In her article “Liberal Arts’ Ego Problem,” Faith Crossan highlights how Whitman students display inflated egos and insecurities. According to Crossan, Whitman students feel superior to people in their hometowns because they left to obtain a liberal arts college education1. Yet, the second they arrive at Whitman, that inflated ego pops because they become just another student. People coming to Whitman may have been among their high school's most academically well-read and high-achieving students, but plenty of people have that background in college. Once one notices, they feel that they have lost what made them unique among the student body. This conflict of ego and inferiority then produces toxic behaviors. Fortunately, Crossan does believe in a solution: recognize people come from …show more content…
Odd.1” This quote was included because it acknowledges Whitman's campus culture and proves Crossan’s point. Now that Crossan has backed her claim, the reader can no longer deny the issue, and thus Crossan can now work towards explaining the origin of the problem and what can be done to fix it. As seen in the Marriage Pact quote, humor is used throughout the article to keep the tone from getting too heavy. An exemplary case would be the sentence “We have both massive egos and crippling insecurities,1” a rather intense statement, followed by the witty comment “Welcome to college1.” The article is already a callout, forcing the audience to reassess their behavior and confront their flaws, which most people find hard to do. However, having a small joke or humorous reference to lighten things up for a moment, gives a brief respite that makes the reader continue to forge ahead. The first step in making a good argument is getting people to
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This mantra from Margaret Mead is a somewhat humorous yet slightly satirical spin on how people tend to think of themselves as one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable human specimens. However, one English teacher from Wellesley High School takes this critique one step further with his polemic presentation at the school commencement. David McCullough, a Massachusetts English teacher, gave a seemingly somber sendoff to his graduates in 2012, with a speech that contained some unapologetically harsh sentiments. However, by looking past the outwardly dismal surface of the speech, the students can infer a more optimistic message. By incorporating devices of asyndeton, paradox, antimetabole, and anadiplosis, McCullough conveys to each student that even though none of them is unique, their commonality is not a fault they all have merit and should strive to view the world through a more selfless lens.
The importance of attending an institute of higher learning continues to grow as the job market becomes more competitive, and a diploma is essentially required to compete in it. However, with the growing demand for college and university successful students the concept of education has become clouded. In two commencement speeches, one by David Sedaris and the other by David Wallace, this concept of what education means and how it is viewed by the individual student is discussed as well as the process of thinking. David Seders, in his speech What I Learned, writes in a satirical format based on how education is being viewed. David Wallace in his commencement speech addresses the process of thinking and being self-aware with a college education.
The multiple choices students have today in college have made the university a party environment, resulting in complacent students. Mark Edmundson raises important questions and makes valid points in this essay that are worth thinking about. If people don’t take a look at our present college system and start thinking outside the box, the college education system will continue on its downward spiral of consumerism. It is fun to graduate high school and go to college to party and to have a comedic professor, but there is so much more to college then having fun. People need to realize that by challenging student, students can then start to recognize their own potential end become better for it. Learning and utilizing the information that is being taught in college is essential. “Everyone is born with their own mind, all that is left to do is break out of the stereotypical college student mold, and use
We blame and label professors, parents, and peers as ‘villains,’ when there are no “villains only victims (465).” Students have now become self-destructive, perfect seeking freaks. There is now this extra emphasis on looking better and being what everyone wants. A student’s “transcript has become a sacred document, the passport to security (464).” The security referenced before is the need to have a good paying job and money to spend. Student’s stress that grades have become a marking of what kind of person they are such as, “A is for admirable, and B is for border line (465).” Through the use of metaphors, Zinsser shows that students are so obsessed with being the best that they aren’t thinking about other possibilities and are so driven to succeed following their single-minded
As students and parents are looking into colleges, their minds need to be open and free of biases. Sanford Ungar’s essay can help broaden the mindset of families, and even help make a decision to attend a liberal arts college. Ungar uses various techniques in his essay that make it effective. Not only does he discredit the misperceptions of liberal arts, but he also approaches his writing with etiquette that appeals to his readers. In his essay, Ungar uses three main appeals: reason, emotion, and ethics...
In her article “College Is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird attempts to pursued her readers that colleges are overflowing with students who don’t belong there. Her article first appeared in Psychology Today (May 1975). Since this material is outdated, I find it hard to believe that most of the responses by students and parents quoted in the article still hold true. The author has set out to pursue the readers that college is a bad and unnecessary choice for today’s youth. Yet the author holds a bachelors and a masters degree from two different universities. I would think that if she thought college was really a bad choice and a waste of time and money, she would not have gone back to get her masters degree.
The new generation has been consumed by an overly commercialized society, which is evident in their branded attire and bland personalities, and universities are treating them as consumers instead of as students in order to increase attendance. Professors have to cater to the commercialized lifestyle by being quirky and funny in order to keep their students interested, and they have to carefully choose how they speak to their students so as to not make them feel inferior; professors also cannot make their courses too challenging otherwise students might withdraw from the class. This is stifling to the growth of students as well as the growth of the nation because they are no longer being challenged to think critically and creatively. Edmundson concludes his essay by stating that there is still hope that a student and or a teacher can break free of this cycle and live for him or
Here Whitman’s persona is taking a great interest and pleasure in the mere routine and wit of this young man, who is most likely unaware of the fact he is being observed. Whitman is e...
How imperative is it that one pursues a traditional college experience? Although it might appear that Charles Murray and Liz Addison are in agreement that the traditional college experience is not necessary for everyone, Addison provides a more convincing argument that higher education is necessary in some form. This is seen through Addison’s arguments that college is essential to growing up, that education is proportional to the life one lives, and that community college reinvents the traditional college experience. Not only does Addison have her own opinions about college, but Murray does as well.
High school students experience a lot of pressure to “fit in”, or to be “normal”. This age old concept applies not only to adolescents, but to all people. We strive to think and act like those we respect or idolize. Ralph Waldo Emerson attacks the imitation of others in his essay Self Reliance, stating instead that people should think and speak what they themselves think. Emerson sets up a strong rhetorical situation for his argument by using a common societal trait as his exigence. His urgency for writing is rooted in his dislike of imitation. Emerson sees how people, rather than expressing their own thoughts, speak only the words of others. This could be caused by lacking self confidence, but is most likely merely a fact of life. As a champion of thinking for one’s self, Emerson composed his essay to bring awareness to the common man. His essay primarily targets middle and lower
The conflict on how students should be taught and how well is addressed in the book, College: What It Was, Is, And Should Be by Andrew Delbanco. The book addresses what college is for, describes the origins of colleges, and explains who goes and who does not. Colleges started with a religious aspect and have formed the foundation of contemporary, liberal education. Colleges are also meant to help an individual understand what inspires them and understand the social implications of ideas. Delbanco says that learning should bring to bear in a situation where students have to respect, consult and aid each other. This point is highlighted when Delbanco declares, “A college should not be a haven from worldly contention, but a place where young people fight out among and within themselves contending ideas of the meaningful life, and where they discover that self-interest need not be at ...
The primary trait that I lack is confidence. In my mind, others are always smarter, prettier, more driven, and just better than me. Because of this attitude, I do not usually voice my opinions, state my ideas, or take control of anything; I automatically assume that anything I say or do is wrong or stupid. Although I still need to work on strengthening my confidence, SMU’s community atmosphere, specifically the Hilltop scholars program, has given me the enormous confidence boost I need to step out of my comfort zone and make my ideas a reality. A gain of confidence through supportive communities is apparent in the films Legally Blonde, Renaissance Man, and Higher Learning because each film includes individuals who need greater self-confidence, which comes from the support of their communities. In “The Quest for Community in Higher Education,” Parker Palmer outlines specifically how community can build up confidence. Additionally, in “The SMU Community According to Etzioni,” Christiano Gallo illustrates that confidence promotes involvement, which promotes confidence. The support I feel from various members of the SMU community has provided me with experiences similar to Elle, Rago, and Malik’s and has helped me understand how Palmer’s ideas foster confidence. Also, encouragement from others has opened my eyes to how involvement can instill confidence. Community gives us somebody to lean on. Somebody to lean on gives us confidence.
Whitman's radical ideas of individualism have a great deal to do with his Quaker background. The Quaker religion is one in which the authority was Inner Light. "Whitman himself was not only personally familiar with, but deeply impressed by, a religion whose only authority was the Inner Light" (Canoy 481). The Inner Light is a special influence, which made Whitman's poetry unique. This certain influence did such things as guide Whitman down his soul searching path as well as help him define within himself the characteristics of an individual. In section fifteen of "Song of Myself," Whitman discusses people from every class and every profession. He goes on to say "the young fellow drives the express-wagon... love him though I do not know him;" (2753). ...
Light, J. R. (2001). Making the most of college: Students speak their minds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Ethical egoism can be a well-debated topic about the true intention of an individual when he or she makes an ethical decision. Max Stirner brings up a very intriguing perspective in writing, The Ego and its Own, regarding ethical egoism. After reading his writing some questions are posed. For example, are human beings at the bottom? Following Wiggins and Putnam, can we rise above our egoism and truly be altruistic? And finally, if we are something, do we have the capacity to rise to a level that we can criticize and transcend our nature? These questions try to establish whether or not we are simple humans, bound to our intrinsic nature, or far more intellectually advanced than we allow ourselves to be.