A College Education Delbanco Analysis

938 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How is education important in our society

Education: The Impact on Self and Others “In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity – it is a prerequisite” (Obama). Starting from the late 1950s, the adoption and proliferation of digital computers and digital record keeping that continues to present day caused many great changes that impacted societies all around the planet. The invention of the World Wide Web, brought about by the digital revolution, allowed globalization to be a feasible practice. Businesses, governments and other organizations cooperate and develop influence on an international scale which present to us a world that is more connected and competitive than ever. Andrew Delbanco, …show more content…

In his short essay, A College Education: What Is Its Purpose?, Delbanco gives examples on the importance of education through different views and conversations. I fully endorse and agree with Delbanco’s view and reasons on the importance of a higher education and why it is vital to both the individual’s well-being and society as a whole. Today, the United States’ political climate is more divided than ever. Largely due to the election of 2016 where Republican Donald Trump defeated the Democratic Hilary Clinton in one of the closest election race in U.S. history. With the increasing social unrest and inequality in the country, it is evident that education plays a crucial role in politics. “The best chance we have to maintain a functioning …show more content…

Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation” (Wilde). Ultimately, the main point of education is to discover oneself and their personal identity. In Delbanco’s short essay, after giving a talk to a group of alumni, a Columbia alumnus points out that he has missed the main point and what was most important is that the education he acquired taught him how to truly enjoy life. Delbanco reveals that the best reason to take an interest in education is not for any economic or social gains, but “what it can do for individuals, in both calculable and incalculable ways” (465). The insightful statement resonated with me deeply and I wholeheartedly believe that by learning and exposing oneself to the best thoughts and ideas the world has ever produced is key to finding real happiness in

Show More
Related

  • Zinsser and Barber on College Pressures

    329 Words  | 1 Pages

    One of the evidence that I found worthy of consideration in Zinsser's text is that "In the late 1960s", "the typical question that I got from students was 'Why is there so much suffering in the world?' or "How can I make a contribution?' Today it's 'Do you think it would look better for getting into law school if I did a double major in history and political science, or just majored in one of them?" (Zinsser 197) This evidence shows that the views on college education is transient and can be changed. At the same time it gives us an idea of what kind of college education Zinsser favors. Real purpose of a college education should not be forced by career or parental influences but by personal choices especially by taking classes in the fields of liberal arts.

    Read More

  • Appiah And Dewey's Essay: Education And Happiness

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    People who work hard for their goals experience true happiness. True happiness is the feeling you get when you try to complete your ultimate aim in life. People in the pursuit of education experience this greatly because they are striving to pass their classes to succeed academically. Anthony writes, “No doubt some of the experience I have in my relationships are part of what is good about them, part of what makes the relationship contribute to my flourishing, to what is good in my life” (Kwame Anthony Appiah 450). The experience, he feels during a relationship is what makes him happy in life not the relationship itself. This is similar to how education experience works because many people enjoy the hard work they put into their academics rather than the grades they receive. Dewey believed that education was a way for someone to complete their goal in life. He states, “If a few words are added upon the topic of education, it is only for the sake of suggesting that the educative process is all one with moral process, since the latter is a continuous passage of experience from worse to better” (John Dewey 401). Dewey is explaining that the experience of education allows people to develop their moral process and happiness. Dewey’s ideas on education combined with Anthony’s views on happiness support the idea that one’s experience in education directly influences their happiness. In short, the pursuit of education is an

    Read More

  • Three Reasons College Still Matters By Andrew Delbanco

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    In recent years, many have debated whether or not a college education is a necessary requirement to succeed in the field of a persons’ choice and become an outstanding person in society. On one hand, some say college is very important because one must contribute to society. The essay Three Reasons College Still Matters by Andrew Delbanco shows three main reasons that students should receive their bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many question the point of wasting millions of dollars on four years or maybe more to fight for highly competitive jobs that one might not get. Louis Menand wrote an article based on education titled Re-Imagining Liberal Education. This article challenges the main thought many americans have after receiving a secondary education. Louis Menand better illustrates the reasons why a student should rethink receiving a post secondary education better than Andrew Delbanco’s three reasons to continue a person’s education.

    Read More

  • Rereading American Education Essay

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    Academic excellence is the primary desire of every parent and student. However, there are varying perceptions of the role of education in the life of and individual. According to the survey carried out on the perception of the role of education in the life of an individual, it was established that eight out of ten students were of the view that they pursued education for the purpose of economic gains. Additionally, six out of ten students viewed education as serving the purpose of broadening their view and perceptions in life. Accordingly, the widening of the will help them rethink their ideas and values. This essay will focus on the reasons why students attend college and barriers to education in light of the book Rereading America.

    Read More

  • Peter Brooks Analysis

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    It should not be a surprise that many people believe that a college degree is a necessity in today’s world. We are taught to believe this at a young age. The average citizen will not question this statement due to how competitive the job market has become, yet does graduating college guarantee more success down the road? Peter Brooks is a scholar at Princeton University and publisher of an essay that questions the value of college. He obviously agrees that college can help securing a job for the future, but questions the humanities about the education. He uses other published works, the pursuit of freedom, and draws on universal arguments that pull in the reader to assume the rest of his essay has valid reasons.

    Read More

  • College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be by Andrew Delbanco

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    The right and privilege to higher education in today’s society teeters like the scales of justice. In reading Andrew Delbanco’s, “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, it is apparent that Delbanco believes that the main role of college is to accommodate that needs of all students in providing opportunities to discover individual passions and dreams while furthering and enhancing the economic strength of the nation. Additionally, Delbanco also views college as more than just a time to prepare for a job in the future but a way in which students and young adults can prepare for their future lives so they are meaningful and purposeful. Even more important is the role that college will play in helping and guiding students to learn how to accept alternate point of views and the importance that differing views play in a democratic society. With that said, the issue is not the importance that higher education plays in society, but exactly who should pay the costly price tag of higher education is a raging debate in all social classes, cultures, socioeconomic groups and races.

    Read More

  • Vocation Or Exploration By Alina Tugend

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a young girl in school, I always believed that I would one day would be successful and had the hope that a college education would assist me in being successful. I exceled in school even with circumstances such as hurricane Katrina and September 11 and had a thirst for knowledge. At the same time, the teachers that influenced me in life convinced me to attend college for the betterment of knowledge and a potential for a job or a career. However, those same teachers were teaching me textbook methods and no real on hand training that is essential in an education especially a college education. In "Vocation or Exploration? Pondering the Purpose of College”, Alina Tugend ponders the idea of college being either Vocation—job training— or Exploration learning. She starts off by referring to her oldest son is about to graduate high school, but quickly goes straight to the point of her essay with “What exactly is a university education for?” She provides answers such as college is a way to automatically receive a job if one majors in science, technology or a major that can be applied to a changing world that we live

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Owen And Sawhill's Essay: Should Everyone Go To College

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Owen and Sawhill 208) After all, if our country’s leader is preaching about college being a good thing, it should reflect the views of a majority of people in this country. They then continue to try to make connections with the audience by emphasizing that this is a “we” problem and by recognizing that the decision to go off to college is not an easy one for everybody. These first words in the essay demonstrate a call to the ethos of President Obama and clear cut pathos to bring the authors down to the same level as their audience; However, the rest of the essay is absolutely dominated by

    Read More

  • Education In Alfred Lubrano's The Cost Of Education

    1778 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many great minds believe that education is a powerful tool. Investing in your education is the most valuable and most rewarding thing a person can do to secure their future. Influential people who have brought positive changes to the world have said: “The investment in knowledge pays the best interest”. (Franklin). “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. (Nelson Mandela). “A brighter future starts with an education”. (Montgomery).

    Read More

  • Importance Of College By Andrew Delbanco

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    We live the truth every day, working to keep the ideal of democratic education alive. The best reason to care for college, who goes,and what happens to them when they get there, is not what it does for society, but what it can do for individuals.like the elder guy said, you thought me how to enjoy life. What he meant is college helped him read, help him crave for works of art, heightened his alertness to color from melody. He was grateful for such an education given to him. As a person regardless of what kind of origin we have, we have the right to pursue happiness. In america today at every kind of institution education is at risk. Student are persuade and program, trained to live from task to task. To many colleges do to little to save them debilitating frenzy that makes liberal education marginal if it is offered at

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Global Education

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    The world grows smaller and smaller as time goes on; maybe not literally, but definitely through some points of view. With everything and everyone being more connected than ever now thanks to advances in communicational technology and with the merging of cultures from all over the world, a suitable form of education needs to become the standard to accommodate such a world. Global education teaches students about the world’s different cultures, traditions, religions, languages and other important global factors contributing to our modern world. According to various recent studies, The U.S. falls behind many other nations regarding their global education standards (Webb). How then, can the U.S. or any other nation with similar education struggles

    Read More

  • Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here? Rhetorical Analysis

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Studying a university degree is one of the biggest achievements of many individuals around the world. But, according to Mark Edmunson, a diploma in America does not mean necessarily studying and working hard. Getting a diploma in the United States implies managing with external factors that go in the opposite direction with the real purpose of education. The welcome speech that most of us listen to when we started college, is the initial prank used by the author to state the American education system is not converging in a well-shaped society. Relating events in a sarcastic way is the tone that the author uses to explain many of his arguments. Mark Edmunson uses emotional appeals to deliver an essay to the people that have attended College any time in their life or those who have been involved with the American education system.

    Read More

  • Understudies In College Essay

    1094 Words  | 3 Pages

    Education is the absolute most essential factor in the development of our nation. In particular, advanced education clears a future and gives chance to understudies that go to college and gives them a shot at a vocation. 50 years prior, college was entirely for the tip top, high class Americans. Presently, it appears that each regular family has no less than one relative go to college. In any case, with the expanding drop out rate today, understudies appear to be less inspired by learning at college and their needs change from their unique objective of graduating. The significance of education today is a developing variable on the grounds that the fate of this nation relies upon the understudies in college today.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Internet on Education

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    With the global economy relying more than ever on brainpower and innovation rather than raw materials and manual labour as generators of wealth, a good education has become the key factor determining who will succeed and who will be left behind.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Education

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Education plays a vital role in shaping tomorrows’ leaders. Not only can we become a better nation by acquiring the skills necessary to be productive members of a civilized society. Increase knowledge to actively achieve and meet challenges that can produce changes in which are productive for attaining business innovations, political and economic objectives.

    Read More

More about A College Education Delbanco Analysis

Open Document