RE: A Student's Lament

2008-04-04

School in the States breaks into two groups, K-12 is to provide you with the basic understanding of everything, math, science, art, literature so that you are not lost when someone say force time velocity, this is an evolving project or this is a releaf painting. Well the public education system wa envisioned as a way to put everyone on the same footing of basic knowledge once you reach the age of consent, 18 years of age. (okay, reallyin Virginia, public education is designed so you are just smart enough to know how to run big machine and maybe enough to fix something once it breaks, because you know how it works. The private schools were to train the new genereation of owners and managers who would inherit said machines.) This said the USA education system is a total mess and students' education is at the mercy of their teachers (which is how it would be in any system) apathy and the USA anti-intellectual environment. (Quick history note, Mao and Stalin HATED intellectuals and tey are decades later still recovering.)
Now college, college has a two-fold purpose; socialization and education/tool development. For almost all people, particularly since the boom in suburbs and white flight, college is the first time that a person will meet someone the was raise drastically different from you and has a completely different way of thinking about life. A mass of different cultures, people from every religion and economic background and worst of all for the kid that has always been the smartest the smartest in the class, some kid that makes them look retarded. The socialization aspect is probably the most important part of college life, learning how to deal with people, elementary school "just ignore him" does not work when you have a class everyday with a asshole or a class project. Yu have to learn to work with the person, no matter your feelings.
The education aspect is providing the student with a deeper look at all those subjects from K-12 but with a teacher who (hopefully) is a master of the subject. i.e. Shakespeare is not so boring to read which a teacher knows it front to back, loves it AND can explain it back to you (honestly most can). The other part is tool development/learning how to think, which you get particularly (in my opinion) in English, Philosophy, Anthor/Sociology and History class, you can throw in Physics and Biology for thw way the world works stuff. Those classes teach them how to structure their thoughts in to something better then stream of thought, which makes no sense to anyone, including the thinker. They learn how and why people think the way they do and what happens when they have these thoughts. They also get different ways in which to look at the world and how others have viewed it.
This works when the student asks themselves, "how does my history lesson relate to my anthropology class" instead of "why am I hear, I am a business major, OH! she has a cute butt".
There is one big, biggest difference between K-12 and college, it is the one that once the student figures out, college tends to get a lot easier. K-12 is a give you system, the teacher is a seudo parent and your performance effects their future. College is a figure out your damn self system, professors have hundreds of new students every year and if they fail, it does not matter to them, even if they like them. In college they have to put forward the effort, they need to pull themselves along, instead of being pushed. In an over used phrase, it is all on you. People should think of it as their first real chance to grow up.

RE: A Student's Lament

2008-04-04

Many college students learn how to survive in the professional world for the next ten years or so. Students who make the most out of their higher education experience (because it is what you put into it) learn how to think and learn for life. College should force you to think out of the box, challenge you to see new perspectives and help you to understand the bigger picture. It’s okay if you don’t remember all the details or facts; you’ll recall what you’ll need to know or you’ve at least learned how to teach yourself what you’ll need to know later on. I love learning, but I certainly lack the photographic memory for recalling details after the test or class. But, I’m always amazed how often something I learned in one of my classes has made me see or comprehend something in another class. Sometimes it’s as if it’s all part of a grander plan. Each student recalls what made an impression on him or her and then contributes to the class from his or her individual educational background. That’s what makes class discussions so powerful. I often will enter class without a thought on the subject we’re covering that day until I listen to what other students or professors have to say about it. Then, my mind starts racing with all these enlightened thoughts because I start combining what I just learned with what I’ve already learned. In the end, this is seeing a bigger picture than I previously saw beforehand. The purpose of education is getting the most you possibly can out of it, so you can apply it in your job, social life, family life, etc. Yes, our education system has its flaws and we often as students just have to go along with the system to succeed in this society, but trust that you’ll learn what you need to know to fulfill your purpose here on earth. You never know if what you learned today may come in handy years down the road.

Also, I find school extremely stressful, since college often gives you more work than is realistically possible to complete. But, life often seems to give us more than we can handle, too. Someone once told me to think of college like this: In a certain sect of the military, the government will prep officers by giving them a scenario in which they have to make a split-second decision. There is no right answer, and people's lives are affected no matter what decision is made. Higher education is kind of like that. It forces you to think under pressure and prioritize under deadline. Sometimes all this stress often leads me to wonder what’s the point. However, my parents have given me an invaluable gift--an incredible education. This is something that’s completely my own. I’ve shaped it, and I can use it however I choose. Education is never a waste because no one will ever be able to take what you’ve learned away from you.