We live in a society today where education comes intrinsically. Basically from birth to death, we are learning. It is something that I have always enjoyed. The ability to attend daily lectures by individuals who dedicate their lives to the art of knowledge for the hope that one time their student may actually retain some of the messages that they work so hard to eloquently display is outstanding. It is therefore that much more important for us, as pupils of the education system, to do our best to uphold the understanding of learning for the betterment of the whole. John Henry Newman says that “education is a higher word; it implies an action upon our mental nature, and the formation of a character; it is something individual and permanent” (x310). I find it overwhelmingly intriguing to be a part of a generation that will lay the foundations for the future people of the world to build upon. We have the ability to make or break society as we know. It is for that reason that I find such discomfort with certain aspects inhibiting growth.
The concept of education has evolved over centuries, but the fundamentals still resound. It is the idea that the interplay between learning and teaching, and an omnipresent knowledge creates a diverse society who works towards the idyllic image of a better tomorrow. It is even stated in the Constitution of Texas that it is “our duty to adopt a comprehensive and well regulated system of mental and moral culture” (X304). It is here that we must stop and re-collect ourselves, for many impediments stand in the way.
There are two things that immediately come to mind: ignorance and competition, and both have occurred at a variety of occasions throughout my education journey thus far.
First, we shall try and tackle ignorance. If there is one thing that I despise more than anything in the generation that I call my own, it is this. High School was full of bull-shitting, back-stabbing, beer-guzzling nobodies who for some reason believed that they were above everyone else because of area code division lines, or how many pairs of Sperry shoes they owned, or how much horse power they had, but when it came down to calculating just how much potential, or how much integrity that any of them had… I believe they would be reevaluating themselves at this moment. I debated my peers in many classes throughout High School, and not only can I understand, but I can respect an individual who fights for their cause with the right justification. Many people get away with skimming the rim on various topics by simply reiterating what they hear their friend, or probably their parents say a good twenty minutes before, but I think that it is time that we make a stand for our own voice, and have the balls to say the things that we believe, because it is our constitutional right. NOW, let me preface this… here is where people fall significantly short of doing so properly. Know your shit, I have said this much. But more importantly, know where to draw the distinction between holding others accountable for the things that you believe Robin Varnum, in an essay the history of writing instruction at Amherst simply says, “Be able to say only what you can for yourself” (X343G).
I feel very privileged to grow up in a society today where the government has worked their way towards providing the freedoms that our forefathers fought their lives for, but at the same time I think we are far from truly being proactive about what is on paper, or voiced to us by the faces of modern politics. There is a fine line between speaking being free to speak on your own behalf, and trying to lay down absolute guidelines for every individual to follow. It is not an individual’s right to call someone else out on something for which they believe is wrong. I am not trying to references the relativity factor of things that are widely viewed as wrong or evil, but the moral obligation of the controversial topics faced by the ever changing culture of today.
When choosing the college that I wanted to attend, many factors came into play, but the most significant for me had to be the place. Growing up in Austin has taught me how to accept diversity and change in every day occasions, and also to voice my opinion. It is an honor to live in a city where differences are apparent on every corner. The University of Texas is an extension of this. I feel, more than ever, that I am not only allowed, but encouraged, to speak up. To me, this is the workings of a good educational system. Students here are provided with the fundamental elements of an array of topics to learn and explore what the have to offer, and by doing so, allows them to become more articulate and knowledgeable people, who can make a voice for themselves.
The second topic inhibiting the learning process from being as successful as possible is competition. Please understand me correctly when I say that I LOVE COMPETITION, I thrive on it, and it is what drives me to do my best at everything that I do. Competition in this sense is a widely accepted theory. Dr. Tom Verhoeff discusses the issue of competition in education in an essay, and asserts that “a good competition should challenge the participants to give their best, or preferably more than that”. The competition that I am discussing can be derived from things like jealousy and greed, and is what motivates people to become manipulative and lose sight of what is really at hand.
I have fallen many times to the plague of competition, and have had to slap myself in the face to come out of myself and realize that other people’s successes are just as important as the trials that I may be facing. The years spent in high school I like to consider a growing experience as a whole, it was where I learned how to slide by not truly applying myself fully, but still reaping the benefits of getting the grades that I wanted. That, however, has not been the case as for my last 4 weeks on campus. The Architecture and Plan II discipline that is laid out ahead of me has proved, and will continue to be, very trying. Never have I felt surrounded and stimulated by such intelligent people, comparably on two whole different levels. Plan II the students are outspoken, dominating, and articulate, and for the most part I feel like I am surrounded by a whole lot of… myself. (?) Architecture is where I have faced the majority of the competitive nature that sucks the happiness out of learning. It a program designed very similarly to the Discover Learning Project, who states its goal is “to improve students’ abilities to think and work creatively and independently” (X343C).Being such a subjective study, I feel vulnerable to criticism 90% of the time in presenting material that I slave over, and realize the need to grow the extra skin to put up with it, but there are some people who say snide comments intentionally to break others down, and having recognized that, I feel I have the upper hand. There is no need to demean others by making insinuations or being passive, its just rude and immature, and really the goal that we are all working for is to come out of college, and represent the university by being the most successful that we can… AS A WHOLE.
As I said before, the University, and the whole prospect of the world of academia has only barely worked its way into my life, but I cannot wait to explore more of what there is to learn. I cannot help but feel that I owe my sincerest thanks to the fathers (and mothers) of education to shape me, and frame me into a better person because of it.
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