What's the Society's beef - The act of going to college OR getting a degree

by truthseeker 14 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  truthseeker

  I have a question - the Society laments about those JW's who ignore "wisdom from above" to pioneer after high school but go to college instead.

  They use a fictional account of Timothy rejecting higher education at the drama this year.

  They scream in the Oct 1st WT that university (consisting of four years) is bad and ask rheotorical questions to parents such as, "Christian parents, is this what you REALLY want for your children?"

  If the act of GOING to college campus was so bad, why doesn't the Society permit "online degrees?" - these are more cost effective and just as valuable as a traditional campus based ecuation.

  So what is it about going to university that really upsets them?

  1) Attending college on campus

  2) The act of getting a degree

  3) Both

  There are so many JW's in college now, many of these use financial aid to get by - are they just expected to drop college and pay off their grants and loans while working at McDoanlds and pioneering?
• 

  sir82

  I vote both.

  The Society is nothing if not reactionary. I imagine this latest diatribe against higher education stems from Circuit Overseer reports about children going off to college and "drifting away from the faith". Likely, this is because college in general awakens one's critical thinking abilities (and how well do the Society's teaching hold up to critical thought)?

  So on the one hand, the act of going to college is discouraged.

  An online degree might seem a reasonable alternative, to someone not familiar with the JW mindset. But how does one get an online degree? Online! I.e. the internet, which is scandalized and demonized by virtually every article or talk which touches upon it.

  Plus, if one has a degree, in general he will have a higher paying job (or, heaven forbid! a satisfying career), and the message of "this current world is awful, so you should expend yourself to get to the next one" will not be as effective.

  So on the other hand, actually attaining a degree is discouraged.

  The irony is, if a JW somehow manages to wade thru the minefield of college and emerge with a degree, particularly in law or engineering, he will be in extraodinarily high demand in Bethel, and the usual requirements for entry will be curtailed or even waived.
• 

  Finally-Free

  It's all about information control. They don't want their members accessing information that doesn't originate with the watchtower. That's why, throughout their history, they've spoken against education, television, the internet, music, and "worldly" magazines and newspapers.

  W
• 

  tall penguin

  I did an online degree, after taking a TESL (teaching English to speaker's of other languages) course. That course and the subsequent degree program are arranged through a jw's company. At each of these TESL courses this jw elder instructs, 90% of the students are jws. It seemed to be a "Society approved" alternative to the standard college education.
  So it would seem that it's the college atmosphere that the wts doesn't like, not necessarily the degree itself. I knew many pioneers that got a University degree by doing this program and they didn't get any flack from their congo about it.
  tall penguin
• 

  Nathan Natas

  I think it is going to college, not the degree.

  Why would the WTB&TS oppose going to college?

  Because colleges are melting pots of ideas, cultures and values. A person attending college might get the impression that these worldly people were not so bad after all. Worse yet, a person attending college might learn something about critical thinking, the scientific method, and rational analysis. Heavens! They might even indulge in "higher criticism," and we KNOW "the Truth™" cannot withstand that!

  
  
  A BARBER College, on the other hand... well, that's OK, because such dangerous ideas are seldom discussed there.
• 

  truthseeker

  Excellent comments!

  This is an interesting observation - during the last few assemblies, mainly circuit assemblies, young JW's have been given parts on the platform whereby they talk about their "regular pioneering" is going AND they say they are studying for an "Associates Degree".

  What's the difference (other than 2 years) between going to community college and college?

  With the exception of not needing a dormitory, there is no difference - JW's are still mixing with "worldly people" and open to new ideas.
• 

  tall penguin

  Interesting side note...when I did my online degree through this jw company, one of the stipulations made by the school for the thesis works was not to base most of your research on wts publications (because most students were doing so). I can't even believe that anyone would grant a degree to a student who used primarily wts publications for their research.
  Makes me want to go to university and get a "real" degree, because I'm kind of ashamed of this one. Although, I didn't use any wts publications for my thesis. Hell no! I mean really, what kind of thesis could you write solely based on the wts publications?!
  tall penguin of the "got myself an online B.Ed. but wish I'd gone to a real university" class
• 

  ithinkisee

  Somebody on here quoted a recent WT where it says "Education can even lead to suicide"

  Can anyone confirm this?

  -ithinkisee
• 

  rmt1

  Obviously, both. There are some psychological aspects of physically travelling TO a geographical space that is its own little "world" (eek), dedicated to an objective of human knowledge, which implies wisdom, an attitude of inquiry and exploration that typically permeates the very physical space a JW must cross to get to their Janitorial Sciences 101. (oops, that was catty.) Added to that is the atmosphere of liberal values and occasional monuments of political activism, all this without the JW even meeting the first soul. The 'act' of 'going to' a college campus is already enough of a death-knell for many restless young JWs. Same as Brooklyn's take on Carnival, only different.
• 

  IP_SEC

  In university you are more apt to learn critical thinking. Also that Jerusalem was not destructified in 607.

  If you have a degree you may make a nice living, thereby making you a service lazy witness who is not ready for the big A to come just yet.