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Conclusion on edmundson liberal education essay
Mark Edmundson's liberal education essay
Conclusion on edmundson liberal education essay
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Mark Edmundson’s Essay, On the uses of a liberal education, links a fundamental systemic flaw in post-modern education, a lack of student desire to learn, both about personal and the worldly, through study, education, self betterment, and reflection, with American Consumerism. Edmundson does so by depicting the students as customers; shopping for the easiest, highest ranking, and most “entertaining” return on their investment. However, Edmundson places too high a degree of blame on Millennial Consumerist Culture, rather than examining where this desire for a monetary return on investment stems stems from originally. Edmundson, although fully aware of the cultural dynamic shared amongst many, if not all, paying college students, never raises …show more content…
Policymakers pushed for the reconstruction of college financing models, into what we now have today, as a profitable student loan market has emerged (Rossi). Although Edmundson agrees that colleges and universities do not offer today what they once were envisioned to, his opinion on why greatly differs from an emerging possibility. Edmundson in his essay outlines a student body, wholeheartedly content with an education system created entirely for show, rather than the widening of perspective, as a liberal arts education was once meant to do. When detailing student responses to his teachings, Edmundson writes that, “most of all I dislike the attitude of calm consumer expertise that pervades the responses. I 'm disturbed by the serene belief that my function -- and, more important, Freud 's, or Shakespeare 's, or Blake 's -- is to divert, entertain, and interest.” The interest of the students, in the opinion of Edmundson, is supremely consumerist in nature, as defined by their inability to “see intellectual work as a confrontation between two people, student and author, where the stakes matter. ” He goes on to argue that, “university culture, like …show more content…
Simply speaking, students who place a high degree of emphasis on obtaining the uppermost marks on college grades, despite the opportunity cost in sacrificing a real education, often go without learning. Edmundson observes this phenomenon, as he details the consumeristic approach in evaluating the economic and personal value of an institution. The greater the value proposition of a university, the greater the reward in the eyes of the student. All this to hurry the offset of the economic weight of their education. Should students be allowed to attend college tuition-free, or greatly reduced, many students, myself included, would feel a lightened sense of hurry and rush to graduate, thereby allowing them to spend one
Everyone knows that person from high school that just wasn’t cut out for college. It’s not a bad thing by any means, but if you’re thinking about heading off to college like many American teenagers often do, think about this: going to college can be a waste of both your time and your money. I’m not the first to say it, and I sure as hell won’t be the last. In Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill’s essay, Should Everyone Go to College?, the two authors take a strong economic approach to justify going to college. Owen, an ex- senior research assistant at Brookings’ Center on Children and Families and current research associate at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan center for research on the problems of urban communities, and Sawhill, the co-director of the Center on Children and Families and a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings, claim that the return on investment (ROI) of a college education is overwhelmingly positive on average; However, they also bring light
In the essay, “College Consumerism Run Amok” authored by Kevin Carey describe how colleges are careless with their money. Throughout the essay, Kevin Carey explains why normal people think the average price of college tuition has risen across the United States. People believe college tuition is rising because students demand colleges to have “creature comforts”, such as luxury dorms, a fully operational gym, and a climbing wall. Also, that the creation for “creature comforts” in colleges has caused academic standards to decline. Yet, colleges market to students with these amenities instead of showing students comparable statistics: the quality of teaching, scholarships, and academic environment. Kevin Carey, in the end, sums up his idea with
For some universities, investing into items such as these are a successful method to get students buy into and attend their schools. This is an example of consumerism, the promotion of ideas of buyers, and it is possibly the main cause of the lack of interest in college students today. Items like new vending machines and gymnasiums seem to have a higher interest than a quality education to some. It is desired to attend a college that has activities that are for enjoyment, and this causes some colleges to focus mainly on upgrading their extracurricular programs, which then shifts the student’s attention away from their studies and leaves humanities majors fighting over students. This is a struggle that Edmundson finds himself
In the article “College is Not a Commodity. Stop treating it like one,” Hunter Rawlings explains how people today believe that college is a commodity, but he argues that it’s the student’s efforts; which gives value to their education. Rawlings states that in recent years college has been looked at in economic terms, lowering its worth to something people must have instead of earn. As a professor Rawlings has learned that the quality of education has nothing to do with the school or the curriculum, but rather the student’s efforts and work ethic. Rawlings explains the idea that the student is in charge of the success of his or her own education, and the professor or school isn’t the main reason why a student performs poorly in a class. Rawlings
The article, The Value of Higher Education Made Literal by scholar Stanley Fish focuses on sharing his opinion of higher education and what it has become in recent years. Mr. Fish’s argument is essentially over the “logic of privatization” where students are pictured as “investors” or “consumers” in courses of study that maximize successful employment outcomes. He also believes arts, humanities, and social sciences are overlooked while study courses in science, technology, and clinical medicine are prioritized. Fish also strongly believes the value of higher education has changed due to the desires of students over time, desires of becoming extremely financially secure enough to buy more than needed to justify years of money and hard work applied when in school.
It should not be a surprise that many people believe that a college degree is a necessity in today’s world. We are taught to believe this at a young age. The average citizen will not question this statement due to how competitive the job market has become, yet does graduating college guarantee more success down the road? Peter Brooks is a scholar at Princeton University and publisher of an essay that questions the value of college. He obviously agrees that college can help securing a job for the future, but questions the humanities about the education. He uses other published works, the pursuit of freedom, and draws on universal arguments that pull in the reader to assume the rest of his essay has valid reasons.
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.
Most people in the world thinks that a degree is required almost everywhere. In today’s society it is often thought that if people do not go to college they will not succeed. In Owen and Sawhill’s article “Should Everyone Go To College?”the author respond to people who either go to college and actually earn a degree or people who do not go to college and are actually saving money. The major reason that college is not always the idea for students and their families is the cost. “The cost of college matters as well: the more someone has to pay to attend, the lower the net benefit of attending.” (Owen and Sawhill, 2013, p. 2 ). Although the authors mention the benefits of attending college, they argue that college is only beneficial under certain
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
In recent years, many have debated whether or not a college education is a necessary requirement to succeed in the field of a persons’ choice and become an outstanding person in society. On one hand, some say college is very important because one must contribute to society. The essay Three Reasons College Still Matters by Andrew Delbanco shows three main reasons that students should receive their bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many question the point of wasting millions of dollars on four years or maybe more to fight for highly competitive jobs that one might not get. Louis Menand wrote an article based on education titled Re-Imagining Liberal Education. This article challenges the main thought many americans have after receiving a secondary education. Louis Menand better illustrates the reasons why a student should rethink receiving a post secondary education better than Andrew Delbanco’s three reasons to continue a person’s education.
Going through college should not be as easy as going through a drive-thru at a fast food restaurant. Young adults should be interactive and critically thinking throughout their education, not disinterested of it. Author Simon Benlow, in his essay “Have It Your Way: Consumerism Invades Education,” believes that students are turning to consumerist ways, not thanks to the college’s culture (139). Since my return to community college, there has been a trend with the younger adults: Not caring.
The argument about if college is worth it or not has been one of the biggest arguments throughout the media for decades. Students suffer a lot from the debts that they get from college and also the amount of studying that they do in college and when they graduate they ask themselves “is graduation from college really worth all the money that we paid and all the work that we have done?”
College is one of the most fundamental institutions in our modern world. It is a place where most of our future politicians, doctors, scientists, and leaders are made. Though, it seems that the price tag that comes with a college education is something that is too hefty for some students. Countless debates go on about whether the price of college should be abolished or whether the cost still is on the students to pay for.
Studying a university degree is one of the biggest achievements of many individuals around the world. But, according to Mark Edmunson, a diploma in America does not mean necessarily studying and working hard. Getting a diploma in the United States implies managing with external factors that go in the opposite direction with the real purpose of education. The welcome speech that most of us listen to when we started college, is the initial prank used by the author to state the American education system is not converging in a well-shaped society. Relating events in a sarcastic way is the tone that the author uses to explain many of his arguments. Mark Edmunson uses emotional appeals to deliver an essay to the people that have attended College any time in their life or those who have been involved with the American education system.
This has sparked the debate as to whether higher education ought to be offered free of charge or not, with many rallying for the former. In order to level the playground for all Americans and offer equal opportunities in life; higher education should be offered free of charge to all. This paper seeks to make a convincing argument regarding the importance and need of having free higher education. At the same time, this essay seeks to cite some of the opinions of those of a contrary opinion, giving them a different viewpoint. In the end, this essay will weigh the benefits of free higher education against the drawbacks and probably, convince everyone that the benefits are enough to guarantee free higher education.