The Desire for Education
Going to college has become an American dream. The desire to gain an education, in order to live a fulfilled life, leads to working a dream job and having the house on the corner with the white picket fence. However, achieving the American dream of obtaining a college degree is not as easy as one may think. To live the American dream students need to have a deep desire to learn and educate themselves to become more thoroughly educated and knowledgeable. Both Russel Baker’s essay “School vs. Education” and Mary Sherry’s’ essay “In Praise of the F Word” have agreed with points in the fact that education begins earlier in life. But when does education begin? The first easy lessons in life begin from learning how to roll, crawl, walk, and talk. I remember when I was about three years old and learned how to ride my first bike with training wheels. Although I didn’t learn overnight, after much practice, I became a pro. We are born to learn. However, active parenting, a supportive community, a robust economy, and prepared teachers impact the process of education and the importance
…show more content…
The material a child is exposed to influences the way they learn. Many smart and educated students get bullied for wanting to stay in and study instead of going out to party. Because of the social environment the “nerds” and “geeks” become social outcasts and could begin to lose interest in education. Today’s society does not promote the importance of education. While standing in line at the grocery store, many magazines are headlining about another wild stunt from a famous person such as the Kardashians. The other handful of magazines is about food. “Because of television, by the age of six, a child will have learned how to pick a lock, elaborate a fairy tale bank robbery, prevent wetness all day, to keep laundry white, and kill people with a variety of armaments.” (Baker
Every parent wants their child to go to college in order to gain a higher level of learning, but is this truly the best option? In recent years, many have begun to question whether or not a college education is necessary in today’s world. It’s not. College is not worth its cost because of its financial burdens, lack of teaching hands on experience, and its very particular methods that don’t work with some people.
A definite correlation between impoverished school districts and disciplinary action can be seen throughout the U.S. This increase in security and authoritarianism teaches poor children their future place in society by inducing “fear of authority and habits of obedience.” He also mentions that corporations often target the least prosperous districts to market their products under the guise of “educational tools.” These schools often discourage creative thought and teach students that reading is dull and tedious as well. Conversely, the financially secure children can avoid public schools altogether by attending private school, or go to a public school with monetary advantages due to its location.
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.
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.
Since I grew up in a household with two parents who are college graduates, and even two grandparents who had graduated from college, the idea of attending college was never seen as a unique opportunity, but rather as a necessary part of my future. I’m not going to complain about growing up with parents who valued the pursuit of knowledge, but it certainly never exposed me to the mindset that maybe college is not the best option for everyone after high school. Today, there is a huge debate over if the price of college is really worth it in the end, with the high cost of tuition and the number of people who just aren’t prepared for the demands that college has to offer. And on the other side, some say that college is a necessity not just in one’s
Something I have always known since I was a little kid is that the educational system in this country is a complete fraud. American schools claim to live by the ideal of No Child Left Behind, but millions of students get cast aside each and every year. In schools these days, it is obvious which students are the elite—those that are raised up and motivated to go to college—and the ordinary student— those that are somewhat ignored throughout their schooling and are lucky if they even earn a GED. As a recent graduate of high school, and a product of this country’s educational system, I have had the opportunity to develop my own opinions regarding the myth of education in our society. Based upon my observations going through the school system, and the various arguments posed by several authors in “Rereading America”, I strongly believe that schooling in this society caters solely to students in the elite category while ostracizing students that do not live up to the elitist ideal.
In previous times it has been thought, by some, that with a college degree a person could have any job and would be very successful. In Colonial America, colleges were mainly founded by the wealthy. The goal of college at this time was to “produce Christian gentlemen who would inherit their family business” (Thelin). After a “college boom” so many state colleges were built and some became co-ed, adding “special” courses for women. The goal of college attendance still was not completion of a bachelor’s degree. College during this time was mainly primary learning so students could eventually move onto college-level higher learning. “Students sometimes took two years of courses in order to earn an LI (license of instruction) certificate to teach public school” (Geiger). Recently there has been debate over whether or not a college degree is really worth it anymore. Some people think getting an education isn’t worth the money. It can be argued that with a college degree you can get a better job. Going to college, seems to be the obvious next step for many high schoolers. Getting a college degree and education is worth it. Students will come to find that the benefits of having a degree outweigh the negatives. College helps prepare students for the future and exposes them to life experiences.
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.
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
American’s education system has been entering crisis mode for a long time. Throughout the past few years, the overwhelming question “Is college needed or worth it?” While it is an opinion, there are facts that back up each answer. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” mentions that the enlightened must help the unenlightened and further their knowledge. The problem with America today is that high school students are given the option of college and that makes for less enlightened people. While it is possible to learn in the work force or Army, college is a better option. Mary Daly wrote the article “Is It Still Worth Going to College?” which talks about the statistical value of attending. Michelle Adam wrote the article “Is College Worth It?” which mentions the struggle young people are going through to even get into college. Caroline Bird wrote the chapter “Where College Fails Us” in her book The Case Against College where she
As the old adage that I was constantly told by my parents as a mischievous teen goes “There is a time and place for everything and it is called college”. The problem surrounding today’s youth is the fact that the “everything” referred to by the former is now too often not only encompassing the mischief performed by young adults but also the unrelenting stress of affording a higher education and the mountain of debt that is smothering young Americans seeking a better future. Despite arguments that providing free college provides more benefit to rich students than poor ones and that free education would make a degree worthless, free college educations is the best tool to close the income gap plaguing this country and revive the American Dream.
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.
It has been a common discussion for us to dismiss television as a result of the negative things that most of the young viewers tend to copy and practice later on after watching. Johnson is mistaken when he says watching television makes you smarter and because he overlooks the fact that reality television does not teach us what is really going on in our society. For example, shows like “fear factor” (Johnson, 293) where people are being asked and deceived to do crazy things like overcoming their fear and would stoop down so low for the money. Johnson claims that “we need a change in the criteria we use to determine what really cognit...
In “School is Bad for Children”, John Holt discusses the faults and failures of the education system. According to Holt traditional schooling stifles children’s curiosity and learning, causing them to be ill-equipped as adults. He believes children are smarter before they enter school, having already mastered what he says is the most important thing, language. Holt goes on to describe how children no longer learn for themselves in school. Their learning has become a passive process. Children then come to realize teachers are not there to satisfy their curiosity, and in turn, grow ashamed and accept what they think teachers wants them to believe. School also becomes a place where uncertainty and incorrect answers are forbidden. The students learn how to cheat and pretend to work when the teacher is looking. As a result, they only use a small portion of their brain, and soon they grow bored. Holt suggests this boredom shuts off their brain and is the reason why many students turn to drugs. Drugs he says is the only way many young people can find awareness in the world they once had when they were little. Children John Holt says, are very fascinated
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.