The Value of a Browning Education

When we delivered our older son to his university in August, drop-off day concluded with a session for families—parents, really—with members of the dean’s office. In a very congenial and thoughtful presentation, these folks essentially told us, “You need to let your kids solve their own problems and manage their own uncertainties.” The conversation was handled with tact and with grace, but I still marveled at its necessity.  When did colleges have to start telling parents to back up? 

With tuition and fees 93 percent higher than 20 years ago, it's unsurprising that those paying the bills want a seat at the table and seem preoccupied with return on investment. On college tours, I found that the admission offices we visited methodically underscored three things: The employment rates of recent graduates, the internship opportunities offered by companies who visited campus, and recent investment in science and technology infrastructure. Institutions know that they must offer "proof" of return on investment, emphasizing high-tech industry collaboration, professional fast tracks, and impressive alumni salaries.

There are social and ethical consequences of seeing higher education in this narrow way because it logically affects our engagement with these institutions. If colleges describe themselves in increasingly transactional terms, how could those bearing the cost be blamed for wanting to safeguard their investment? If students are encouraged to view these institutions as credentializing agencies, why shouldn't they too be solely outcome-driven, bypassing real intellectual growth with academic shortcuts so that they can climb faster and further on the career ladder?

If higher education redefines itself (whether implicitly or explicitly) as career training, this new definition can also create two competing understandings of Browning's purpose.  On the one hand, it can suggest that Browning—with its old-fashioned commitments to character development, to the liberal arts, to the value of ideas for their own sake—is hopeless out of touch with market forces. On the other hand, it may reveal that a community like Browning is all the more necessary. If we agree that colleges aren't currently promoting intellectual growth and ethical formation as core to their value proposition, doesn’t a character-driven school like Browning offer an increasingly rare and decidedly robust “ROI” that is not likely to be replicated elsewhere?  

No amount of rhetoric about bygone purposes of higher education can obscure the burden of tuition increases and student debt. But we can still wish that these wonderful institutions would also try to justify themselves on the superior intellectual, ethical, and community experiences they can offer. In the same way, independent school can also be an economic sacrifice, and a parent viewing a Browning education as the bridge to a successful college outcome is both legitimate and understandable. But it's not only that bridge. It is a home where boys—some for 13 years—grow into men, and therefore our focus must include helping them develop beyond any narrow vision of success. If the exploration of ideas for their own sake, commitment to academic honesty, broadening of perspective and resilience are now viewed by some as luxuries in higher education, I hope that they are seen as the bare necessities here, where we marry a rigorous education with a foundation in the skills and dispositions necessary for boys to flourish in a life of purpose, whatever their chosen profession may be.