There has been a change in opinion about college that has
occurred in our generation, and it has left a swath of
disenfranchised students in its wake.
Previously, people went to college because they wanted to
continue their academic education. They enjoyed going to classes
and the love of learning drove them to find out more about the
world around them.
But now an increasingly large percentage of people feel
obligated to attend college straight out of high school. Many feel
getting a college degree is the only way to get anywhere in life,
and in many cases, this is also true. There has been degradation of
our public school system and a rising worthlessness of a high
school education.
Too often high schools, especially in middle to upper class
communities, prepare students for the tests which will get them
into college (primarily the SAT). This, combined with the poor
opinions of people from the same communities regarding community
colleges and jobs that do not require college degrees, pushes
students into college.
The worst part of these opinions is students no longer go to
college because they want to learn. Instead they feel they have to
attend college, or worse, it is their right to be here.
To clarify the last point, I do believe it is the right of every
person to have an opportunity to go college. And I do believe
opportunity should exist regardless of gender, race and financial
or educational background. But what needs to be kept in mind is
going to college is a privilege, not something to be thrown
away.
Many students just do not want to be here. They don’t like
school or academic learning. There are those who do poorly in all
their classes, because they don’t want to do the work in
order to learn the material. And why should they ““ they
don’t even like learning in the first place.
A second group of students who don’t want to be here
actually falls on the other side of the grade scale, and are more
worrisome than the first. These students tend to get good grades,
but that is all they are getting. They aren’t getting an
education, because all they’ve done is study to get that good
grade. They sometimes learn only as an afterthought, because their
primary goal in not to broaden horizons, but just to use school to
get the grades they need to get further in life. The journey means
nothing to them.
In either case, these students are wasting their and their
parents’ time, money, and the teachers’ efforts.
Anybody can write an A on a grade sheet. It takes someone special
to teach a subject so students can learn it and use it for future
studies. Someone who is in college for the right reasons will take
advantage of that.
Well, you’re all here already, and since no one expects
you to drop out, students can still make the best of their college
experience no matter the reasons for being here. In order to do
this, the main thing to remember is what college was originally
designed for: exploration of academic pursuits.
Despite the moaning of a portion of the student body, GE
requirements are a good thing. They make you experience subjects
you may not have thought about. Many students have switched majors
due to a breadth class they took. Maybe you will find that subject
which makes you want to learn more, instead of feeling like you
have to be here.
The other thing to remember in order to make your college
experience worthwhile, is grades do NOT matter. Many students
probably just scoffed at that last sentence, but you will get the
grades you want if you take classes you enjoy. This follows
directly from the first point. You will get good grades as a
default because you will like to learn. And since you will enjoy
the subject, you will go far in those professions which relate to
it. You will push yourself to do so.
College has changed in the last century. It is no longer the
ivory tower of academia it once was. It is now a community-based
and run institution which offers opportunities for everyone. This
is a very good thing, as long as people attend for the right
reasons.
College is about the pursuit of learning. You can make your stay
here a more productive one, whatever your reason for attending is
in the first place.