Analysis of Mark Edmundson's "Who Are We and What Are We Doing Here"

Having the mind and determination to become successful isn’t an easy task. Success isn’t considered a gift, it should be a hard task to achieve and it matters how it is accomplished. Success

Students are encouraged to think about college by explaining some of the benefits they can find from obtaining a higher education. These benefits can conclude: -Being able to find a finer paid business; live a life with experience based on their learning and achievements, which will help students to use their money (and knowledge) well earned for personal use, such as buying their own needs, pay all bills in general, etc. -Work in your study career, which is very likely the work of your dreams, -Business,

Colleges and Universities are windows of knowledge that many people try to break, in doing so, people are ready for the next stage of their life. But not many have the option to go the world where knowledge is everything, and end being a simple worker all his life. People would judge a person for not having a degree, bachelor and many more. But do they ever think that colleges or universities are really preparing you for any jobs, does a piece of paper worth a lot now a days. Freeman Hrabowski wrote an article responding to people that think educations is a waste of time, and it is called “College Prepare People for life” (Hrabowski). In the article he mentions many positive thing about going to college and what is the outcome of going to college. But I believe that, he hasn’t done a very good job to explain why college is a good place to go prepare yourself for the real world. I believe that college is very important for our life, but not many of us know if we are really learning something while being in college. I feel like colleges or universities has become a place where we go just to go or try to earn a degree in any field. Therefore, I believe that colleges doesn’t enhance our basic skills, doesn’t give us a certainty of us getting a good job, doesn’t give us the hardships of the real world and it isn’t a place where everyone gets treated it equally.

College is an opportunity to truly discover who you are. Often enough, you hear people saying “You should really major in this field, I think you would really enjoy this career.” or, “Do you think you really want to study that? Have you thought about what you will be doing ten years from now?” filling your mind with self doubt, uncertainty, and the anxiousness of not knowing what you want to do with the rest of your life. Mark Edmundson wrote an article titled, Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?, published in Oxford American addressing college students and their families how the most important thing college students should focus on is personal growth. When students take their courses seriously their engagement can help finding out who they really are and which future career will lead not necessarily to great financial success, but to a career and life that is very satisfying. Edmundson wants to inspire his audience and have them take what he is saying seriously. Edmundson uses satirical informal language and hypothetical situations to effectively persuade college students to focus on their personal growth in order to create a life and career that is deeply fulfilling.

There are many different understandings of what success is. Some relate success to money, others relate success to happiness, but it all depends on the type of person.

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.

"Who Are We and What Are We Doing Here" In Mark Edmundson artice "Who Are We and What Are We Doing here" he mainly talks about how college isn't what everyone paints it out to be. Most people don't go to college to follow they dreams and study what they really want to study instead they study fught for education In the begginging of Edmunson article he congrats the freshmans on their achievement on the war they will fight for the next four years of their college education.

Throughout English 1010 thus far, I can certainly say that my writing skills have been tested and tried. Writing for fun and composing rhetorical essays for a college-level English class are vastly different styles and require contrasting attitudes, voices, and points of view for each. Before writing essays of the former diction, I must admit that I did not understand the rhetorical strategies and had no idea there even was a rhetorical triangle. The assignments included in this portfolio show the advancements I have made in my writing with an academic tone.

In their essay “Should Everyone Go to college,” a part of the book They Say I Say, Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill explore the advantages and disadvantages of college and examine the value of college for all individuals. Owen and Sawhills’ purpose is to put an end to the belief that a four-year degree is necessary to be successful. They adopt an informative tone to influence readers to open their minds to a new belief that college is still important but not mandatory for every student. Owen and Sawhill argue that the proposition that college is a requirement to be economically successful has failed to recognize that not everyone is created equally by reminding readers that many factors play into whether college is the right option for someone.

I think some students are going to college just to go to college or because their parents told them too. Then they end up in a major that don't make them money and they can't drop out because their parents will look at them funny. Lol yes, that’s a famous Kanye line from “All Falls Down”. But seriously, my advice is for the youth to research whatever career field they want to enter and look at the 5 to 10-year projections. Research the work life balance, starting salary and potential for growth. Especially for your career path in your city. Look at which companies are hiring for people with your degree/skill set. Research!! Research!!

In the interview with Prof. Mark Edmundson, he said that the meaning of going to college has changed. In his opinion, real higher education for students that should be finding who you are, and what you want to do in the future. However, higher education in college becomes more and more like business. Students pay for high tuition to go to college, so they are more likely costumers in college. This relationship between school and students

Only a few percentage of people in our lives achieve success. Most of the people believe that success implies wealth and wealth implies success. In reality, neither of those things are true. Although money directly correlates with financial success, achieving true success in life and becoming rich are two different things. A man can be poor and

Today, many students are settling for jobs immediately out of high school instead of furthering their education in college. Students should consider how necessary college actually is for their lives in the future. It provides one with a significant amount of opportunities, a greater knowledge about their career plan, and a better sense of responsibility.

I feel that Edmundson’s point of view is focused on the definition of education. In society, a different education is portrayed, that is the kind of education that leads to materialistic success. He clearly stated that many times the student’s focus isn’t education. But their ultimate focus in only on getting a diploma and to graduate. Then their definition of real success is to find their first job, getting their paychecks then eventually realizing that it’ll be used to pay their own student loans. Society seems to have the wrong idea of what the pursuit of education should be. Usually schools aim on getting students that will succeed and possibly give back to them in the future. But only if everyone changed their outlook and perception on

Most expect that by attending college and graduating they will be able to find a good paying career with benefits in a field that will interest them. It seems that from high school it is drilled into our heads that we must attend college to be successful in life and contribute to our society. However, college graduates often find themselves working in a field that is unrelated to their degree. This could be due to how many people are also trying to apply for jobs in that specific field, or it could be that that job does not provide them with enough money to live off. The most important thing that students really need to ask themselves before they attend college is, “is a college degree really enough in today’s world to get a good career