Collegiate Education Is An Integral Part Of The Formation Of Future Successful Adults

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

In Freeman Hrabowski’s piece, “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” he mentions the differing opinions between going to college and choosing another path. Many people find college too expensive, and once a student graduates, he or she will face enormous debt and potentially risk still being unprepared for the working world. Hrabowski acknowledges this, and also notices that many students who do attend college occasionally make the wrong decision in terms of choosing a school and major. But while the stakes are high, he argues that college not only provides financial stability, but also allows students to become more virtuous citizens in the long run. He does this by providing information to backup his claims, using a passionate tone to explain his beliefs, and paralleling college attendance with good intentions.

College can be found to be a place of better intellect for individuals, a place where thinking critically is encouraged. The educational system has been structured in order to meet the needs of many students and few instructors, so lectures is considered as a base for teaching. Not many venture to find new ways of breaking this foundation of education, and so colleges have kept the existing standard. More students are becoming more intellectual as time progresses, so individuals need to find more diverse ways to teaching the generations to come. Technology and the many forms of art can benefit the educational system by encouraging higher levels of cognitive thought.

“Colleges Prepare People for Life” by Freeman Hrabowski, is an informative essay about how college is a crucial step for the preparation of a successful future job opportunity as well as future life. Hrabowski is the current president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and has been in that role since 1992. “In 2012, President Obama named him chair of President’s Advisory Commission on Education excellence of African Americans” (Hrabowski, 2013, p. 259). This quote goes to show the amount of knowledge and respect Hrabowski has earned throughout his life by proving himself and his ideas to others. Although college is a crucial step for the preparation of a successful future job opportunity as well as one’s overall wellbeing of life; some might disagree that college is the key to success. From this essay, messages within the text will be made known by analyzing the real meaning behind Hbrabowski’s words. As well as reasoning, as to why a college education is essential to one’s overall quality of life.

Most people see teachers and professors in the same light. They perform similar tasks. They teach. However, they are separated by a fine line of distinction. High school teachers help a student build a foundation of knowledge, and train the student to focus on learning. College professors help to shape and define a student’s foundation of knowledge, and challenge the student to cultivate the mind. High school teachers and college professors have similar goals and guidelines, but they take a differing approach to achieving the end result. The way the class is conducted, academic expectations, and view of student responsibility are a few of the contrasts between high school teachers and college professors.

As technology evolves and the price of higher education increases, alternatives to College are considered. Some people don’t believe a college education is necessary to be successful. Instead, they decide to go into business for themselves, using the skills and crafts that they 've developed on their own time to become entrepreneurs. In this day and age, it is easier than ever to learn from the comfort of ones home and actually get a degree in something with a high pay out, such as a real estate license or accounting degrees. But what social skills will be gained from sitting in pajamas on the couch? In college, you not only finish with a degree, you get real world experience. College is necessary for success and survival.

Students today have been raised to think that college is just the next step in life after high school. Decades ago,going to college was a huge achievement and not many people enrolled. Today, however it is almost expected that you go to college. The purpose of college has been changing over the years. Students and professors have lost sight of what to get out a college education. Gary Gutting explains in his article, “What is College for?” that students are losing passion for higher education. He also believes that professors are not realizing what their true job really is, and are not doing the necessary procedures to help their students succeed. “In On the Uses of a Liberal Education”, Mark Edmundson shares similar ideas, and gives a first person point of view of Gutting’s ideas about the quality of the college experience. Mark Edmundson would agree with Gary Gutting’s claims that the quality of colleges is declining and is negatively affecting the students and faculty members.

College students get to analyze other subjects that they may have not shown an interest in before; that will help them construct their career. Getting the necessary skills students need, will assure their success on anything they choose to do. “It is the education which gives a man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, and a force in urging them” (Newman, 54). Education gives students a better understanding their own opinions, and judgments; it creates anxiousness in developing them, a fluency in expressing them, and a power in urging them.

The author concludes that the debate of liberal education will continue throughout generations to come. That students should immerse themselves within liberal arts not to just make a living, but to become more complex and diverse, to find creative ways to solve new problems, and develop as a person as a person. (Ugar 196) By incorporating the gained knowledge of the liberal arts, undergraduates can pass it down to the future

In “Colleges Prepare People for Life” Freeman Hrabowski states that parents and students should consider all options when looking for a college to attend. Specifically, he discusses what it truly means to be educated and the steps to figuring out which school, or if going to school, is right for a person. “Too often, our current education system fails to help students identify the institution best suited for them – based on their academic preparation, aspirations and resources” (Hrabowski 260). By this, Hrabowski is directly saying that the education system should prepare, educate and help direct students in choosing an education path based on their strengths and weaknesses. To get fully educated on all college options parents and students

Education, to me, is more than just the classroom experience and college is the opportunity to grow by sampling a diversity of disciplines, selecting, emphasizing and participating in a variety of programs and activities. It is for these reasons that I seek to continue the

“Don’t Lecture Me” noted that students who gain a mastery of subjects in traditional lecture format classes were typically those who were engaging with the material through outside research and reading. These people are self-directed learners. They are motivated and have the 21st century skills necessary to gain a deeper understanding. Educators need to seek a way to make these types of students the norm, rather than outliers. It is not surprising that lectured-based educational formats do not succeed – these class styles do not foster an opportunity for students to exercise and gain mastery the 21st century skillset. By devoting class time to activities like group discussion, brainstorming, collaboration professors will provide students with skills that can be used independently and in

When the idea of college comes to mind, what does one think of? When “college’’ is said the first thought that comes to mind is four more long stressful years of school. College is not only about the sleepless nights filled with homework and studying for one of the many exams. College exposes you to new people, learning to be an adult, and receiving an education. Education sets up young adults up for a successful future, providing the skill set needed to be successful at their job or career. All the hard work of going to school is well worth it in the end when that degree is finally in hand. People should go to college because they can get better job opportunities, which will give them better financial stability in the future.

In addition to the social aspects, college teaches how to develop independent thinking. It also “exposes future citizens to material that enlightens and empowers them, whatever careers they end up choosing” (Menand, 3). However, most students today perceive college fundamentally as a party scene and various forms of entertainment instead of focusing on school work. They have forgotten about the academic freedom provided by receiving a proper college education.

Lectures are key to the learning process. However, lectures should be the starting point of your studies, and not the end. Lectures can in no way be considered as a substitute for independent study and reading.