Sociology in Familiar Places: Expectations
Norms are found in all societies. Colleges are subcultures. There is a specific way of doing things and all campuses are different. Everyone has expectations on how college life will be and the standards that come with it.
“More than a wish or a hope, an expectation is something a student believes will happen, anticipates doing or experiencing. Expectations are grounded in a student's self-understanding and in knowledge about the college or university at which he or she plans to spend the next four years or more.” This superior justification of what a college student foresees by Robert Gonyea, really depicts what a scholar looks forward to in his or her college years. When expectations are applied to the student it is treated as a plan or a goal. However, when intended for the institution, it is looked upon as an obligation. There are so many ideas one thinks of when starting a new chapter in life. Some occasional deliberations include parties, freedom, higher workload, dating, and leaving the comfort zone of high school. In reality, many of these things don’t change, while others alter significantly.
A typical expectation of the college life is more freedom in choice. Classes are taken upon his or her own schedule. Everyone, besides getting the general education out
of the way, has a decision of what classes to take. Classes begin focusing on the career being pursued, rather than faculty and school regulations. The possibilities are endless in college. This is what created the saying, “You can be anything you want to be.” This has been said a million times and will be heard a million more. With this newfound freedom of choice comes responsibility.
“Ditching class” has now become something of the past. Unlike high school, classes cost money. Paying for education makes it to where the people who actually want to be there will be, rather than idlers that are there only by force. No one cares if you skip class. Everything, including the grade, is up to the student. Although half the time, professors rarely even take role, missing one class can result in not understanding the newt two weeks worth of work or more. Choose to go to class or not, but if not, the student is paying to fail a class.
Goals should be set to avoid skipping of classes. "To maximize learning and involvement during the first year of college, students need to set personal goals that are high enough so that they must try their best in classes and use campus resources to augment what they are learning in their classes.
Coming to college as an adult, we have many expectations and preconceptions of what college will or will not be. The expectations we have can influence our college life for the better or the worse. My experience since starting college has been an interesting one. People have misconceptions about college because they do not know what to expect. After doing some research, I have concluded that there are three major factors that are often misunderstood about college life. The first is the financial aspect of college. Second, is the relationship between the professors and students. Third is time management. These three factors play an important role in why people are afraid to go down the path to college.
In Jennie Capo Crucet 's essay, “Taking My Parents To College,” Crucet describes her own experience as a freshman college student who was faced with many challenges that were unknown to her, as well as the cluelessness of what the beginning of her freshman year would look like. I felt like the biggest impression Crucet left on me while I was reading her essay, was the fact that I can relate to her idea of the unknown of college life. Throughout her essay, she described her personal experiences, and the factors one might face as a freshman college student which involved the unknown and/or uncertainty of what this new chapter would bring starting freshman year of college. Crucet’s essay relates to what most of us
All of the experiences that college brings are designed to shape students as people to make them more proactive members of the modern society. In other words, college is where kids are made into men and women. In many ways it's also a trial by fire to see who has the right focus to make it through. These trials, scary as they may seem, all shape the graduates of today. Well the graduates anyways. “It forces you to grow up. It's just all about learning how to live on your own. I matured a ton and I still mature every day” (Paoli). College gives students the resources they need to survive in the modern world and so much
This statement goes to Zinsser's belief that college is a time for students to try new things, and learn things about themselves that would give them an idea of what they want for their future. The students who pre-select their goals end up living satisfactory, but unfulfilled lives. It is this fear that made William Zinsser write this article in hopes that readers will learn that true success sometimes results from taking chances, and giving up control.
Also a big point that most students like to attend to high school is because of prom and all the fun activities they do at their senior year. As a college student you stop caring about things like that and start caring more about getting excellent grades at school so you could graduate. now that you have greater responsibilities you would not always have free time as other normal high school student indeed you would most likely have projects or homework during the weekends or during the breaks. But all of us know that we have to leave unnecessary things in order for us to progress
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.
College makes students see life as a young adult because the student’s parents are not around while they are enrolled at a university. College will give people a feeling of freedom by not being around their parents when having to make difficult decisions. Students can do whatever they want to do without any hesitation. It will let students make mistakes and learn from them. Students being to make life long relationships. Students basically gain independence when they are out there by themselves with no type of help. Students that are in college can be exposed to worst things like drugs and alcohol. Students will learn that it is time to grow out and come to the reality of working and making a living of something. Also, in college students experience fraternities or sororities they can join unlike high school. Students learn that if paper works needs filling out they are held responsible for filing the paperwork out. The student has to make sure he or she has food to eat so they might have to eventually get a job to buy the food. Freshmans get to experience all the new activities or clubs that are at the college or university they are attempting to attend. The seniors of the college realize that it soon will be time to move out of their guardian’s house and start a journey of their own by moving out and getting their personal place. At some universities they have dorms, which sometimes be shared with roommates . Roommates
It seems as though the majority of college students these days aren’t looking to further their education because it’s what they really want, they do it to please their parents, to be accepted by society, or because there’s nothing else for them to do (Bird, 372). These expectations have led to students being unhappy and stressed, and have pushed them into a school or a job that they don’t particularly care for.
One way to compare and contrast high school life and college life is student population. The population in college far exceeds high school enrollment. In high school the average number of students is seven hundred fifty and in college the average number of students is approximately seven thousand. Also, in college the authority figures are less visible than in high school. In high school, teachers restrain the students in all activities and events. Where as, in college the students are given more freedom to control themselves. Another difference is, in high school the hours are set in block form with no flexibility because the schedule is set by administration. College classes are more flexible because students get to choose what hours during the day they want to attend a class if an alternative is available.
Before I started taking the course of sociology I wasn’t really expecting to learn anything, it was just supposed to be an easy online class. However, that was not the case. It challenged my mind. I started to see sociology all around me, starting with family, then friends, and how I see things overall in general. The fact that we have an everyday life in which there are patterns in ways of living is what sets a platform for a sociological breakdown and for being a part in what we do. A better way of understanding ourselves. We use sociology in many ways every day. One central and important study of sociology is the study of everyday social life. Everyday life and sociology are definitely two different words and situations, but they tend to hold a close relationship. While sociology is the study of the human interaction, everyday life consists of everyday human interaction. Everyday life is filled by human beings interacting with one another, ideas, and emotions. Sociology studies the interactions with all of these and shows how mere interaction resulted in things such as ideas. For an example, race and ethnicity are important concepts in the field of sociology and are ones that are studied a great deal. Race plays a large role in everyday human interactions and sociologists want to study how, why, and what the outcomes are of these interactions. Current sociological theories focus mainly on how there are many different factors in our everyday items of life, like movies. We were assigned a final to write a review for a movie in sociological form. The movie that was on the list that also happened to be one of my favorite movies, Toy Story. When we were assigned the assignment, I never thought about how in-depth it was with sociol...
Teachers in college for the most part don't really care whether or not you are in class. All it means is that if you are not there, you are going to get a failing grade if it happens too often. Missing too many classes will cause the teacher to withdraw you from the class, resulting in a failing grade. If you do it the smart way you would withdraw from the class yourself because then it would have no negative effect on your overall G.P.A. In high school the teachers are always on you about attendance. If you miss too many days you can fail. If you are not in class they want to know why. They also want a note from your parents excusing you from class. Some schools even want your parents to call you in sick if you are not going to be there. If you do not have a note they can write you up for an unauthorized absence and, give you a detention.
College is also great because it lets you be ourselves. To be perfectly honest, people at college can be a bit odd, and the diversity of
Imagine it is one’s first day in high school. Standing in front befalls the entrance way to your new future, thinking of what lies ahead from the perspective of a middle school grad. One would perhaps have mixed emotions as to what to expect. Observing the new students around the corridors, it transpires as if they are dragging their feet to progress inside, for the reason that they are fresh from the blissful summer days; they are in exchange, yet again, to the reality of school homework, projects, reports and tests. Some have queries and doubts in their minds; what does one expect of themselves getting into a high school life such as this? “What remains in store for me, I wonder…” “This school year is going to be subsequently much tougher
When someone is younger they look forward to the milestones in their life in which they hope to see. A couple of them will be the beginning High school and then College. Those two events are two different jumps most people will take in their life. At first the student may begin to become intimidated by the fact they will be entering college. When a students begins their high school career they will immediately begin to start looking forward to college, and the freedoms in which it brings. Once the student graduates and starts their college career they realize there are a lot of things in college that high schools have in common, as well as many differences in which they did not expect.
Schedules are a difficult thing to balance. A person must find the time to complete a number of tasks in a day. A normal adult may have time to get everything done and still have time to spare. The normal college student on the other hand is constantly on the go. College students have busy schedules that include working, studying, and socializing.