The Purpose Of A College Education : A Place Of Education

A college education has been viewed as the key to the American dream. There are many opinions on the purpose of a college education from obtaining new information, becoming a more well-rounded individual or preparing for the workforce. Originally, the college education was primarily used to become more educated to provide services to society; however, the college education is perceived as an expectation and mandatory in becoming a useful person in society and workforce. The purpose of obtaining a college education to obtain the skills necessary to become a well-rounded individual in society.

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

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.

Andrew Delbanco’s essay “A college Education: What is its purpose?” gives three reasons why college still matters. Delbanco teaches at Columbia University, where he’s the director of American studies and has written several books on the meaning and benefits of college. Delbanco, begins his essay by discussing what college means to each individual student. He states, “For many more students, college means the anxious pursuit of marketable skills in overcrowded, under resourced institutions. For still others, it means traveling by night to a fluorescent office building or to a “virtual classroom” that only exists in cyberspace.” (1) Delbano successfully uses pathos to appeal to his audience’s emotions, his personal experience and anecdotal combine to persuade his readers to consider or realize the importance of receiving a college education, however his essay contains minor flaws that can counteract his claims.

One of the most important decisions in any teenager’s life is what they decide to do after high school, the choice is usually between college and deciding to get a job and start making money. Although the cost of education in America continues to rise, the benefits of a higher education are substantial and can be seen in the success of anyone who has a college degree.

In this article, Murray argues that many people go to college when it is not actually necessary for them to do so. He begins by explaining that obtaining a liberal education, while it is important to cultural participation, is not a good reason for everyone to go to college. Instead, he says that this education should occur much earlier, beginning in elementary school. Murray also believes that the in depth analysis of information that occurs college is too difficult for most people to enjoy, and many simply aren't academically capable. Even for those who are able, he claims that four years of college is much more than most professions actually need. He states that many people believe that getting a degree is the key to getting a

Higher education has a vast history; beginning in the early colonial period and spanning ten generations. With its wide range of history, aspects of higher education have changed as the ideals and reforms of society adjusted. Albeit, the missions and purposes of college have remained the same. In this paper, I will clarify the three main missions and purposes of higher education. Then, I will shift the focus of the paper to the area I would like to pursue in higher education and how it reflects those purposes.

Higher education has become a staple of American society. With over 20 million students attending over 4,500 degree granting institutions, the role that higher education has played on larger society is paramount (Thelin, 2017). However, despite the popularity of higher education institutions, the exact purpose of higher education has changed from century to century and may serve different purposes depending on who is asked. Higher education today is arguably both a public and private good. While state and federal governments have invested in a variety of higher education initiatives, as well as assisted thousands of students with attending college through loans and scholarships in hopes that students use their acquired skills and

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.

Many Americans think that college is very important to a person’s life, while some think it’s a waste of time. Jennifer Ludden went on to say that college might not seem important today, but will later on in life; however, Holly Epstein Ojalvo thought otherwise. She states that Dale J. Stephens believes that there is no real learning in college. He also went on to say that students learn some skills, but not all apply to life. I believe that college will help me prove to society that I am a smart intelligent black male. The most important reason is to make sure my family is taken care of.

Secondly the purpose of a college education is to meet the student's liberal art’s needs so that they can compete and give them a well-rounded education that will enable them to earn

College, it has many different interpretations relating to it. Recently there has been a lot of talk regarding college and it purpose, and whether it’s important to us or not. there are two arguments from two authors, a professor of Anthropology, Paul Stoller, and Charles Murray who is a political scientist, author and columnist. Both authors want to see a change. Stoller claims that the way we view intellectualism needs to be changed. While Murray claims that people should go to vocational training, and that college is for the high class group of people.

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.

Kyle Laffin is seen ias a typical mid 20’s American. He attended college to pursue a degree in accounting and financial freedom, but this came at a cost which he didn’t imagine. He took out a loan with his father as a cosigner for a little over $100,000. Even though he got an accounting job directly out of college, he is now stuck paying back a monthly loan payment of $1,200, when he only makes $3,333 a month before taxes. This has forced his father to make payments since he cosigned the loan. His father began working two jobs and was forced to take money out of his retirement account just to be able to make those excruciating monthly payments (Woodruff).

The purpose of university education is not only to gain more knowledge for future careers, but to educate people from becoming illiterate. University education was first established in 1636 by John Harvard. His first purpose was to train students to becoming Christian ministers, which resulted into a prestigious school for students to attend. Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts was primarily a puritan college because of the era of strict religious beliefs in society. Students that attended Harvard were very wealthy because of the high costs that was in demand to receive a higher education at a private university. As years past, students were not able to continue their education after high school because they did not have the money to attend a private university, so the idea of a public university would be established in 1795. The University of North Carolina was the first public university that gave people who were not rich an opportunity to receive a higher education, and democratize education for everyone. This university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was established by William Richardson Davie. As more universities were being developed, a new system of higher education would be introduced in 1901. The first public community college was Joliet Junior College. Founded under Superintendent J. Stanley Brown and William Rainey Harper, President of the University of Chicago. This new system of higher education gave more people the opportunity to go