A University Education is Necessary in American Society Essay

More people than ever before are attending college due to the endless opportunities that it provides. Louis Menand, a college professor and the author of “Live and Learn: Why We Have College,” explains the meaning of college through three theories that have been developed. Theory 1 supports the idea of the sorting-out process that separates the highly intelligent from the less intelligent. Menand’s second theory explains that college provides opportunities for developmental growth, personal growth, and teaches individuals about the world around us. These are valuable lessons that will not be learned anywhere else. Theory three supports the idea of people attending college to specialize in a specific vocation. I

John Newman was born in the 1800’s and was sent to school at the age of seven. He took school very seriously and he played no causal school games with others students. He was a scholar of writing such as; poems and popular hymns. Later in years, he became a priest, an expert in theology, and nationally known as an influential religious leader.

John Spayde’s article What Does it Mean to Be Educated (June 1998) offers insight into the world of philosophical questions and studies of our educational system. Spayde shares and responds to the opinions of different novelists, journalists, professors, and colleges that have taken a stance on what it means to be educated. His article briefly covers topics such as; educational decisions, financial division, entitlement, humanities, and technology. Spayde also discusses the importance of being connected and learning from a real-life experience. Spayde believes that having a connection to the world around you allows you to use any experience as a learning mechanism to further your education.

I am writing to you in regards to the blog you posted “The Case Against College Education.” You mentioned, “It is absurd that people have to get college degrees to be considered for good jobs in hotel management or accounting…” It is crucial for an individual to acquire a college degree, however, the American education system is unfair. By attending a college, students have a higher chance of economic success in the future and undergo opportunities to explore a wide variety of possible paths. There are various ways to get a college degree but in the end, there needs to be a lot of reform around education. The question remains, should we help more kids go to college or make it easier for people who did not attend college.

More often than not, young students are taught to believe that they must go to a prestigious university to obtain a Bachelor’s degree or higher in order to have a fulfilling and satisfying career. This may hold true for some people, but others do not need to follow this same path. For students who choose a career that isn’t considered conventional or isn’t high in pay, they tend to be looked down upon which pressures them into choosing career paths that they do not have a passion for, or the skill set to actually accomplish which makes college a waste of time and money. While everyone should be encouraged to get an education beyond high school, people should be encouraged to get the education that is relevant and proper for them to make sure they are getting their money’s worth.

In 1852 when John Henry Newman wrote his essay, “The Idea of a University,” he wanted to convey that a University’s purpose was to be able to educate first-rate members of the social order. Newman’s theory, although over a hundred years old, still applies to today’s college students; many are seeking higher educations to not only lead to successful careers, but to also become an improved person in society.

Caroline Bird’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money” explains her beliefs on why, for some people, going to college is an ineffective and inefficient use of their time. She states that many students do not belong in college because they are there for the wrong reasons and they are not happy learning. She also gives evidence to suggest that going to college and getting a degree does not actually allows a person to make more money in their life time. Her final claim is that college does not prepare most students for the real world and the jobs they will have once they graduate.

Before one can move forward with their education one must understand where it all started. When researching the history of higher education there is a common theme in every aspect of my research. I would find the word “college” and the word “university”. Throughout the 19th century there would be some confusion between the two words. In colleges the primary role is teaching where as in the university research and scholarships are the primary role (Lucas,2006). Also, current universities offer post- baccalaureate or graduate instruction whereas colleges do not. However, this was not always the case before the 19th century.

Who decides if we should go to college? We live in this world that convinces people that college is the right thing to do. This society today has painted this clear picture, that if you do not attend college, you would always live a life of struggle. There are those who attend college to have a better life and also to receive that higher education. On the other hand, you have those who are force to attend college that barely made it out of high school. However, you do have does advocates that encourage people to attend college. This point of view promotes that college would allow you to have a better life, a great job, and become financial stable. People who are advocating that college is the right thing does not stress the issue that

“Misconception No.1: A liberal arts education is a luxury that most families can no longer afford. ‘Career-education’ is what we must now focus on.” (Ungar, 2010, pp.191) As Ungar has claimed, there is a recent misconception that a liberal arts education is no longer a necessity but luxury because it doesn’t provide an instant career launching education. With so many people having to a need to spend as little money as possible, they are determined to only spend money on preparation for their future career. For this reason they go to college only to take courses that are necessary for their future. “She is in college to take vocational training. She wants to write computer code. Start a business. Get a job in television. She uses college to take vocational courses that pertain to her career interest.” (Murray, 2008, pp.228) Murray explained the story of a girl who is in college solely for preparation for her career. Because of this, she isn’t interested in a liberal arts education. If the course doesn’t directly pertain to her desired career, she prefers not to take it.

After high school, a choice that many students have to make is whether to go to college or not. There are many factors that go into one’s decision. There are pros and cons to going to college and also there are pros and cons for not going to college. But the decision that will give someone the better opportunity to have a more successful life is to go to college. The money that one will earn after getting a college degree will be more than the money a person will make without getting a college degree. As our society has continued to evolve, education has become the optimal route to professional success: pursuing a degree is the best way to receive training, to gain expertise in a given field, and even to guide you and help you make choices

Education can bring these individual talents to the surface. Having these talents developed by the way of the educational system, a person is more likely to become a productive member of society. Without these gifts and talents of individuals, answers in the medical, environmental, and social fields could remain mute and unexplored. Education has the responsibilities to bring out the best in each individual. The needs of society are continually changing. Therefore, education must also continue to change in order to productive responsible members of society.

Academic success could never be fully measured by degrees alone, but it can include a person’s well-being as well as their mind and certain characteristics about a person that make them unique. This success can be achieved in different ways by these different people with different strengths, but there is the same ultimate goal in sight of each and every student enrolled in college at some point. However, this goal of being successful in not only school but in life, can sometimes turn out to be the opposite of how we plan. Of course, a student can achieve success by earning degrees and still fail in life. Academic success can also be a huge constituent to a students vocational calling in college as young students make a transition into adulthood.

The two main institutions predominantly concerned with education are Universities and Schools. It may be argued that the main purpose of Universities is to advance the