General Rant!

[Odinn]

With a straight face can you say that every class you took at uni gave you the skills to think? That before going to uni you did not think at all. That uni ?taught you how to think about archaeology?.

You're asking the wrong question there. By focusing on the individual elements you miss the point. It may not be the case that every single class teaches you how to think, but the ultimate effect of all the classes you take is to do so. School teaches you what to think because the National Curriculum and schools are focused very closely on passing exams to stay ahead in the league tables. This does not mean that pupils in school do not think (with some notable exceptions of my acquaintance!), but it does mean that the thought processes are channelled quite closely. When you go to university, especially as you progress through the system, you are being taught how to think. You are asked to find the answers for yourself. If you engage with that process you will get more for your money, because you will develop your ability to weigh up the options and put together a good argument, among other things. The practical skills you propose would not teach this. I forget the proper terms for it, but basically the archaeology/humanities degree should develop your abstract reasoning skills, which are much more in demand in modern society than purely practical, deductive reasoning skills are. If it only teaches practical skills, it might as well be an HND or whatever the equivalent is now because it will not expand your ability to think.

And right now uni?s teach content and not what to do with that content.

What precisely do you mean by content? It might be argued that all taught elements are content, whether practical or theoretical.

completing a task on time

What do you think that 5% penalty for each day your essay is late is all about? There you go, practical skills being taught without even a class in sight. :face-stir: