We owls like to find good stories wherever they appear. You’ve heard it said that today if you aren’t into technology, you won’t get anywhere in this world. Recently I flew over a Limestone County friend’s backyard discussion with his neighbors. They spoke about a variety of concerns, but this one got my attention. (Of course, they didn’t realize it was me sitting on the fence near their chairs.) Seems everyone has a son, daughter or grandkiddo considering going on to college. What to do next?

Said my friend, “I attended a PTA meeting at my sons’ school many decades ago. Their faculty from the art, literature and music programs bragged how they were integrating math and science into their curricula. Having one son destined to be a software program developer and the other an artist, I asked the math and science teachers how they were integrating music, literature and art into their curricula. They gave me a bewildered look, as if to say, ‘Why ever would we do that?’

“As we drift closer to reforming education into job training we are in danger of neglecting, to the point of atrophy, entire capacities of our intellect. We are giving a shrinking portion of the educational pie to history, literature, writing, philosophy and creative and performing arts. That is narrowing our world view and the channels through which we communicate with one another.”

This comment raised lots of discussion, and rightly so. Why study the arts? I know of one program at Ole Miss where students study the arts to become researchers. They hope to someday research for one of the 17 intelligence community organizations of our government. There’s more. UNA in Florence does much the same. For instance, there you can major in history, for example. Included in such studies you learn cultural fluency about given regions, digital proficiency so necessary in our computer age and critical thinking.

What student goes to college thinking, I’m only going to fill a job description? If that’s all he wants, perhaps he shouldn’t go to college. Whether you study Beethoven or Renaissance literature, your studies in academia will open you to whole worlds of thought. I wondered what it meant when first I heard the expression, “In college you learn how to learn.” This means if you want to make your life happier, more insightful, and your thinking about other people and places more profound, you will be able to so with certain skills learned in college.

One of the saddest poems I ever read was published during the Vietnam War. The poet wrote from the heart, as a member of his family was there as he wrote. He observed what a shame it was that thousands of hours of education, study and reflection were taken away with the impact of a 10-cent bullet. The person he wrote about was killed in Vietnam. Perhaps the only consolation was to know that while he was alive, his poetic inspiration enjoyed some of the finer thoughts our wealth of writing and music brought to our world. His inspiration had a chance to attend college before he died.

One difficulty our backyard conversationalists raised was if it was necessary to physically attend college. Could not some college degrees be gained virtually? Today the answer is yes. Many colleges offer online degrees, touting how relatively inexpensive they are. But ask yourself. Is money the bottom line in everything? So, why go to the physical college? Many have asked if that’s a good idea. We owls think it is essential to attend a real college.

If a young person goes to college, odds are it is the first time for many they are away from home. There they can learn about what it takes to plan her day, to organize an activity, schedule events for a week or a semester. More important, the student meets others. He learns how to discuss topics of interest, how to judge various opinions, how to balance opinion and fact. Regardless of his or her major, all these episodes play a role in learning about dealing with life’s waves before they drown another victim.

College, regardless of what major a student seeks, can be of great service to making life more interesting, worthwhile, and happier. An English scholar of yesteryear, John Henry Newman, said this about “The Idea of a University”: “In the case of most it makes itself felt in the good sense, sobriety of thought, reasonableness, candor, self-command and steadiness of view, which characterize it. In some it will have developed habits of business, power of influencing others and sagacity. In others it will elicit the talent of philosophical speculation and lead the mind forward to eminence in this or that intellectual department. In all it will be a faculty of entering with comparative ease into any subject of thought, and of taking up with aptitude any science or profession.”

As I arched my wings to fly away, I was happy to hear that all those in the backyard were pleased their offspring will attend college. They know why college is there, to make good citizens, not just good employees.