The Struggle Between Being And Knowing

The reasons we undertake higher education can seem obvious on the surface but I believe that there is much more to consider than initially meets the eye. What are we really seeking? Before we cut the check and dedicate the hours we should ask ourselves what our final objective might be. Is it simply the required degree which allows us a label next to our name, or is it the opportunity to be introduced to a world so large and complex that we won’t ever again be content to live passively.
Unfortunately for some of the students, the reasons have never been too clear. These reasons were not clear to me as a freshman and still not too clear to me as a candidate for graduation. Many students are still left wondering if that is all there is. The society we live in demanRAB the degree. We go to meet that demand. That is the easy part. We can easily learn what we are told to learn and spit out facts and information that is pumped into us. So we emerge with the treasured slip of paper but what else? Yes, we hopefully have acquired the skills to do the job we are seeking, but have we acquired the intellectual capacity for continued learning? Was our curiosity tapped? Or worst of all satisfied? Both the articles “I Go to College” by Lincoln Steffens and the film Dead Poets Society present a unique struggle between the traditional methodologies and the desire for something more. It is time to analyze the university experience with regarRAB to what is and what should be. Our expectations and our realities.
The reality of the university in Steffens day is not too different from what it is today, over a hundred years later. It still serves the same purpose and we have come to accept it for what it is. We go there for knowledge, hopefully focused and with direction. A goal of graduation illuminates our path. The fact is, we have little choice but to resign ourselves to the required régime. We need that degree to get that job to earn that living. It is as simple as that. Steffens is right; we do learn things we are not most interested in. But unlike him, we don’t have the luxury of simply studying what we like because what we like won’t always get us the job we need.
The high demanRAB in today’s job market and the intense level of competition require at minimum a baccalaureate degree or higher in any given field. The degree is the building block for all other qualifications such as experience, training, skills, etc. The degree is the infrastructure of any resume. It will open the door to the interviews.
In addition to the requirement of the degree in the job market, it can also be required at home. Many students are in college largely because it is what is expected from their parents. It was never really an option, just a given. If the parents had a college education they usually expect the same or better for their children. If the parents did not have the opportunity to go to college it is usually very important to them that their children receive that chance. Something was very clear in Dead Poet’s Society. The parents as well as the most of the educators expected their student to follow in the foot steeps of, now “great” men, who have attended the privileged establishment.
Another reason that people want to go to college and earn a degree is the need to belong to a desired social circle that would be otherwise unattainable. A good example is an alumni club, in which merabers would not be included if they did not graduate from this or that school. We associate with the people we relate to, and the things we feel conformable with, so we strive to stay within that domain.
Yet another reason we find ourselves at a university is to answer the very important question every child hears constantly, up to and including some of the college years: “what do you want to be when you grow up?” There is the challenge of the task at hand. The innate desire to achieve and accomplish something knowing that when we are finished we will have that certain sense of satisfaction, the joy at realizing that we have conquered what we have set out to do. The act of contributing to society and playing an integral role is an important responsibility. Walt Whitman was quoted in the film saying “the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.” The professor then prompts, “what will your verse be?” (Dead Poet’s Society.)
These are all acceptable reasons for higher education. What the reading and the film had pointed out is that there is a greater need, a desire to “not just be but to know things.” (Steffens p.911) So not only do we want that degree but we need to be there for some other important reasons as well.
Mr. Keating in the film encouraged his students to be “free thinkers”. I believe that is good advice for all of us. By having his class rip out the introduction to the book of literature by J. Evans Pritchard, Ph.D., he was telling them to not simply take what others believe and accept it as law, but to read and understand for themselves and for what it means to them. Challenge the authority of the so-called experts. Question what they say, what their agenda may be and if their opinion is genuine.
We also need to consider fostering our need for and love of research. To nurture this curiosity and learn the skills to apply it will be an invaluable asset. From our teachers we can attain some of the tools necessary for the search and excavation of our most profound questions.
As we have examined some of the reasons that lead us to seek higher education, we can be fairly confortble in stating the following: college education is very important. It is important because it’s a means of earning a good and comfortable living after graduation from a university. But it’s also important because it is through the time we spend bouncing from one course to another that we lay down the foundation of seeking out the truths. Degrees and credentials seldom uncover these truths. They are uncovered because of the way the right and intellectual foundation engages the mind in digging out answers to questions that become obvious as we progress through this complex world we live in.