Many parents around the world dream of sending their child to college, and then watching them get a diploma. The truth is, most people think going to college is a splendid experience. But really, it is not all that exceptional, and as Helen Keller quotes in her book Helen Keller: The Story of My Life, “I soon discovered that college was not quite the romantic lyceum I had imagined” (103) Therefore, Helen Keller believes that going to college is not an essential experience. It is more beneficial for people to experience something, rather than to have it just being taught, as most colleges do. As Helen Keller says, “It is possible to know a flower, root and stem and all, and all the processes of growth, and yet to have no appreciation of the flower fresh in heaven’s dew” (108) This shows that even though students are informed of much relevant information in college, they do not have opportunities to experience the delight of nature.
Some family-based immigrants may be highly educated or skilled, but the vast majority of admissions are made without regard for those criteria. The immigrant population reflects the system's lack of emphasis on skill. Nearly 31 percent of foreign-born residents over the age of 25 are without a high school diploma, compared to just 10 percent of native-born citizens. Immigrants trail natives in rates of college attendance, associate's degrees, and bachelor's degrees, but earn advanced degrees at a slightly higher rate (10.9 percent, compared to 10.4 percent for natives). Illegal immigrants are the least-educated group, with nearly 75 percent having at most a high school education.
I am in college to prepare for a career and not a job, my education is the difference between being happy with my work and working to live, as of now I am not fulfilling my duties as a student. I often ask myself why am I here, sometimes I ignore the question other times my answer varies from “to make your dad proud” or to “prove your mom wrong”. Neither of those answers is honest or is a product of consideration and deep thought. The actual reason why I’m here is because this is the only way I can get to where I want to be in life. I want to teach preschool and I am here to prepare and educate myself on what it takes to be an educator.
Movies, media, and society are those who are false representing the criteria of college. School requires a lot of work. Bird suggests that colleges advertise activities that are provided, to lure in the high school student. In actuality, colleges wouldn’t advertise students doing homework or studying. Students want to see what
Only I think of the ‘luxury’ as being able to step into and attend college classes daily. Many students are denied the privilege to even be accepted to a university based on their income, ability to pay for tuition costs, and time juggling a full time job. While I agree that trade schools and training program degrees may be appropriate for many individuals, I personally think that one obtains a well-rounded education when taking classes in the Liberal Arts and can obtain more ‘real world’ training if laid off from employment and forced to take an unfamiliar job. Many need to be able to continue to provide for themselves, and often a family with no advisement or help from others. I agree again with Ungar on his theory that “it is often difficult to explain the advantages of a liberal-arts education to people from other cultures, where it is common to
Nora Lopez Eng. 28 Dr. Swerdlow 02-25-2014 Older Returning Student to College New generations are welcome back to college older students as well. As a Counselor of ELAC, I would like to help students who struggle with the transition to college life. Many older students feel that being older it makes it harder to adjust to college. My job is to inform you of many ways to make your college years enjoyable and not stressful.
You see, not everyone is college material. College is hard, demanding, exhausting, time-consuming and requires a lot of commitment--not everyone is capable of enduring all of that for the length of time it takes to graduate from college. I have also noticed in my counseling that teenagers who are forced to go to college right out of high school often don't take college seriously enough. Generally in that situation, the teenager treats college like it is just an extension of high school. I have seen students go to college because their parents forced them to, then cut classes, not study, do way too much partying, and get poor grades.
Bird illustrates college as if it were some sort of prison for young adults. Going to college is at best, as she describes it, “a young folk’s home that keeps them out of the mainstream economic life for a few more years.” I don’t believe this holds much truth. If that was the case, most students wouldn’t get part time jobs to actually pay for their classes. Sure there are some students that are still financially supported by their parents but wouldn’t they know if their time and money is actually worth spending on a college education? Bird also seems to blame parents for “forcing” students to go to college.
Tuition subsidies are not as helpful as students believe them to be, but in fact cause more harm than good. Pursuing a higher education is a personal choice that students must take accountability for, mentally and financially. Let’s say Jill, a recent high school graduate, is considering applying to college. She evaluates her work habits, her ability to handle stress, and her motivation to complete tasks, and realizes she’s just not ready to handle the workload that comes with college courses. The logical thing for her to do is postpone her college enrollment until she’s ready.
Is “Free Speech” Really Free? Getting to speak your mind in elementary school all the way through high school is very limited, possibly due to the maturity level of most, but when college comes around it starts to open the doors to where decisions, ideas, and choice of classes are your freedom to express and declare what you want, but college systems are silently restricting the freedom that students have to voice their opinion. Allowing the right of free speech on public college campuses has become an important issue that many public colleges are starting to address. The author Mary Beth Marklein explains in her article that the freedom of speech students have on campus is not as extensive as college administrators claim, or what the student’s desire. Marklein reveals students feelings of being influenced to join programs where they are not able to speak their mind and provide input.