Analysis Of Mark Edmondson 's ' I Resonated With Me

A college education is valuable and its quality is of the highest importance to most Americans. In his essay, “On the Uses of a Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students,” Mark Edmundson utilizes ethos, pathos, and logos to effectively deliver his argument that the current educational system, especially in college, revolves around consumerism which in turn has negatively impacted students, teachers, and universities in general. However, although Edmundson presents an overall logically sound argument, there are few instances throughout the article that may hinder the reliability of his claims to the audience.

Published in Harper's Magazine’s September 1997 issue, Mark Edmundson’s essay, “On the Uses of Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students,” presents a very personal argument for an apparent crisis in liberal education–the lack of passion in students. According to Edmundson, a professor at the University of Virginia, “liberal-arts education is as ineffective as it is now…[because] university culture, like American culture writ large, is, to put it crudely, ever more devoted to consumption and entertainment, to the using and using up of goods and images” (723). He believes that consumer culture is responsible for students’ dispassionate attitude towards his class because they view liberal education as a paid service or product that should cater to their wishes. Further, he writes that universities feed into consumer culture, maintaining a “relationship with students [that] has a solicitous, nearly servile tone” (725). In this way, Edmundson lays out the reasons for why he thinks liberal education is failing.

Schools are supposed to prepare students for the future which, for a lot of people, includes college. Today’s public education system is flawed by some of key issues that make American k-12 public education one of the worst out of all of the developed countries. Students aren’t being encouraged to think critically in classrooms designed to keep students from becoming leaders. There are also many public schools that are underperforming when compared to predominantly white schools due to lack of wealth. Today’s public education system does not adequately prepare students for college because the students are not engaged, the school system is flawed and segregated.

“What Is College For” by Andrew Delbanco, shows the need for both a universal college system; one which caters for all of society, and one which provides a liberal education. Delbanco gives many reasoned thoughts on how, and why the college system has become restricted, to purely those of a higher socio-economic background, rather than being exclusive to people of all backgrounds. The idea of college being a platform for people to learn, advance their skills, and become whatever they want to be has seemingly diminished over time. The ideas in favor of such an educational system are put forward, but they are foreshadowed in my opinion, by the notion that people should have the same educational opportunities in life; regardless of their economic or social background. A universal education system is needed for our society to prosper, especially if it provides a liberal education; this is not just for the individuals that make up a community, but for the community, as a whole.

Mark Edmundson, the author of “On the Uses of a Liberal Education”, is an English teacher at the University of Virginia who expresses his concerns about the trajectory of the universities and colleges in America. Edmundson depicts how college students today have “little fire, little passion to be found,” towards their classes (4). In an effort to find the source of this lack of passion, Edmundson describes contacting other professors about this issue while refining his own ideas. Ultimately, Edmundson comes to a conclusion. He believes that the consumer mindset of college students has hindered American universities as a whole. My target audience is my professor, Professor Chezik. Looking closely at his wording, formation of sentences, and idea structure, one can see a recurring theme throughout Edmundson’s essay. Edmundson uses fragments, specifically at the beginning of his paragraphs, to start his point, pose counter arguments, and to have a poetic refrain.

It has been argued that University culture and education is slowly moving toward a schooling designed to please students that have little fire and passion, rather than “an educational institution designed for instruction and examination of students” as Oxford Dictionary defines it. Mark Edmundson 's "On the Uses of a Liberal Education" explains how university education is becoming ineffective due to the University’s “ever more devot[ion] to consumption and entertainment” (40) in American culture as well as the focus on pleasing privileged students who have inevitably been devoured by the same sense of commercialized consumption. Likewise, Sherman Alexie affirms the idea that university education is marketed toward the “elite” groups of students who are able to shop for and afford college in his story, “Saint Junior”. Alexie accomplishes this through his contrasting characters: Roman Fury, a member of the Spokane Tribe of Indians and valedictorian of Wellpinit High, and Alex Webber, a wealthy, white legacy, who doesn’t necessarily have the grades universities are looking for, but has no problem getting in anyway. While Edmundson and Alexie approach the conflict through different forms of writing, both authors argue that by way of commercialized American culture, universities have isolated students of various ethnicities and cultural backgrounds by gearing a college education in favor of students with a privileged status. Both Edmundson and Alexie argue this point, finding

I agree with Charles Murray, that too many people are going to college these days. There are many reasons to go to college. In my opinion intelligence doesn’t only come from those that went to college, not everyone needs to go to college. Our culture has ingrained in us that college is the only path but that is simply not true. Charles Murray

The problem however is the way students go about approaching college. In other words, students don’t evaluate all their options when planning a way to pay for college. To illustrate, many students don’t select the appropriate school that meets their academic and personal needs or are unaware of college cost. Leaving many students with unnecessary debt to pay off.

Many believe that to become successful in life you need to apply to college and get a degree. This is a common misbelief nowadays that sets up a lot of students who are not ready for failure and lures them into debt. College is not cheap and many students do not realize how much it costs until they are stuck in it. It is also not for everyone and students should not be pushed to attend college. Students should not be forced to attend college because there are other viable options like take a year off, joining the military, and getting a job.

"The Customer Is Always Right?" described the race for amenities as the consequence of student spending choices. In a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, four-year colleges searching for a way to attract a "majority of potential students" will invest in consumption preferences. By spending more of the budget in amenities (student services and activities, athletics, facilities), colleges would meet the high value students place on these categories. Since academic support and instruction (libraries, museums, course costs) was only favored by students competing for highly competitive institutions, the "vast majority" of four-year colleges would not increase academic investment. The cost of appealing the masses would be degrading academic quality (“Many Students Opt for Colleges That Spend More on Nonacademic Functions, Study Finds | Inside Higher Ed”).

As a senior in high school who plans to attend a 4-year university next year, I am in the process of saving money because next year around this time I will be making large investments. With making these immense payments, I expect to graduate with useful skills, knowledge, and a degree will eventually help me and be worth it in the long run, although, I know these things will not be automatically be given to me. After reading Fox's essay, I do wish to be known as a common consumer for various reasons. With the consumer mentality as a model for higher education, the student realizes that they pave their own path and it is up to them to take advantage of the materials they are given in regards to the amount of money that they pay. Thinking about

Both writers, Paulo Freire and Mark Edmundson have a sense of the teacher – student relationship that is based on some experiences they have had. The relationships are not mutual; it is more of a give and take understanding. The schools will stop at nothing to attract students to their universities even if it goes against morals and norms. Although others have noted liberal education is the new way of conducting business, they have overlooked the importance of Humanity-based education. In the past, education was based on the academics and substance received from the university. Now, It is more of a business that is driven by money and pleasing the parents and students.

“On the Uses of a Liberal Education” by Mark Edmundson examines the relationship between the ways of college students and the society they are involved in. He states that students lack passion and avoid taking educational chances to challenge themselves. Edmundson also has the idea that all of his students, except for a few outliers, are cowardly and unwilling to pursue higher paths of education. According to Edmundson, the universities are to blame; the main purpose of the universities being to appease the wants and needs of students. This consumer culture created by universities is unknowingly perpetuated by the students who wish to attend. Edmundson concludes with ideas of how to improve this relationship:

In today’s society we view education as many things, but among the many views and opinions of education there are two major views we see that stand out, education is a right for all and education is necessary only for finding a successful career. To be more exact, it is a college education that is or should be available to all and is only necessary for securing a successful job. But before we even begin to think about a job or whether we want to pursue our God-given right to higher education we must first start our journey at the bottom of the educational system. In our lives we all start our journey through education in the same place, the bottom of the educational system. For some this can mean something along the lines such as pre-school, private tutoring, or home-schooling. We eventually work our way up going through kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, and then eventually high school. After high school we are than left two choices, enter directly into the work force, or pursue a higher education. Say we chose to pursue a higher education and go to college; we then have to make another decision, do I want go directly into a certain profession and pursue a degree for that career, or do I want expand my virtues and pursue a liberal education. For now, let us delve into the subject that is a liberal education. The beginning of liberal education spans as far back as to the time of the great Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Plato, as Chuck E. Taylor describes in

According to Newman “A specialty school cultivates your mind in a certain way, but deprives you in others” (47). He argues that by focusing solely on the academic aspect of a university, people are being robbed of the strong spiritual attachment and willingness to uphold morality. This privilege to taste the different areas of knowledge at a university allows students to formulate their own opinion for what it is that they want to do with their lives. So, a liberal education helps to develop a love for a certain specialization, and the morality that pushes people to uphold what is right in order to succeed in whatever they have chosen as their careers.