way that exposes the injustices in the world as well as gives people tools to address them. I believe that exposure is such an important factor in this however. Students can learn about different people and places and the injustices that they face, but I don’t think that it really makes the same impression as actually experiencing the situations first hand. I do understand that travel can be expensive, but I think that these types of exercises can often happen very close to the places that people live. You certainly do not need to travel outside the United States to learn first hand about injustice and develop tools to address it.

Excellent post. I just wanted to touch on the global outreach.

Clearly that is one of the core missions of a university, and is generally a good thing. Especially programs like the one NYU runs to find brilliant talented kids in developing nations and give them full scholarships to study in New York City. But I question the motives of some of those schools building fancy new campuses on the other side of the world.

For example, the ones which build new campuses in the UAE; are they really concerned about helping the cause of educating the world, or is it a good way to bring in a little extra revenue for their main campus? You see the same with some schools and their online programs, which are clearly all about the money. Don’t get me wrong, some schools do a great job and really are doing it to improve access. But some are using these programs to fund their main campus, and that isn’t at all fair to the other students.

I guess I am a bit jaded because traditionally such schools were a product of elitism, and the idea of cultural exceptionalism. If you look at the university system of Saudi Arabia or UAE, they certainly do not need help building exceptional universities. Some of their schools are at the very top the Shanghai Rankings. So what do these new American schools offer besides being able to say “we’re American”?

My parent’s went to such schools in their home countries, it was considered a great honor to be taught by American or British teachers instead of locals – and the idea that said teachers would naturally be better, simply because they’re American / British, smells a bit of colonialism. I mean VCU just opened a campus in Qatar, VCU is the 4-5th best school in Virginia, not even in the top 100 in the US, what does a nation like Qatar, with the incredible Qatar University, gain from hosting VCU of all things?

Thank you for this post. Including empathy in educational systems is such an interesting concept. I like the idea of promoting collectivistic values, but I struggle to find a strategy to apply in in a class whit diverse values and political beliefs. Have you applied this concept in any of your previous classes?

In the 21st century, the educator is not only the primary role in class, the interactive of students of students and the discussion in groups are also a significant section in classes. Sometimes, students would try to control the course; the educator guides the narrative of class. It is what I imagine the course looks like in future.

Thank you for this post Diana. I really like your way of addressing this challenge. Sometimes we look at our personal and professional life as two different things, when she should rather look at two aspects that should intersect. Although it is hard to find a balance, I really like the insight you provide in this post.