Rhetorical Analysis Of Mark Edmundson 's ' Who Are You And What You Doing Here?

    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

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

What we get out of the college experience, we use in our day to day lives. Even the things we think aren’t important or useful end up becoming helpful. The material we learn in college is fundamental when it comes jobs and life in general. We are taught to make choices. We are taught how the real world works, and how to turn our education into our way of life. “…the really significant education in thinking that we’re supposed to get in a place like this isn’t really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about.” (Wallace 199).

College is an important place that can lead us to a bright and successful future. College success is more than academics; for us it’s learning how to become an adult for the first time in our life. In college we will develop skills to have relationships with professors, counselors, and with our peers. The whole college experience enables us to truly succeed. Meeting new people, becoming acquainted to different ideas and cultures, and mostly, the enjoyment of the four plus years of being in school. A couple of years from now we will look back at college as either one of the best or worst times of our lives. The one thing that motivates people to go to college is “career

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

What Is College For? By Gary Gutting is an analytical article upon the importance of a higher education to the public, he begins by discussing the statistics of what college has deemed worthful to people after their education. It was evident that many found it to be useful later on in life and helped them mature and grow intellectually. Gutting also points out that although many people find themselves to be successful later on after college that not everybody had the same experience, many had to drop out for the fact that a higher education was considered to be too expensive, or dropout rates too high. It is evident that he deems college to be an investment for many people who were fortunate enough to attend, therefore, providing the habits of mind of engagement, persistence, and openness to display how they play key points to the qualifying traits of a college student.

"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.

College is a chance to be free and is a bridge between the real world and school. I’m an adult and expected to behave as such; I make my own choices where I have to decide what is important to me. I have an opportunity to learn how the world works, to explore the limitless possibilities and a chance to admire how vast knowledge can be. College will change my life in the way that I can develop life skills outside academics, to be fully

In a national survey of 2000+ adults concerning college education, “74% say their college education was very useful in helping them grow intellectually,” and, “69% say it was very useful in helping them grow and mature as a person (Pew).” These statistics validate the satisfaction of students who feel like their college experience had helped them become a better person. Some may argue that higher education can be toxic, as a teacher stated that,“in schools, we create artificial learning environment for our children that they know to be contrived and unserving of their full attention and engagement (Crawford).” However, this “environment” may be tough, but at the same time is preparing students to be the best they possibly can be in the real

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.

In the essay “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here” by Mark Edmundson, he shares a conversation with his father. He shows you the realities of college that you may or may not realize before you step on to campus before your first day of class as a freshman. Throughout the essay, Edmundson gives tips and points on how to get through college.

“College allows emerging adults to try out a wide variety of possible paths to their future. It is worth the time because the benefits last a lifetime” (C.Carter 2011). During the progression of explorations, some people instantly become aware of which path they should follow. For many others, it may only be the starting point at their exploration, yet they will still leave college with a positive consequence of having a stronger understanding of themselves (Arnett, Jeffery Jensen; debater 5). For an example, being in college has made me understand myself a little bit better, knowing what I want in life and how I want to achieve

It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.

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.

Now that I am reaching the end of my undergraduate career I feel like it’s fit to reflect on how far i’ve come and some high and low points during this time of my life. Some people may say that these four years of college are the most wonderful times of their life, and for the most part that is correct. But there is this whole other part of college life that is super stressful and even scary. During this paper I will address my personal development and how certain experiences played a role in those developments. Even though I feel like i’ve grown a lot and have developed and learned new things, I have run into some issues. Those issues being family/culture, social and emotional growth, intellectual growth, values and beliefs, citizen and community member.