Best vocational school? Students and parents should consider a liberal-arts education.

• Author: Clark, Len
• Position: Education

Every college education should be vocational education. That sounds weird, doesn't it? When we think about vocational education we think about narrow job training. That's because Americans have allowed the idea of vocational training to get stolen from them.

The word vocation comes from the Latin vocare--to call--and traditionally has referred to a vocation or a "calling" that is your life's work, what you were somehow meant to do and be in your life. In that sense, all of us ought to hope that our children will have a "vocational" education. It's the best we can hope for those we love.

I believe in that richer sense, far more students and parents should be considering a liberal-arts education because it is targeted at providing one with a powerful vocation. How?

* By introducing students to a wide variety of disciplines of study, they are likely to find their truly meaningful life's work, one that leads them to greater achievements than mere professional training. At Earlham College in Richmond, for example, one out of every nine graduates goes on to earn a Ph.D.

* The best liberal-arts colleges hire and hold onto teachers who have fire in their eyes for the importance of their discipline. These teachers help students fall in love with the best that has been taught and known. That builds a powerful foundation for a career.

* Good liberal-arts colleges provide the basic skills that ensure success in any professional field--critical thinking, elegant writing, effective speaking and the ability to assess good arguments and be open to new ways of thinking.

For all of the reasons above, it is not surprising that the nation's leading liberal-arts colleges provide a vastly disproportionate share of America's college professors, research scientists and medical doctors, not to mention a goodly representation of corporate executives, governmental leaders, writers, editors and assorted...