Let's be honest...How many of us spent most of our high school days
contemplating what we're going to do after the long awaited graduation day?
And, how many of us realized that just because high school was over, doesn't
mean that we couldn't sit around the house and wait for mom to make us
sandwiches the rest of our lives? AND, how many of us came to the conclusion
that if we want to be something in this world, then sooner or later we would
have to go to "Almighty" college to be successful? Go ahead. Raise
your hand. It's ok to admit because we've all been there and we've all been
told that college is the way to go! But, think about it...Is college really
good enough? Is college actually all you need to be successful?....
According to the College In America Info graphic,
college isn’t all its cracked up to be. Why? Because of the rapidly decreasing
job opportunities, poor graduation rates, and even some of the most absurd
classes! Studies show that more high school students are aspiring to go to
college than ever before. However, they don’t yet know that going to college
alone, isn’t going to guarantee them success in the 21st century.
They can have more degrees than a thermometer, but that one piece of paper with
their name and degree of study stamped on it means absolutely nothing unless
they put it to use. Unfortunately, school systems today are teaching students
everything except how to thrive after college graduation. In some cases, it
seems like they’re teaching the exact opposite, implied in John Coleman’s
article "The Bad Habits You Learn in School."
“It can be tough to help new college graduates adjust to the real
world. Joey, a 22-year-old, Ivy League graduate who joined one of my consulting
teams, was a great example. He was bright, hardworking, and motivated. But he
had bad habits that were hard to break. Joey would become so focused on the
perfect answer to a problem, he wouldn't consider implementation. He feared
failure so much that he would hide his mistakes until they grew worse. He was
only interested in getting his own work right — rarely helping the rest of the
team proactively. And he saw the world in terms of hierarchy: I was his
"boss," and no one else's opinion really mattered.”
All
throughout the twelve to twenty years that people attend school, they are
taught about authority and that being the leader means being the boss. And who
doesn’t want to be the boss!? We’re also taught to compete against others so
that we can have a better rank than them, especially in college. Learning to
work together to accomplish a goal is one skill that is most definitely being
thrown out the window. Instead, it’s a race for dominance. Also, students are
being taught that there can only be one right answer to a question and that
thinking outside the box is not the way to go. Students have gotten so used to
looking for the textbook answer. However, in the real world, textbook answers
aren’t going to be as beneficial when you have to do a job that requires you to
use common sense rather than book smarts.
The video Is College Enough gives a great explanation about college and outside skills
that you need to acquire that some people don’t learn during their college
journey. Adaptation is a big part of being successful in the 21st
century. Because of all the new technology and sudden requests, knowing how to
adapt to certain situations is a MUST! But, most of the time, college only
teaches you how to manage things when they are going how they’re supposed to.
How are students supposed to know when and how to adapt with their environment?
In the article, The Case Against College Education, the dominating opinion is that college is
not always enough to guarantee success now or in the future, nor does it always
do the job in preparing an individual for their chosen career field.
“It is absurd that people have to get
college degrees to be considered for good jobs in hotel management or
accounting — or journalism. It is inefficient, both because it wastes a lot of
money and because it locks people who would have done good work out of some
jobs. The tight connection between college degrees and economic success may be
a nearly unquestioned part of our social order. Future generations may look
back and shudder at the cruelty of it.”
So, to wrap it all, the
answer to the BIG question is no. College is not enough. “Your education won’t
guarantee success” (Hughes 2008) College teaches individuals how to compete against one another and how not to
think outside the box. Without a person’s will power to go further after
graduating from college, more than likely, they will not succeed in today’s
economy. College graduates still need to learn certain skills that are not taught
in college, they need to be able to adapt to their surroundings, and they need
to know what behavior to use in certain situations that arise.
I really like your title! I thought it was a great way to get someone to read your blog! It was funny and very relevent to your topic! Also your video source was very good and helped not only help your explanation but also it was neat to watch someone elses viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI love how you engage readers in the beginning with the questions. I can tell that you stand strong behind your reasoning. Your video worked very well with your post !
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