Dear Mr Opinion,

The consumers of education today are well aware
that educational credentials are the key to
social mobility.

Traditionally, people went to university to study
academic subjects that interested them, in order
to develop and broaden their minds.

Today, many people go to university to study
vocational subjects that frequently bore them, in the
hopes of enhancing their job prospects. Even in the
past two decades, there has been a sharp decline
in the percentage of undergraduates who intend
to major in such subjects as English, foreign
languages, literature, history, and philosophy - fields
that demand reading ability, critical and analytical
thinking, and writing skills, but which do not lead
directly to specific jobs.

Twenty years ago, half of the undergraduates intended
to major in the liberal arts - the natural sciences, social
sciences, and humanities. But today less that a quarter seem
to do so.

The most popular field currently is business; a quarter
of undergraduates now choose this single field for their
major, and graduate business schools have shown a great
increase in enrollments. The major reason for this
seems to be "to be able to make more money."

Harvard introduced some humanities studies in its MBA program at least two decades ago.

The generalist study does not necessarily improve decisions. The proof of the pudding is often in the eating and that is why it is not a seller's market for BAs. If honesty was to prevail, there is a far higher likelihood that BA graduates are far more likely to present as immature in the workplace because they do not have the benefit of the required work placements of engineers (say).

With his proper study and life experience Mr Opinion was more likely to gain benefit from his later humanities programs. Many parents (and students) wish that teachers were required to get some other work experience in the real world.

Most people pick up the necessary skills on the
job, not in the classroom and the characteristics
that make for a successful career such as
initiative, leadership, drive, negotiating ability,
willingness to take risks and persuasiveness are
not even taught in colleges and universities.

Colleges and universities produce graduates with
any number of educational credentials but with
few specifically job-related skills. In fact,
many people never put the specific content of their
college or university education to direct use in
their jobs, and many of the country's
college and university graduates actually work in fields
they consider unrelated to their major subjects.

On the whole a higher credential means higher earnings,
simply because of the value the job market places on it.

Numerous studies have shown that there is little or no
relationship between educational achievement and
job achievement and job performance or productivity.

For example, good graduates in a graduate school of
medicine or education are poor predictors of whether someone
will become a good doctor or teacher.

The fact is that the skills required to get an A grade in
a university or college course on anatomy or educational
philosophy are not the same as the skills needed to deal
with a medical emergency or an unruly junior high-school
class. The schools , universities and colleges teach
anything that is directly relevant to the world of work.
As stated earlier most people pick up the necessary skills
on the job - not in the classroom.

The current flag at the top left hand corner doesn't represent our heritage, it represents those who invaded the land and butchered the inhabitants. When a multi-ethnic, multicultural band of heroes defied the British at Ballarat on December 03 1854 they set us on an unstoppable course to become a proud, independent, democratic nation which is still a work in progress. That's our heritage. Their flag, the Eureka flag, belongs where the British symbol currently detracts from our national flag.

Dear Emperor Julian,

Quite a few people recommend the Eureka Flag
as our National Flag. Some of them believe
that it stands for justice, egalitarianism,
and multiculturalism. Three things that
define Australia now.

I am hesitant about having it as our
National Flag. I admit yes - it is an
important historical artefact. However I
associate it with unions.

I would prefer simply to only remove the
British symbols - keep the Southern Cross.

One of the benefits flowing from the ground-breaking rebellion at Eureka (though a long while after it) was a nation in which workers could organise unions to protect their interests. The fact that the Eureka flag is commonly adopted by unions is hardly a surprise. The growth of unions is part of our heritage to celebrate, not to cringe away from.