Unit8 　　Ithasoftenbeenremarkedthatthesaddestthingaboutyouthisthatitiswastedontheyoung. 　　Readingasurveyreportonfirst-yearcollegestudents,Irecalledtheregret,"IfonlyIknewthenwhatIknownow." 　　ThesurveyrevealedwhatIhadalreadysuspectedfrominformalpollsofstudentsbothinMaconandattheRobinsResidentCenter:Ifit(whateveritmaybe)won'tcomputeandyoucan'tdrinkit,smokeitorspendit,then"it"holdslittlevalue. 　　Accordingtothesurveybasedonresponsesfromover188,000students,today'scollegebeginnersare"moreconsumeristicandlessidealistic"thanatanytimeinthe17yearsofthepoll. 　　Notsurprisinginthesehardtimes,thestudents'majorobjective"istobefinanciallywelloff". 　　Lessimportantthaneverisdevelopingameaningfulphilosophyoflife. 　　Accordingly,todaythemostpopularcourseisnotliteratureorhistorybutaccounting. 　　Interestinteaching,socialserviceandthehumanitiesisatalow,alongwithethnicandwomen'sstudies. 　　Ontheotherhand,enrollmentinbusinessprograms,engineeringandcomputerscienceiswayup. 　　That'snosurpriseeither. 　　Afriendofmine(asalesrepresentativeforachemicalcompany)wasmakingtwicethesalaryofcollegeinstructorsduringherfirstyearonthejob—evenbeforeshecompletedhertwo-yearassociatedegree. 　　"I'lltellthemwhattheycandowiththeirmusic,history,literature,etc.,"shewasfondofsaying.Andthatwasfouryearsago;Itrembletothinkwhatshe'searningnow. 　　Frankly,I'mproudoftheyounglady(notherattitudebuthersuccess). 　　Butwhycan'twehaveitbothways?Can'tweeducatepeopleforlifeaswellasforacareer?Ibelievewecan. 　　Ifwecannot,thenthatisaconvictionagainstoureducationalsystem—kindergarten,elementary,secondaryandhigher. 　　Inatimeofincreasingspecialization,morethanever,weneedtoknowwhatistrulyimportantinlife. 　　Thisiswhereageandmaturityenter. 　　Mostpeople,somewherebetweentheagesof30and50,finallyarriveattheinevitableconclusionthattheyweremeanttodomorethanserveacorporation,agovernmentagency,orwhatever. 　　Mostofusfinallyhavetheinsightthatqualityoflifeisnotentirelydeterminedbyabalancesheet. 　　Sure,everyonewantstobefinanciallycomfortable,butwealsowanttofeelwehaveaperspectiveontheworldbeyondtheconfinesofouroccupation;wewanttobeabletorenderservicetoourfellowmenandtoourGod. 　　Ifitisafactthatthemeaningoflifedoesnotdawnuntilmiddleage,isitthennotthedutyofeducationalinstitutionstopreparethewayforthatrevelation?Mostpeople,intheiryouth,resenttheSocialSecuritydeductionsfromtheirpay,yetaseeminglyfewshortyearslaterfindthemselvesstandinganxiouslybythemailbox. 　　Whileit'strueallofusneedacareer,preferablyaprosperousone,itisequallytruethatourcivilizationhascollectedanincredibleamountofknowledgeinfieldsfarremovedfromourown. 　　Andwearebetterforourunderstandingoftheseothercontributions—betheyscientificorartistic. 　　Itisequallytruethat,instudyingthediversewisdomofothers,welearnhowtothink. 　　Moreimportantly,perhaps,educationteachesustoseetheconnectionsbetweenthings,aswellastosee