Page 21 - Boca ViewPointe - July '20

July 2020 Viewpointe, Page 21

Club Membership Is Priceless!

By Mark Nelles & Helen Karpel, Within days, Club members were notified that the Club “We feel safe with the services provided by the club. We don’t
Board of Governors Chairman & General Manager, would keep a minimum staff available and would provide a have to venture into stores, supermarkets or even restaurants
The Club at Boca Pointe, full range of lunches and dinners TO GO. Members wouldn’t where we don’t know whether the proper precautions are in place,
561-864-8500 even have to get out of their cars, just drive up, the valet staff where we don’t have to mingle with strangers who may or may
www.theclubatbocapointe.com would have orders available and would place them in cars. not be observing the requirements of wearing masks or keeping
No need to step out or come in contact with anyone. We even the proper social distancing.” The same goes for the restarting
When we talk about the value of provided a delivery service for those members who didn’t of activities- controlled, precautions in place and supervised.
Club membership, we’re not talking want to venture out. Shortly, as a service to Boca Pointe Email updates are sent out on a weekly basis advising members
about price, because price is only cost, residents, we also announced that the Club would extend of changes in government regulations and recommendations,
not the VALUE of membership. the To Go meals to any community resident. We have served the availability of services at the Club, and general updated
What defines value? We have a real over 7,500 meals to date. information. Members tell us that they consider the Club as
example of value by looking just at the last few months. We The next “value added” to membership was the Boca their SAFE HAVEN. This is something in times like these that
suddenly were all faced with a challenge we’d never in our lives Pointe Club Marketplace. Our food and beverage staff put don’t carry a price or a cost, but carry and provide VALUE. The
been faced with before the pandemic of the COVID-19 virus. together a complete shopping list of food items, including value also extends right into members’ homes - ZOOM physical
We all know the drill- stay home, close restaurants, close prepared foods (salads and soups); refrigerated foods like fitness classes, concerts and lectures. All this again to provide
stores, stay out of public areas, keep kids’ home from school, milk, cheese, cold cuts, fish and meat; eggs and produce; safety and comfort to those suffering from cabin fever.
close pools and on and on. What’s this got to do with Club value? fruit and vegetables; paper goods (towels, toilet paper, There are lots of other ways that the VALUE of Club
What’s the first thing we all thought about as we read and tissues); spirits, wine and beer; bakery goods; juices and membership is provided for all members, whether it’s
heard about the virus spreading world-wide, nationally and right soda; gloves, masks, sanitizing wipes. This is a virtual “call 12-month members, Premier members with memberships
here in Palm Beach County and Boca Raton. The first thing on in” supermarket- just phone in orders one day and pick up ranging from 3 to 12 months, sports and fitness membership,
our minds was SAFETY! How do I keep myself and my family orders the next. All to provide “value” in the form of safety weekend membership and more. There IS a membership to fit
as safe as possible? How do I minimize threats to our health and to our members. everyone’s needs and schedules- flexibility is the key word.
welfare? Since then, as regulations allow, the Club has opened the Why not find out for yourself how you too can enjoy the
Part of this thought process revolved around dining; shopping golf course, the tennis courts, the gym and fitness center, the Club at Boca Pointe, the safe haven in troubled times. Call
for needed food, shopping for needed supplies. How can I do pool, and the restaurant. Again, what does all this have to do our membership department at 561-864-8539. We’d love to
this safely? Here’s where Club value stepped up. with value? Here’s what our members are saying. welcome you to our Club Family. 
Should College Follow The Liberal Arts

Or Vocational Model?

By Tina Fernandez (new Viewpointe writer) of domains they never saw as connected before, and to career-driven methodology. Solely a liberal arts education
find authentic pleasure in learning. The Western canons, will not suffice in shaping the future professionals that
As I anticipate the beginning of my first year of college Classical studies, and other culturally significant topics corporations are looking to hire. Unless a cultural reset
this fall, I began asking myself the question: what do I want bestow learners with a sense of honor and tradition takes place, in which CEOs of these companies change
from my college experience (academically-speaking)? And imbued in their knowledge. Some critics, like American their expectations of college graduates’ skills, institutions
how does that compare to what a college should provide to sociologist Thorstein Veblen, will be quick to argue that of higher education must also prioritize career-focused
a student? In essence, what should the purpose of college such a broad-based learning model is a waste of time, learning. Employers want to hire professionals ready to
be? In today’s society, according to John Cassidy’s article citing it as a pursuit leading to a “lowered industrial contribute now, with the job skills necessary to thrive in
in The New Yorker, “earning a post-secondary degree or efficiency and for a type of character suited to the regime a corporate environment. Colleges have a responsibility
credential is no longer just a pathway to opportunity for of status.” While many of the classical texts traditionally in molding their students to become those desired
a talented few, [but rather] a prerequisite for the growing associated with the rich Western canon are pervasive in employees, not only for the sake of their student but their
jobs of the new economy.” Thus, with an ever-growing ignorance of other cultures, the lack of diversity does not own institution’s reputation
number of college students pursuing higher education, and usually translate to the modern-day liberal arts classroom. All in all, it is evident how both a liberal arts
an increasingly competitive career atmosphere, the purpose Instead, institutions of higher education are becoming methodology and a career-driven focus should be
of college becomes a pressing question. more inclusive with the texts that are studied and the prioritized in order to ameliorate the college student’s
I did some research and I found that there are two main, narratives that are heard. Thus, the claim that Classical personal experience and preparation for the workforce. A
opposing approaches to a collegiate education. While studies are a waste of time and only representative of liberal arts education will serve as traditional evidence of
some argue that college should be a place of preparation one demographic fails to acknowledge the improvements scholarship, and allow, to a certain extent, the pursuit of
for a future career, others believe college should be four in diversity of opinion that academic institutions have creativity. Meanwhile, the career-driven focus will give
years of intellectual and personal exploration, learning implemented throughout the years. students marketable skills that will allow them to find a
just for the sake of learning, and sometimes pursuing On another hand, such a wide grasp of knowledge good job. In an article by The Boston Globe, author Scott
academic domains that might be completely unrelated to is simply gratifying. To be literate in art, politics, cell Jaschik shows the feasibility of merging the two models
a future professional career. In other words, the debate biology, and economics is to be a true, educated, citizen. of learning together. In just one of many examples, he
concerns two modalities at distinct ends of the spectrum: And through knowledge (of a wide variety of topics) cites Harvard professor Louis Menand, who suggests that
the vocational model and the liberal arts model. With a academic institutions can shape the leaders of our future, implementing practical courses in a liberal arts institution,
deeper examination and consideration of the professional and the conscious-minded individuals of our present. such as accounting, can successfully occur by bringing in
atmospheres of today’s economy, I realized that institutions The worst thing an institution of higher education can an element of wider scholarship into that practical pursuit.
of higher education should be both exploratory and career- perpetuate is ignorance, failure to acknowledge and In other words, by integrating wider perspective that
driven. The ideas of creativity and practicality that stem respond to the circumstances of our society. A liberal arts takes into account the history and theory of accounting,
from these two models are not mutually exclusive; to the education will ensure that this does not happen. transforming a seemingly mundane course. Another
contrary, both of them can and should coexist in order to Nevertheless, academic institutions must also example includes institutions like Dartmouth College,
lead students to the career path they desire all the while acknowledge the expectations of employers when it which has created practical, career-focused courses such
allowing for their personal development. comes to hiring, making sure to, as Cassidy states, “imbue as journalism, but with a broader approach that includes
In “How to talk about liberal education (if you must),” students with specific work skills that employers need.” the analysis of journalism over the course of different time
Raymond Gaita defines a true liberal arts education as A few decades ago, Cassidy states, “corporations took on periods in American history.
one “in which learning is pursued for its own sake and is large numbers of college graduates and trained them for In the end, college is a period of time dedicated to
based on the idea that broad literacy prepares students to a lifetime at the company.” In other words, they would the creation and formation of self. Both practicality and
act as educated, enlightened citizens.” Furthermore, he invest in the development (through practical teaching creativity can coexist and both a liberal arts and career-
states the importance of ensuring that liberal arts schools and experience) of their new employees. Nowadays, that focused model can thrive in tandem. The goal is to bestow
foster a culture that prioritizes scholasticism over job- behavior has shifted, with corporations investing less in students with the mentality to use education instrumentally
placement rates. The value of a liberal arts education the employees’ preparation, thus showing that grooming and not intrinsically. That is, to use education not as an
is unquestionable; otherwise, such a modality would the next generation is much less of a concern for the end to itself, but as a means to reach some other end.
not be as prevalent in the United States. A liberal arts corporations. As a result, it is not only unfeasible but also
education allows students to discover the intersectionality unreasonable for an academic institution to ignore the Tina Fernandez is a resident of The Palms. 