Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Education

Not long ago I heard someone speaking about education. The man said that in the past scholars took on individual disciples or students based upon their merits. In general education was about becoming enlightened  rather then obtaining a good job. In our society of online college degrees and increased pay for higher education this was a rather startling realization. It was kind of depressing. In general I try to look at my education as an opportunity to learn, and become a better individual, but I still often fall into the trap of calculating my grades and doing less then what I expect of myself because my professor doesn't require as much as I could do. Sometimes it feels like the whole educational system is based on extrinsic motivation or forces on the outside encouraging you to learn. I hope that at least some of my personal education is based on intrinsic values.