By Dennis Cogswell

There have been several letters to the editor recently on colleges and universities needing to change so that people can make money upon graduation or can have a better chance at finding a job. These letters are like the Aesop’s Fable in which a group of blind wise men and women gather around an elephant.

They are examining it and proclaiming their findings. The one who finds himself at the front side of the elephant, at an ear, declares based on his expertise and examination that the elephant is like a large leaf — flat, rough in texture with an opening at one end. However, the wise but blind woman at the other end, where the tail is, after her examination declares that the elephant is long, skinny, with a lot of ripples, much like a snake. And so it goes around the elephant with each declaring what “it” is from their educated but limited perspective.

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 Cogswell is professor emeritus of social work at Radford University.