What You'll Learn
Given these suggestions, what do you think sounds engaging? Why?
This article outlines four things that a student gets to learn in college: reading, writing, soft skills, thinking, and examining. Of these, I think that the most engaging requirements is soft skills because, with this, an individual gets to interact with other people around them directly. Soft skills basically involve the basic skills outside academics that an individual needs to be able to cope at the workplace. “… Nearly half indicated their current employees had inadequate basic employability skills, such as attendance, timeliness, and work ethic. Forty-six percent reported inadequate problem-solving skills, and 36 percent pointed to insufficient reading, writing, and communication skills,” (Middleton, 2011). From this quote it is evident that soft skills have a direct impact on the people around you, making them the most engaging.
What do these quotes say about the different purposes of college?
The first key purpose of college is to foster reading skills, which are essential at the workplace. This truth is evidenced in the quote, “ Reading skills are also valued by employers. A 2006 survey by the Conference Board, which conducts research for business leaders, found that nearly 90 percent of employers rated "reading comprehension" as "very important" for workers with bachelor's degrees ,” (Motoko, 2008).
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The second purpose of college is to instill the skill of writing, and (Middleton, 2011) says that “ According to managers at packaged food company General Mills Inc., which hires roughly 50 M.B.A. graduates a year, business-school graduates are data-savvy but don't always communicate marketing research effectively.” This communication about marketing research is done through writing hence the need for colleges to teach this skill.
Soft skills are also essential skills that colleges need to instill in their students besides the general academic knowledge. It is these soft skills that get the students ready to join the workplace. Most colleges claim to have prepared students to be future citizens, yet (Olson, 2006) claims that “In a 2005 survey commissioned by the Washington-based National Association of Manufacturers, 84 percent of responding members said K-12 schools weren't doing a good job in preparing students for the workplace. Nearly half indicated their current employees had inadequate basic employability skills, such as attendance, timeliness, and work ethic…62 percent of the public thought public high schools were not doing a good job "adequately preparing graduates to meet the demands they will face in college and the world of work."
Also, it is the role of colleges to enhance the skill of thinking in their students. A student will soon leave college and get into a world that is full of mass movements, both political and religious, mass cultures, and mass ideas. They will be under a daily pressure to join and conform to various mass movements. “ But you are going to be taught how to examine these mass ideas, these apparently irresistible pressures, taught how to think for yourself, and to choose for yourself… You will be taught that no matter how much you have to conform outwardly—because the world you are going to live in often punishes unconformity with death—to keep your own being alive inwardly, your own judgment, your own thought,” (Lessing, 1987). Finally, colleges should examine students on a continuous basis because the unexamined life is not worth living (Socrates).
Hesse, D. D. (2002). Writing and Learning to Write: A Modest Bit of History and Theory for Writing Students. Strategies for Teaching First-Year Composition , 38-44.
(Hesse, 2012) takes advantage of his knowledge of the field of teaching from a national perspective to reflect on the same. It was surprising to learn that there is no single, correct formula for writing, and different writing situations incorporate different strategies in their composition. To learn how to write better, then you will have to seriously try different strategies and processes. The much that is said about writing tends to be general: write prose that is in line with the standards of clarity and correctness, be well organized, and analyze the beliefs and knowledge of your audience. It was also interesting to note that classical rhetoric has been a key component of the present-day writing courses for centuries.
Menand, L. (2011). Live and learn. The New Yorker , 6 .
College is a stage that is designed to teach students the basics of life, both academic and social. One of the most essential things about college is that it facilitates intellectual growth. According to (Menand, 2011), while grades serve as either a positive or negative reinforcement, what the student actually learns in college is what is important. “ If you prefer the second theory, then you might consider grades a useful instrument of positive or negative reinforcement, but the only thing that matters is what students actually learn .” The ultimate goal of going to college is so that a person can get as much financial and personal rewards as possible. That said, and given the chance, people would only learn whatever it is they need for them to become successful. As such, most students will not have the zeal to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge that will give them a wholesome life. (Menand) states that “ This reflects a different theory of college, a theory that runs like this: In a society that encourages its members to pursue the career paths that promise the greatest personal or financial rewards, people will be given a choice, learn only what they need to know for success.” Menand further emphasizes the need for every student to deserve the grades that they receive, emphasizing the fact that “ Education is about personal and intellectual growth, not about winning some race to the top. ” It is this transformational power of college that makes it hard, but worth it in the end.
In order to get into the advanced economies, it is essential for an individual to have various special skills and knowledge. Work is increasingly becoming more high-tech, and this necessitates the career prep and specialized training that is offered in college (Menand, 2011). One of the most difficult trait to distinguish between a group of people is their intelligence. “ The theory goes like this: In any group of people, it's easy to determine who is the fastest or the strongest or even the best-looking. But picking out the most intelligent person is difficult because intelligence involves many attributes that can't be captured in a one-time assessment, like an I.Q. test,” (Menand, 2011). The college sorting mechanism involves taking the students through various rigorous courses and then using grades to distinguish them. “ Society needs a mechanism for sorting out its more intelligent members from its less intelligent ones, just as a track team needs a mechanism (such as a stopwatch) for sorting out the faster athletes from the slower ones .” When the intelligent people have been identified, then it will be possible to ‘ funnel them into careers that maximize their talents,’ thus getting the most out of the available human resources. The college experience and process are perfectly fine-grained and multifaceted to facilitate this sorting process.
College helps advance learners from the general education received in high school to more specific training that will help them get into a vocation. In its most basic explanation, college is a supplier of credentialing service and vocational training, “… college is where people can be taught what they need in order to enter a vocation. A college degree in a non-liberal field signifies competence in a specific line of work,” (Menand, 2011).
References
Hesse, D. D. (2002). Writing and Learning to Write: A Modest Bit of History and Theory for Writing Students. Strategies for Teaching First-Year Composition , 38-44.
Lessing, Doris. Prisons We Choose to Live Inside . Harper Collins, 1987.
Menand, L. (2011). Live and learn. The New Yorker , 6 .
Middleton, Diana. “Business Education: Students Struggle for Words.” Wall Street Journal , 3 Mar. 2011, pp. B:8. SIRS Issues Researcher . Accessed 21 Jan 2012.
Olson, Lynn. “Beyond Grade 12: Preparing for College and Careers--Ambiguity About Preparation for Workforce Clouds Efforts to Equip Students for Future.” Education Week . 24 May 2006. SIRS Issues Researcher . Web. 21 Jan 2012.
Rich, Motoko. "The Future of Reading: Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?" New York Times , 27 Jul 2008, pp. A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher . Accessed 2 Jan 2012.
Socrates. Qtd. in Plato’s Apology .
