- What is the central tension Boyer discusses in his chapter? Support your response with a quote from Boyer and at least 4 sentences of explanation.
With the way that our society and job market is today, students have more need for a high paying job than a fulfilling one. “The point is that all students, regardless of their major, are preparing for productive work” (222). This isn’t necessarily the fault of the student, but rather how they perceive their future. There is a conflict in many students choosing between learning and succeeding in a field they love and are passionate about or in a field that will guarantee a higher wage so they can make rent and someday have a family or a house or something like that. Thus, most students choose between their dreams and a job. This leads to having that job, but not truly understanding it, as Boyer goes into later in the article.
- What is Boyer’s “Enriched Major” idea, and how does he imagine it as a response to a key tension? Support your response with a quote and at least 3 sentences of explanation.
Basically, Boyer’s enriched major idea is paraphrased as having a deep understanding of the major the student is studying, including the historical, social, and academic ways it can influence people and be influenced. Boyer sort of defines it as “encouraging students not only to explore a field in depth, but also to help them put their field of special study in perspective” (223). When fields of study just become a means to an end, we are ignoring the education needed to understand how the experiences of others are affected. Boyer even says that, for example, a lawyer who only takes their argument from the book will be less successful overall than a lawyer who takes examples from historical and social impacts, and real life experiences.
