Running head: BEING A STUDENT IN AMERICA TODAY 1
BEING A STUDENT IN AMERICA TODAY 4
Being a Student in America Today
The success attained in life is a result of the knowledge and skills that one has acquired over various schools of life. Education is thus indeed the key to life that opens up opportunities and avenues through which an individual can always fight to ensure that he makes his life better. This presents me with the situation of the American students and the need to understand what entails being a student in America today. Various factors influence how students engage in their academic lives; some have been challenges that have motivated them while some have always pulled down the ladder making it difficult for them to achieve their academic goals. Therefore, this paper tries to what it takes up to be an American student today, the challenges and risks as they try to make their future lives better.
Education is a stepping stone for one`s success in life. The skills, knowledge, and overall experience obtained from learning provide one with an opportunity to be successful in life. (Perna, 2013) in her book Preparing today's students for tomorrow's jobs in metropolitan America, she has provided some of the essential tools in which a good life can be attained. She identifies that education. American metropolitan is one such area that requires one to be highly competent in what they do. They must be well equipped with the relevant skills, and knowledge for the jobs that await them. As a result, (Perna, 2013) states that earning a decent living in America requires at least some postsecondary education. One has to at least have some trained skills. Therefore, this has been the motivational factor for most of the students. Students understand that acquiring that diploma, undergraduate degree or even master’s degree is an avenue to at least a better life. This has given students from all diversities to work hard.
The research in the book “No longer separate, not yet equal: Race and class in elite college admission and campus life” by (Espenshade & Radford, 2013) provides another dimension on what it entails being a student in America today. Things have changed over the years and the transition has only made education accessible to all individuals in society. The ability to compete in class and on the campus as a whole has given the students from minority an opportunity to compete for the limited changes in society. Life has been made easier for all individuals that value working hard. Therefore, with equal opportunities in these learning institutions, it all depends on the ability of the students to initiate appropriate measures that would eventually make them successful in society.
American society today has high expectations for postsecondary students. In a society where technology has taken over the running of the world, it’s the millennial that is changing everything in society for better. As a result, being a college student to them is a privilege that one should use to ensure that they make their lives better (Espenshade & Radford, 2013). The high esteem in which the society has for these students has to be reflected in studies by working hard to meet the expectations of the society and also attain their personal goals in life. With scarce resources in society, it’s the hope of the society that these students would be able to innovate ways to make their lives better. To ensure that one attains their dreams and meets the expectation of society, the American students are under pressure to beat all odds and achieve their goals in society.
American students have been given an equal opportunity to study what they want to be provided they meet the qualifications. This is a free nation with the rights of all individuals. As an American student one has his /her right that is protected in the constitution of law. However, there is an issue of concern when it comes to economies. Some of these students have to go through the education system but the economics is not friendly on them. For instance, those studying on loans have to ensure that they complete and stat paying for the loans before they can establish themselves and invest (Winston, 1999). This has put students under pressure such that they can’t complete their studies and forge ahead to achieve their dreams but they fast have to pay their outstanding loans.
Being a student in America, one is also entitled to getting a loan to take care of both tuition fees and personal needs. This has always proved vital for the students that come from poor backgrounds as they depend on such loans to pay their bills and be able to study successfully. However, with the increase in the amount of money given to the students, there is a debate in society. There is a need to determine if the amount being given to students being too much to the students or just enough for their normal lives (Avery & Turner, 2012). The society is worried about the borrowing trends among students and poor expenditure of the amount that’s given to them as a loan.
In summary, being a student in America is a double-faced experience that must be handled appropriately for the benefit of both society and the students. Society has too many expectations on the students while the students expect the society to be lenient on them as they work towards shaping their destinies. Students have also been put into pressure to achieve and attain a higher status in society due to the resources that they have been endowed with. Therefore, to be a student in America today requires that one works extra hard to meet all the expectations of the society amidst the challenges that one meets in the quest to be successful.
References
Avery, C., & Turner, S. (2012). Student loans: Do college students borrow too much—Or not enough? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(1), 165-192. DOI:10.1257/jep.26.1.165
Espenshade, T. J., & Radford, A. W. (2013). No longer separate, not yet equal: Race and class in elite college admission and campus life. Princeton University Press.
Perna, L. W. (2013). Preparing today's students for tomorrow's jobs in metropolitan America. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Winston, G. C. (1999). Subsidies, hierarchy, and peers: The awkward economics of higher education. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13(1), 13-36. DOI:10.1257/jep.13.1.13