college & university
arts and humanities may have a competitive edge as opposed to those who are highly specialized.
Brené Brown (2026) states that paradoxical thinking requires us to “hold the tension of two opposing ideas until a new idea is born, until something more encompass- ing, more connected, and more nuanced emerges.” It is critical to know a variety of metrics, as well as the values that drive those metrics forward. In a society driven by consumerism, it makes sense that met- rics about higher education often connect to money in some way, specifically career preparation, earning potential and potential salaries post-graduation. And yet, those of us in education know that critical thinking, creativity and ingenuity are what we help our students develop, which are transfer- able skills into any career. Living in that tension is critical in playing the proverbial long game while maintaining hope. We need to continue to build a generation that values thinking and creativity to impact the future of education. By doing this in our communities, we can have a larger impact on future generations that we may not see immediately. The people we teach now will become policy makers who choose the metrics used to show our progress. In the meantime, conversations regarding the “why” of the metrics used are critical to broadening the perspectives of those around us, as well as our own. Perhaps there is a world in which we could use a metric to take a measurement of a construct and understand that it is one small part of a much larger puzzle with edges that are potentially undefined.
References:
Brown, Brené. (2026). Strong ground – Paradox.
https://brenebrown.com/art/ strong-ground-paradox/. Accessed July 9, 2026.
Connley-Hampton, Courtney. (2026-06-25). “The college majors most likely to get you hired in your field and outside of it.” Forbes, https://www.
forbes.com/sites/courtney-connley- hampton/2026/06/25/the-college-majors- most-likely-to-get-you-hired/. Accessed July 9, 2026.
Wisconsin School Musician 31
Hanson, Melanie. “College Degree Return on Investment” EducationData. org, 2026-05-13,
https://educationdata.org/college-degree- roi. Accessed July 9, 2026.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Metric. In
Merriam-Webster.com dictionary.
Laura Dunbar is professor of music education at the UW-Eau Claire.
Email:
dunbarll@uwec.edu
Retrieved July 9, 2026, from https://
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ metric
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