Higher education is seen by many people as a continuation of education beyond high school. Often, people think that enrolling in college is a form of higher education. However, military academies, vocational schools, and music conservatories are also forms of higher education. Overall, college is viewed in popular culture as the gateway to earning better jobs and salaries in a variety of fields ranging from liberal arts, to STEM, education, businesses and the social sciences. At the same time, it is an option for people to develop self-understanding, effective communication, and to choose a major of his or her interest. But some choose to pursue a liberal arts degree. Liberal Arts is defined as the areas of literature, mathematics, science, languages, history or philosophy. In today’s world, there are not many job outlooks for people with liberal arts degrees due to high demand for STEM or business careers. Apart from college students pursuing their career or liberal arts interests, some are unsure about what career track is right for them. Some might hear that pursuing a liberal arts degree might be impractical over a career track. Often, this leads to people …show more content…
A variety of career options allow people to understand the job outlooks for people in many career paths right after college. Outside of the classroom, extracurricular activities allow people to learn about themselves. From a personal perspective, joining extracurricular activities has enhanced my personality, which has allowed me to meet new people who are majoring in a wide variety of subjects from english, history, business or even music. Some also get involved with extracurricular activities to relieve stress due to the anxieties of college classwork, projects or
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
In ancient civilization, a liberal arts education was considered essential for free people to take place in civic life; without them people would not be willing to disregard one's traditional values, and analyze a broad variety of arts, humanities, and sciences to create new opinions and ideas. In the 21st century many Americans are doubtful that liberal arts degrees are actually worth the cost of college. In his essay “The New Liberal Arts”, Sanford J. Ungar discusses seven “misconceptions” of liberal arts degrees in modern-day America.
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
In modern times, the importance of liberal arts is questioned. The article “Myth: A Liberal Arts Education is Becoming Irrelevant” by Carol T. Christ makes the argument that a liberal arts education provides a broader range of knowledge which is useful because it produces a critically thinking student. Obtaining a career is the main focus of college education. Knowing this, Christ emphasizes how a liberal arts education is useful when looking for employment. She refutes the conception that a liberal arts education is irrelevant in today’s society by identifying the useful qualities it provides the employers look for such as, “Flexibility, creativity, critical thinking, strong communication skills (particulary writing)” (Christ,
It’s strange that history, English, history has nothing to do with one’s major but it’s a requirement. Bok said “ Liberal art programs seldom take adequate account of the crucial importance of students’ careers- career that will inevitably affect what kind of persons they become, how well they balance the claims of work and family and what opportunities they have to serve others besides themselves” (345). This statement concluded liberal arts major is important, without it, students wouldn't be able to be successful in school. One wouldn't know how to think critically and analyze what one is learning without learning the basic subjects. Even before college, students are required to learn nothing but the basic subjects such as history, English, and math. Liberal arts take a big role in students’ education because it teaches one how to read, write and use critical thinking in the real world such as work, college, and real life
Based on Three Reasons College Still Matters, there are three main reasons why a college education is so important. From an economical standpoint, an education is most of the time needed to earn enough money to live comfortably. Attending and completing college provides a possibility for future economic stability. Within a highly competitive workforce a college degree can put a foot in the door to a job of a person’s choice. Statistics show that people who obtain a bachelor’s degree or higher get paid more than those who do not obtain one. Many question the worth of a college degree because of how expensive it is, though some say that the money spent is an investment on a person’s future. One can say that the worth of a college education is within the eye of the beholder. Many q...
One extracurricular activity that I am very passionate about would be the FFA. FFA has taught me so many things and it has brought me so many places. I 've learned how to be a great speaker from different events my advisor has challenged me to do. Public speaking has taken me so many places and I have attributed most of my success to FFA. When I was a freshmen I competed and received gold in the creed speaking competition. As a sophomore, I tried extemporaneous speaking and received a gold for that as well. As a junior I really wanted to challenge myself so I took up agricultural sales as my winter career development experience. I ended up being recognized as the state runner up individual agriculture salesman as well as the 15th best agricultural sales man in the nation. Now as a senior, I have been going around speaking at different school board meetings, advocating
At the start of the semester, my oblivious state of nature associating with the Chinese culture reached an unacceptable level. Implementing a necessary change, I decided to educate myself on different cultures starting with China. I failed to ponder that such a rich, deep culture existed outside America. Encompassed by this country’s unique yet suffocating melting pot culture, my outlook believed ideas such as uniformity between American Chinese food and Authentic Chinese food. After this course, my bigot perspective widened as I witnessed diversity in the world. Before this class, when I thought of Chinese food, my connotation jumped to thoughts associated with chop suey, but as I progressed my education, my mindset gradually pondered foods like steamed buns or “New Year Cakes” with authentic Chinese food.
One question that comes to mind when graduating high school is, “should I attend college?” For many graduates this question have a very obvious answer. A high school graduate may state that, “college is the best option if one is trying to get a higher level of education, and will help one compete for a higher paying job.” However, in my opinion most graduates do not consider the fact that going to college is a very big decision to make and that the schoolwork will not be easy. Going to college is not the best choice for every high school graduate because many students cannot handle college, colleges’ lower standards, and not all jobs require a college degree.
A crucial topic being debated on in today’s society is core principles and disciplines. When debated and discussed, these two immense topics bring up discussion on liberal art colleges and their education. “Liberal Arts” can be translated in many different ways depending on perspectives. So what exactly is a liberal arts college/education? Patrick Connelly states, “A liberal arts college is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences. It aims to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capacities for students” (Pg.18). Students who attend liberal art colleges experience broad and vast knowledge to create intellectual capacities that public universities will not provide. Essentially a liberal arts college gives a selected “Core” education to students to develop their skills and improve their weaknesses. Liberal arts are thought to be extremely necessary or very pointless depending on perspective. For example, two articles by two different authors explain liberal arts in a completely different way and opposite perspectives. The first
Is a liberal arts education worthwhile? The question “Should education be a liberal or vocational?” has been a controversial topic. Many people think that education should be for a specific career field. Those people believe that a liberal education would be a waste of time.
The multitudes of extracurricular and academic activities I participate in were chosen because of their focus on my interests. I want to pursue a career in computer engineering and/or biological engineering. In order to help me accomplish this I carefully consider how extracurricular and academic activities will assist me in the future. Currently I am participating in several rigorous academic courses such as AP Physics C and AP Calculus BC to gear me towards a college environment, as well as a variety of clubs that focus on engineering and the sciences. A vast majority of the classes I take are advanced placement, which gives me the chance to obtain college credit before entering college. Advance placement classes also challenge me with faster paced instruction, which prepare me for the speed and difficulty of college level courses. I am currently taking AP Biology, AP Computer Science A, , AP Literature and Composition, AP U.S. Government and Politics, Pre-AP Chinese IV, and Honors Independent Research. In terms of extracurricular activities, I currently participate in the Stock Market Club, Science and Engineering Club, our school’s FRC team, and Chinese Club. In my free time I enjoy building computers, putting together parts lists for computers, programming, playing video games, and learning about various technical jobs and new computing technologies such as server administrator and quantum computing.
Stuart, M., Lido, C., Morgan, J., Solomon, L., and May, S. (2011). The impact of engagement with extracurricular activities on the student experience and graduate outcomes for widening participation populations. Active Learning in Higher Education, 12(3), 203-215.
College education essentially is the key to success in the future. It opens many doors of opportunity and allows us to explore every option available. College education can provide a student with new exciting opportunities that they would never had if they drop out of at high school. I would like to share some of the benefits that furthering your education can provide, and as well as the joy it can bring to each and every one of us.
The Benefits of Higher Education states it perfectly, “After spending many years learning, people tend to feel happier and more content as they lead educated lives…Consequently, education promotes fulfilling, fuller lifestyles” (¶ 6). The types of jobs a person will be able to acquire after a college education allow more freedom and security, as well as an improved intellect. The naysayers believe that people do not need a four-year degree to acquire a job, but how many good jobs with comprehensive financial benefits do not require a four-year degree? What quality jobs are in store for an individual when they are nineteen or twenty years old with no working experience? Those kinds of jobs tend to have lower salaries with longer work hours. Higher education not only gives students more opportunities but the skills and understanding that allow them to dig deeper into more difficult situations. “After a trip through the world of higher education, you will hopefully be the person who communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems. You will know to ask questions” (Carter ¶ 14). Receiving a higher education will help anyone narrow down their options and help them succeed with life’s constant challenges. Greater numbers