Why Reach Higher?

 The Purpose of College 

 

In The Idea of Higher Education, Ronald Barnett says “a genuine higher education is unsettling; it is not meant to be a cozy experience.”   As anyone who has attended or is currently attending college can attest, adjusting to the copious amounts of homework and newfound independence is a challenge.  However, I believe that advanced education isn’t meant to frighten us or lower any expectations of success, as Barnett seems to view it, but rather to strengthen us in anticipation of entering “the real world,” by giving us a chance to explore it through opportunities inaccessible in high school.  While it may appear overwhelming at first, college assists us more gradually than one might think by showing us improvements we can make, offering support, and connecting our studies to real life with activities outside the classroom.  I will explain this concept further as I compare/contrast it to Barnett’s writing as well as Martha Nussbaum’s “Education for Profit, Education for Democracy,” from Reading the World, in addition to my school experiences, later in this essay.

First, a closer look at Barnett’s perspective; he uses much negative diction when referring to school, including “subversive,” “unsettling,” and “disturbing.”   He states that a student must discover “no matter how much effort is put in…there are no final answers.”  Barnett makes pursuing knowledge sound like a cruel wild goose chase, essentially saying college is meant to emphasize one’s faults, to show students that they could always write an essay or solve a problem with a better strategy than what they used.  True, coursework doesn’t always make a student more self-confident, and it does reveal mistakes, but it isn’t meant to just put us down about the ways we learn and work.   Instead, its purpose is to show students how they can improve, to the point where they can achieve that correct answer.  In addition, we’re never expected to push through our struggle alone, otherwise why are we allowed to ask questions and get help from our teachers, tutors, and counselors?

Now, for a review of Nussbaum’s writing, which concerns the teaching systems of U.S. universities.  She speaks about the liberal arts learning path that is unique to our country which, rather than focusing on one subject, uses a method where “students are required to take a wide range of courses…prominently including courses in the humanities.” This actually connects to Barnett’s ideas, as the variation of subjects brings students out of their comfort zone of the few types of classes they’re expecting to take for their major, testing their proficiency across the board.  Nussbaum also mentions that this format “argues that education is not just about…passive assimilation…but about challenging the mind,” which again pulls students away from Barnett’s proverbial “taken-for-granted world,” of standardized testing and rote memorization.  While I still don’t agree with Barnett’s views, I do support this teaching method that focuses more on critical thinking and offers greater variety than lower education levels, because employers aren’t looking for employees that can memorize trivia.  I’ve often been given a potentially real situation and asked what I would do in job applications, which has required problem-solving skills instead.

In my short time in college, I’ve already been given a good view of the diversity of classes to choose and their field work.  In my chosen major of Marine Biology, we will perform numerous hands-on activities, including labs and explorations of local ecosystems, and there are several opportunities to take cultural classes and study abroad as well, showing proof of Nussbaum’s topic.   In fact, chances to travel and work in labs were even offered to me in high school, meaning that these liberal arts practices are trickling down to lower education levels.  Yet through all this, while we are pressured to do well, vary our schedules, and be independent, there is a great support system available.  I discovered this when speaking with my Advisor  recently, disproving, at least in my case, Barnett’s view that college is “unsettling.”  College students are not alone in their struggle, and should always remember to pace themselves, think outside the box, and get help if needed.

 

Citations

• Barnett, Ronald, The Idea of Higher Education (1991, pgs.155-156)
• Nussbaum, Martha, “Education for Profit, Education for Democracy,” Reading the World (2010, pgs.64-65)