My Life Of Pursuing Higher Education

High school graduation marks the start of young adults’ lives, a time where they are expected to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Many young adults are pressured into attending college, whether they have determined their goal or not, but is it necessary? “The Case Against College,” an article written by Linda Lee, a mother who has questioned the former belief that college equals success, claims that “not everyone needs a higher education.” College, though beneficial to many, is not for everyone and should not determine an individual’s life.

My education started not long after I was born in 1989. I attended Ruth Washburn Nursery School, for 3 years, but I don’t have a lot of memories of what I learned. 3 things stand out to me. This was a place of great fun!! I learned how to love running. I could run for ages. Secondly the plecostomus’s were the coolest fish in the fish tank! Lastly I remember the song that goes, “Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away.”

    In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that  is in place. For “a brutal fact

From a very early age, I always assumed it was a part of my future to pursue an education. The American educational system engraves the importance of school at a very young age. Elementary school children are motivated through rewards when they try their hardest to reach their goals. Students are exposed to statistics and facts outlining the consequences of not getting a college degree as soon as they reach middle school. High school counselors and staff make it their priority to ensure that students apply to college. Students are conditioned to believe that education is the building block to a successful future. My cultural upbringing did not support my choice to pursue an education, however, I refused to conform to my family’s behavioral expectations because certain norms must be challenged due to progressive time periods and conflicting values.

Nine years ago, I never could have imagined I’d be writing this essay. I was a senior in high school, and, like the rest of my classmates, I was apprehensive about the future. Unlike my classmates, I felt like I had missed the proverbial “you need to get your life together” message. I watched my classmates apply to colleges, their majors already decided and their future careers mapped out. While I was an above average student, I felt I lacked the decisiveness my classmates seemed to have. I did not feel passionate about a career or even a field of study. I felt defective. This was compounded by the financial strain I knew attending college would have on my family. It seemed wasteful to try to “find my passion” at school while squandering

Introduction: It seemed so far away, and all of a sudden I had to make the decision. A decision that would change the rest of my life. From the time I was little I knew I wanted to go to college, and here I am. I have always had the desire to continue my education and gain many experiences after I graduated from high school. I didn’t ever thing twice about continuing my education

This is a reflective essay concerning my READ 3423.01 with Dr. Reid in the fall of 2016. As I wrap up my first semester at Texas Women’s University I am awed and thankful. I am the first person in my family to attend University. Some find this surprising because I do come from a family that has done well professionally, but that was due to grit and personalities. The fact is, I was never even spoken to about attending college while I was growing up. I believe this is because no one before me had this experience to share or encourage. The truth is I tried my hardest to not be at school from middle school on, I just wasn’t engaged in the process. Of course, there were a few teachers I connected with, like the business and history teachers, but I hated the rules and structure of the environment. I amazedly graduated with my high school class, as my friends went away to Universities I took some classes at the community college. What I found was that when I got to pick my classes I flourished. Even the classes that others said were too hard to take during summer quarter, I excelled in those as well. As life unfolded I got married, moved out of state and had two daughters. When it was time for my daughters to attend school I was pretty apprehensive about the idea of it. I opened a preschool in a mother-in-law apartment we had on our property and decided they could learn there in a small community. That preschool led to homeschooling, and large educational co-ops. I lived in a

The decision to obtain a higher education beyond high school is no longer a question of if, but when. This is the question that author Caroline Bird discusses in her article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” written in 1975. This text strives to convince students, parents, and advisors that obtaining a degree might not be in the best interest for those involved. Circling around the idea that college is a requirement and no longer an act of free will. Bird starts the article off strongly by building her credibility through her own personal research and other credible sources as well as appealing to readers through logical reasoning using numerous statistics, but fails to convince readers and discredits her ultimate goal through a disconnect in her use of analogies.

The decision to obtain a higher education beyond high school is no longer a question of if, but when. This is the question that author Caroline Bird discusses in her article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” written in 1975. This text strives to convince students, parents, and advisors that obtaining a degree might not be in the best interest for those involved. Circling around the idea that college is requirement and no longer an act of free will. Bird starts the article off strongly by building her credibility through her own personal research and other credible sources as well as appealing to readers

“Going to college was just an excuse to go find me a husband but don’t tell anyone,” Marianna said laughing fixing up her earpiece. Leaving her mom at the train station sobbing, she went off to Tabor College in Kansas. When she entered college all of her emotions hit her at once she felt nervous but, she also felt excited to start a new chapter in her life. Entering college was one of those moments when you have the spotlight on you and you feel everyone is judging you .Luckily she had one of the closest friends you can possibly have, a sister. That’s when her and her sister’s journey began.

See growing up in a large family like mines education was very important. Despite we didn’t have many to graduate from college put a lot of pressure on me. See my grandparents didn’t go to high school or college. So, they were real hard on their kids about go to school and graduate. So, made my parents hard on my brother and me about our education. My brother and me will be the first in our large family to graduate from college. My mom was real hard on me because she didn’t want me to go to in be like her. She had

Attending college with a set mind of success is not only beneficial for the individual who has attained a degree, but to the family and the generations to come. A child’s hero usually tends to be a parent. What greater influence would a parent who has obtained a higher education and has lived acquired the social skills, academic skills and the independence of college be to his children? Further, education is now more

For many, after graduating high school the next big step is college. I never asked myself why or if I even wanted to. Yet, since I was not yet ready to join the work force, and didn’t want to disappoint my parents, I simply followed the path that I was supposed to take. For a while I had no direction, but through the loss of my high school English teacher and my dream of making my family proud, I discovered that college was the place I wanted and needed to be.

When I was a kid, school for me was waking up early in the morning. I also have to study a lot in school, then after school I have to do homework. I remember my first day at school. My mom and dad, both were so happy and prepared but I was so nervous and cheerless. I didn’t like to wake up early in the morning for school , but as time flew by I started loving school which made me wake up with energy instead of tiredness. I began to enjoy the school as I made new friends and I got to know how it is like when you meet people out of your neighborhood. With my friends I had lunch together and study together. I started to understand what the purpose of the education system. Based on what I understood I think the purpose of education is really aimed at helping students get to the point where they can learn to be on their own. In this journey of education I had a lot of positive and few negative experiences,but the negative experiences also helped me growing. Positive experiences are my teachers helping me improve, and I improved more when I moved to the United States.

I began my journey of writing on May 7, 2017 when I began taking English 1301 at Texas State Technical College. When entering the course, I did not feel that the course was relevant to complete my educational journey. Writing was not one of my strongest points, so this journey was a difficult one. During the course I learned how to better prepare myself for writing and composing assignments, how to construct an outline, proper sentence structure, and punctuation. I feel this journey will better prepare me for continuing my education and help me to communicate better as a professional.