Blog #8: Cover Letter Pre-Write

After looking over the essays I have written this semester, I feel that there are a couple different things I was able to change about my writing.  Firstly, I feel I was able to incorporate my quotes more efficiently.  For example, in essay #4 I said, "Also, in today's society many people believe, 'that an emerging 'knowledge economy' is demanding skills that can be acquired only with a post-secondary education,' (Davies)."  One of the things I would change would be to incorporate meta-commentary into some of my earlier essays in order to strengthen my arguments.  For example, in essay # 3 I say, "The fact that so many students are entering college nowadays has triggered them to become more competitive in their studies."  I now realize that I could have elaborated more on this idea to make it clearer and more prominent within my paper.

Blog #5: Essay 3 Topic Brainstorm

            For my essay topic for our third and fourth essay assignments, I think I’m going to focus on competition’s role in college, and how it is a necessary evil.  There are many forms of competition on college campuses, including social and academic pressures.  This competition starts before one is even accepted to college and will follow them when they are well out of college in their career.  While many students do not appreciate the stress that this competition may provide them, it is necessary as it prepares students to be able to deal with other forms of competition they will face for the rest of their lives.  Competition drives students to do better and work harder, and I believe that if taken constructively it can be a very positive motivator for students to be the best they can be. 

            My second idea for this essay topic would be crime on college campuses.  I’m still a little wary of committing to this topic because I know it’s very broad, but I feel that there is a lot I could talk about regarding this topic.  I don’t yet know what my thesis would be, but I could talk about the different forms of crime, how it affects student offenders, and the various degrees of severity of crimes on college campuses.  I would need to research this topic a little and come up with a thesis before I would commit to it though.  I feel I could do  a lot with it but it’s still too broad.

Blog #4: Synthesis Essay Brainstorm

           In Educating For Democracy by Anne Colby and others, the authors bring about the idea that today’s students need to be more educated in the field of politics as well as more focused on a specific area of study, all in order to become more effective, contributing citizens.  On the other hand, in John Henry Newman’s two articles on liberal education, he argues that it is important for students to be well rounded in their education in order to be successful.  While these two views may be different, they are both calling for students to use their education in order to become useful, contributing members of society.

            Colby’s article states “institutions of higher education have critical roles to play in helping to ensure the vitality and evolution of our culture and democratic system,” (Colby 2).  Newman would agree with this claim in that his argument also calls for the advancement of our society through higher education.  However, his argument claims that the way to do this is through liberal education and becoming a well-rounded student by studying multiple subjects.  Colby claims this should be achieved through students focusing on a smaller area of study so that they can become proficient in it and use that proficiency to become a useful citizen.

Similarities

-Colby and Newman both agree on the importance of advancing society

-Both believe the way to achieve this advancement is through higher education

Differences

-Newman stresses well-rounded students and liberal education

-Colby stresses specialization and focus

- Colby calls for “creative analysis, application of knowledge to new contexts, and other hallmarks of deep learning.”

Blog #2 - Leisure College, USA

In Leisure College, USA: The Decline in Student Study Time, Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks reflect on the decreasing number of hours that University students spend studying on a weekly basis.  The authors state that, “in 1961, the average full-time student at a four-year college in the United States studied about twenty-four hours per week, while his modern counterpart puts in only fourteen hours per week.”  It is mentioned that this drastic decline in study time may be due to several differences in the college atmosphere between today and forty years ago including advancements in educational technology and a higher number of students holding jobs while attending college.  At the same time, the authors imply that Universities don’t hold their students to as high of standards as once was considered acceptable.

While the authors do pose many valid points, they fail to address some factors that would have balanced their argument to a more positive perspective.  Babcock and Marks argue that falling standards and students demanding more leisure time are two main reasons why student study time is continuing to decrease.  While this may be, they’re unsuccessful in mentioning the large amount of extracurricular activities that students are encouraged to partake in.  These activities are ones that could help students in building a resume and ultimately getting a successful job.  The authors bring to light many possible reasons why study hours have decreased over time, but their argument would have been much more convincing if they had taken these previous aspects into consideration.

Blog #1: Newman Summary

John Henry Newman’s articles, Discourse V: Knowledge its Own End and Discourse VI: Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Learning are reflections of the education one may obtain at a University and define the true meaning of a liberal education.  In Discourse V, the author admits that although there are many different paths of study that one may take at a University, it is important for students to remain open to and educated about areas of knowledge different from their own.  Newman emphasizes that Universities should expand their branches of study in order to benefit the students because, “though they cannot pursue every subject which is open to them, they will be the gainers by living among those and under those who represent the whole circle.”  By being exposed to a wide range of subjects, students of the University will be well-rounded learners while pursuing a narrower path of study. Newman also argues, in Discourse VI, that in order to be a successful learner, students must become engaged in the ideas they are learning, a process he calls “enlargement,” rather than simply memorizing and reciting the information.  He reasons, “enlargement consists, not merely in the passive reception into the mind of a number of ideas hitherto unknown to it, but in the mind’s energetic and simultaneous action upon and towards and among those new ideas.”  Therefore, in order to obtain a true liberal education at a University, Newman believes that students must become knowledgeable in multiple areas of study while becoming engaged in the subjects at hand.  It is this type of education that will have a lasting impression on the lives of University students, and will benefit them for the rest of their lives.