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Tommy Druen: The cultivation of understanding Previous Column: Words matter By Tommy Druen: Twenty-five years ago, I sat in a chair on Centre College's campus, clad in cap and gown, prepared--but hardly ready--to graduate. For the first time in my life, I was adrift. I had a plan, but no conviction. I was unsure whether the path ahead was mine or simply the one I had chosen because I didn't know what else to choose. Centre, like most colleges, typically invited a prominent figure to deliver the commencement address. That year, however, the graduating class selected one of our own--Dr. Larry Matheny. It was a decision that surprised no one, especially his students. Dr. Matheny was more than a professor; he was an institution. Nearly four decades teaching government, a dry wit as sharp as his intellect, a fondness for gin, and a rumored familiarity with every book in the college library made him a figure of lore. I took eight of his classes during my time at Centre. Technically, I majored in government, but if I'm honest, I majored in Matheny. As I had done so many times before, I listened to him closely. There was the expected humor, of course, but then he said something that landed with such clarity it has stayed with me ever since: "When you graduate from Centre College, you don't know how to do anything... except learn. But if you know how to learn, you can do most anything in life." That statement has echoed in my mind each May as a new crop of graduates turns their tassels. It came back especially strong recently during an online exchange I had about the purpose of education. A friend insisted that the goal of education is job preparation. I pushed back--because while preparing people for the workforce is valuable, it is not the same thing as educating them. Nor do I think that should be the sole goal. Somewhere along the way, we started conflating education with vocational training. We now expect students to emerge from college ready to plug directly into their chosen profession. Any class not deemed "practical" is dismissed as wasteful. Entire disciplines--literature, philosophy, art history--are cast aside as indulgent because they don't come with a clear paycheck. Even a former Kentucky Lieutenant Governor once took a swipe at history majors a few years back. As someone who has spent a good portion of his adult life studying history, I took that a bit personally. Then there are the critics who declare that college is a waste of time altogether. And truly, college is not for everyone. "You could make more money in a skilled trade," they argue. And they're not wrong--many trades are both stable and lucrative. Eight weeks of training can land you in the cab of a semi-truck, with the average salary hovering near $90,000. That's real, respectable work. Is a French literature major likely to make that kind of money reading Rimbaud in the original language? Probably not. Do dentists need to study metaphysics to fill a cavity? Of course not. That's not the point. The question we should be asking isn't, "What job will this get me?" It's, "What understanding will this give me?" Because the essence of education isn't the memorization of facts--it's the cultivation of understanding. It's one thing to know the definition of an atom; it's another to grasp how atoms behave. It's one thing to summarize a novel; it's another to understand what the author intended to convey. Knowing the dates of a war is easy. Understanding the forces that led to it--and the ones it unleashed--is much harder. If education were merely about job training, we could all stop learning once we punched the clock. And sadly, many do. But I believe education is about more than utility. It's about becoming a fuller, better version of ourselves. Plato wrote, "If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life." I take that to heart. I don't want to learn just to work. I want to learn to grow. To better understand the world around me--and the one within me. To take knowledge and turn it into comprehension, and hopefully, over time, into wisdom. I may never learn everything. But I fully intend to die trying. Tommy Druen is a native of Metcalfe County, with roots in Adair County going back to the 18th century. He presently lives in Georgetown, Kentucky and can be reached at tommydruen@gmail.com. This story was posted on 2025-06-02 11:24:07
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Tommy Druen:
Tommy Druen: Words matter Tommy Druen: Literacy was a treasure for Clem Coomer Tommy Druen: The Power of the Small Tommy Druen: Holes in the water Tommy Druen: Leadership Kentucky Tommy Druen: Dedication to the Journey Tommy Druen: A battle that can never be fully won Tommy Druen: Remember to take pictures Tommy Druen: On issues we can actually address Tommy Druen: The meaning of true knowledge View even more articles in topic Tommy Druen |
 
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