Mike Steminsky
ENG 110
Emerson
The purpose of higher education is to challenge and push the youth of America to progress the nation into a more prideful or efficient era. Many college students will tell you that high school was not difficult for them. They will say they did not put much time into studying or just took some classes as jokes. What’s good about higher education is “its unsettling; it is not supposed to be a cosy experience.”(Barnett) Higher education allows students to “care” more about school and it will also challenge them. America’s youth will also be motivated and engage in competition. As the competition increases, the quality of the youth will improve. That is what makes colleges in America different than the rest of the world. The competitive nature lets college students choose what major to study. They are sometimes stuck in one major but by taking “a wide range of courses in the first two years”(Nussbaum) they can feel their way around many topics and ideas. The American system lets college students really experience subjects in depth also, which is very important when trying to plan for a strong career.
Students also learn through higher education to think more about their decision. College is an important time developmentally for students. Students start to think about a lot of deep decisions. The career example already listed is a big one, but there are many other ones too. Some students will start to think about fitness and their body image. Some will start thinking about playing sports, or sports they already played and ask if it is worth it or not. Some will start looking for close relationships and potentially start thinking about marriage. For some, even having kids will be considered as this time period is used as a transition from adolescence to adulthood. A college student needs this time and needs to be mentally pushed with thought provoking questions or behaviors in order to actually think about these topics. College teaches these young adults that it is ok to see something from a different view. Many high school students see an idea or perspective in only their way. College reading and writing is aimed to change this. As more sides can be taken in a argument or more issues can be seen, ways people see certain events can also change. This leads to more and more college students being adaptable and transferring or changing their environment to show their desired future.
College also works on the independence of a person. All of the examples already listed above are decisions the individual must make. In high school, the goal is to get to college for many students or at least to graduate high school. Parents, coaches, and other influencing factors, push the individual to get to this goal. As a young adult goes to college though, they are presented it issues that affect them as a person. They are in control of their future and although parents and guardians are still around for support, the individual needs to make the decisions to help themselves. College students also live on their own more and start breaking away from other support members to start living their independent lives.
College shows that people can think more and more independently. It is also a way for people to expand their thinking and elaborate on ideas they may not have in the past. As more and more students enter college every year, the American youth is benefiting by more competition and more thoughtful thinking in future events.
