Preparing for Work

Abstract

The activities involved in making a living can bring us happiness, misery, or boredom. John Dewey said: An occupation is the only thing which balances the distinctive capacity of an individual with his social service. To find out what one is fitted to do and to secure an opportunity to do it is the key to happiness. Finding the right occupation is certainly one key to happiness. But how is it found? How much choice does an individual have in the matter? What sort of authority should the school system exercise in guiding the choice? In the past few decades, schools have been driven by economic purposes and by a social commitment to remove long-standing inequalities. Both of these purposes have been misinterpreted, distorted, and actively pursued without careful analysis. We seem to have forgotten entirely that work and happiness might be connected at a level deeper than the economic. In their zeal to give every student an academic education, schools today neglect those students whose chosen work may not require a college education. However, they also neglect genuine intellectual interest — an interest that, if cultivated, may enrich both occupational and personal life. Intellectual topics centered on home, place, parenting, character, spirit, and interpersonal relations have already been discussed in appropriate contexts. In a section of this chapter, I address the cultivation of intellect in those who have special intellectual interests. Intellectual interests, like all special interests, should be respected and promoted.