November 15, 2005

"A" is for Average

How far do you think you'd be willing to go to spread education and stand up for your rights? How much does education even matter to people anymore? Im going to go ahead and make a sweeping general statement and say that too many kids of our generation really don't care as much. It's sad to see that school has become about earning grades instead of learning. Anyone who can "work for ten hours during the day at some trade or industry, and study academic branches for two hours during the evening" (1) definitely deserves to receive the best education available.

This is thin ground - what defines a "good" education? Something that gets you A's, something that gets you a job or something that you carry with you for the rest of your life? Clearly the foundation for Washington's success as a speaker in the late 1800's lay in his desire to make a better life for himself - imagine how enlightening education really is.

It's remarkable how people choose to live in ignorance day after day after day. This excerpt from his speech caught my eye:

Now, whenever I hear any one advocating measures that are meant to curtail the development of another, i pity the individual who would do this. I know that the one who makes this mistake does so because of own lack of oppurtunity for the highest growth. I pity him because he is trying to stop the progress of the world...." (3).

Ever since getting into college, I've talked to students who refuse to let a class work for them because "it ain't my major, man." It's disheartening to see this attitude from people on a daily basis. It's even more disappointing to see students wave trouble classes as long as their grades don't suffer. Who do you think would truly understand the worth of the education imparted to him? The student who has had to want for anything or the one who wanted a quick fix to get rich? Or the one who has been up at the Ivory Towers and hasn't let his education get the better of him.

By the way...the 90's are coming back. Ever been to a job fair lately?

Posted by NehaBawa at November 15, 2005 08:12 AM
Comments

EXCELLENT blog, Neha! You make great points. Once a friend said to me, "Oh, I forgot. You're a learner!" like it was a bad thing. Yikes!

Posted by: moira at November 15, 2005 10:14 PM

Thanks Moira. I'm glad to see that someone agress with me on this topic. I'm not necessarily a staunch idealist wearing rose colored glasses. I realize that to support oneself in this world, a college degree is definitely required. But that doesn't mean that there isn't a responsibility on the emerging generation to take care of the wealth that has been handed to them. This topic strikes a chord and hits a nerve at the same time.

Posted by: Neha at November 16, 2005 12:28 PM

I feel that education is so important Neha and that taking something out of the class is more important than the grade. But consider this, I love a class, and I am gaining a lot out of this class. Final Grade? D. What does one say there? How is one supposed to feel about that? Now that a transcript is tarnished (which jobs do look at after college), one is left with nothing but embarrassment. I think that you are right to an extent, but a grade is really important too. I would just be glad to have both. :).

Posted by: Jason Pugh at December 5, 2005 08:18 PM
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