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Ford tells students to not pick 'basket-weaving courses' in wake of OSAP cuts (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 1 day ago by HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works to c/canada@lemmy.ca

64 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Premier Doug Ford had choice words for students expressing concerns over recent cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) Tuesday, telling them to "not pick basket-weaving courses" and to invest in education that gives people in-demand jobs.

Speaking to reporters at Queen's Park, Ford said he received "thousands of calls" from students over the long weekend, who expressed concerns about the province cutting the amount of grant money students can receive through OSAP.

“I mentioned to the students, you have to invest in your future, into in-demand jobs,” he said.

“You’re picking basket-weaving courses, and there’s not too many baskets being sold out there.”

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[–] austinfloyd@ttrpg.network 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You seem to be arguing for choosing a major with some job prospect, but Ford seems to be arguing for not taking any courses that aren't directly beneficial to some economic purpose.

I disagree with Ford's stance at least. As an old tech person, my non-tech uni courses were most beneficial to my overall capabilities in my tech job, at least in the long run. Creative writing, ethics, history, and tort law were things I took because they were interesting (to me at least). None of these had much relevance to tech as far as I could see, but I've been much better off for them.

[–] MyBrainHurts@piefed.ca 1 points 21 hours ago

Ford seems to be arguing for not taking any courses that aren’t directly beneficial to some economic purpose

I mean, if you read the article, it's pretty clear the students understand he's talking about programs as a whole. Heck, most economically viable majors require you to take courses to become a well rounded person.

I agree that people should expand their horizons but asking us to subsidize that, when there are a hundred open online courses freely available is a little silly. (And if you read my original comment, the notion that I'm helping pay for kids to watch movies in class because they refuse to do so as homework? Just gross.) Heck, my mom just finished a comparative religion course via Stanford online and had a blast.

Money is a limited resource. While there are many fascinating courses, and heck, I could spend a lifetime learning if someone was willing to pay the bill, if you're asking society to pay for you to learn things, society is willing to do that as an investment in the future. While medieval history is fascinating, that's not a great investment for the rest of us.

my non-tech uni courses were most beneficial to my overall capabilities in my tech job

Yes but I imagine, y'know, getting the tech skills, was pretty fundamental to getting the tech job. If you'd applied saying "I don't know a thing about tech BUT I am a well rounded person" they would have laughed you out the door.