Kadie Jillson
English 110
Professor Emerson
School and getting a good education is very important to an individual, especially in today’s society. At a very young age people start going to school to gain a good education in order to be successful. Without school or learning a lot of people would not be where they are today. Schools allow people to educate themselves every day and become more of an intelligent person. A lot of people need to go to college in order to pursue in their future careers and without schooling or learning people would not be able to do what they want to do as a job.
In Ronald Barnett’s passage he talks about his views on higher education. Barnett believes “A higher education experience is not complete unless the student realizes that, no matter how much effort is put in, or how much library research, there are no final answers (Barnett).” Barnett is trying to send the message that no matter how much an individual works and learns, there is an abundance of things you can learn from and take away in the world. In order to gain a good education you must work for it. Education will not just be handed to you, it takes effort and hard work. Everyday you can learn something because there is an infinite amount of things to learn.
When students go to college they are required to take courses in their first two years that are wide ranged and different rather then just one single subject. This allows students to take a variety of subjects and opening up your minds. In Martha Nussbaum’s passage she talks about the U.S. educational system and her opinions on it. She says “This tradition argues that education is not just about the passive assimilation of facts and cultural traditions, but about challenging the mind to become active, competent, and thoughtfully critical in a complex world (Nussbaum).” Nussbaum’s idea about the U.S. education is to not just learn about the subject or your major that someday you may pursue, but to also give you other topics that are important. It is good to challenge the mind with different subjects and learning different things everyday.
For many people middle school and high school was a breeze. It was pretty easy to get a good grades on quizzes and homework. Tests you didn’t have to study for and you could bring a notecard with helpful notes. Once college comes though that’s when things change. College will help you get a better education and force people to actually try in order to get a good grade. The people that study and take time on their assignment will always be the more successful and will get the grades they deserve. College will help you get a stable job and help you support yourself and your family.
I personally think I have experienced both learning techniques that Barnett and Nussbaum were talking about. My major is dental hygiene which requires mostly science classes but I still am required to take art, public speaking, english and so on. Those classes might not be related to my major but they do play an important role in my education in order to be successful. Having a higher education leads to being more mentally happy and economic stability. A higher education allows people to go above just a highschool diploma and to do more with their brain. I believe college is supposed to be a challenge like Nussbaum was saying and for it to not just be a breeze. If someone really wants to pursue in their career path they are going to have to work hard. College might be one of the most difficult things people go through in their life but they will eventually overcome it. Knowledge is one of the most incredible and most powerful thing in the world and anything can be achieved with it.
