What Makes a Good College Education?
 

Congratulations class of 2018. You have successfully completed your high school education. For most of you, college is in the future. The majority of you already know which college you will be attending and may have chosen a major. Some of you may even have your entire career planned out. But before you leave these hallowed grounds and venture into the vast unknown, I would like to propose that we all make a paradigm shift. Before heading off to receive a higher education, I would like to address the factors that contribute to a truly good college education.

In her essay, "What's the Point of a College Education?," Janet Stemwedel, assistant professor of philosophy at San Jose State University, states that "[f]irst and foremost: a college education is not job-training" (1). That is exactly what college has become, however. All of you expect to enter a two- or four-year program which will prepare you for work in a specific field. After you fulfill your generals, you will never take another class that does not apply to your major. You will obtain a set of skills specific to one field or occupation.

The job-training view of college education is also heavily influenced by grades. In an article published in Newsweek on June 17, 1996, Georgia Tech physics professor Kurt Wiesenfeld complains that students in his classes feel they deserve better grades regardless of their performance in class. Students who see college as a job-training program believe certain classes are just there to fill time and, therefore, are not worthy of their effort. When they get a failing grade in those classes, they think they can go to the instructor and plead for a different grade. Their argument is, "If I don't get a C, I won't get the degree I want and won't be able to find a job!" (1).

Focusing on job-training and grades does not create a good college education. In our ever-changing economy, it is inevitable that certain careers will become obsolete, and workers in these careers will become unemployed. No company wants to hire someone who only knows the skills of an outdated field, so victims of this system will find themselves searching and searching to no avail for a job. They will be forced to either work at McDonald's or head back to school and start this vicious cycle over again.

Also, by putting their emphasis on grades, students learn to be satisfied with a mediocre performance. When students finish college, they will not be in the habit of working hard. After all, they learned in college how to survive doing the minimum required, so why would they do anything different in the real world? The mindset creates a lazy, underachieving labor force.

So how do you avoid falling into these bad habits so you can might obtain a good college education? First of all, a college education should not train you for a certain career, but for life in general. As we have already addressed, there is a major emphasis in today's colleges on perfecting a set of skills that only benefits a certain occupational field. This emphasis is too great, in my opinion. When we head off into the world, don't we all want some kind of safety net to fall back on? College should provide this by giving you a more rounded education that will allow you to adapt to changes in the world. A broader education could also help you decide if your current major is truly right for you.

Next, a college education should teach students the importance of hard work. A college education doesn't only teach facts and formulas, but it should also teach students how to do their best at everything. It should turn students into diligent and focused members of the community by forcing students to complete difficult assignments and by holding them accountable for poor performance on tests and quizzes. Also, students can learn the value of achieving satisfaction from hard work.

A good college education should also allow students to discover who they are. For most students, college will introduce them to a completely new world. It will force them to throw out their old, sheltered models of the world and replace them with new, more open-minded ones. It would allow students to experience new things without the protection of parents or the security of home. College should mold you into the person you truly are by allowing you to participate in challenges that take you out of your comfort zone and by giving assignments that push you farther than ever before. This kind of education can also turn you into a more useful member of society.

Lastly, a college education should teach students to think for themselves. In reality, the high school graduate's view of the world is limited. You have probably had your views of religion, politics, and economics influenced only by a few close, but biased individuals. College should expose students to entirely new viewpoints and allow them to think for themselves about their beliefs. It should teach to ask questions, push the boundaries, and bend the rules. Your college education should not only make you think about your beliefs, but also force you to defend them in a classroom setting. During my first semester at Anoka Ramsey Community College, I took a course in macroeconomics. I soon learned that my instructor was a staunch believer in the liberal view of economics. I, being a hard-core conservative, found myself forced to defend my beliefs via papers and in-class discussions. By the end of the semester, I still found myself to be conservative in my economic world view, but I had a deeper understanding of why people disagree and how flaws and strengths exist with any economic perspective. Thus, by the end of their college careers, students should be able to formulate their own views on important issues and not be influenced by popular opinion.

Now I hope, if nothing else, I have caused you to consider what a good college education means to you. Yes, a college education should teach some skills needed for the working world, but it should also prepare you for whatever the world may throw in your direction. It should mold you into who you truly are and teach you to think for yourself. Now go off into the world and decide if that university or college you're giving tens of thousands of dollars to is really giving you a good college education.