how college purposes affect you Moral, commercial, and cognitive? talk about yourself how its applied to you.
bregma1000
college_purpose.docxCollege purpose
College serves numerous functions in the society but the three distinct objectives according to the works of Brooks, Savo, Conley and Stephens are cognitive empowerment, commercial value, and moral advances. First, the cognitive empowerment: full and intensive use of information and data that are related to the original and acquired human capabilities which provide people with cognition and perception and understanding. Second, the commercial value, which provides training courses for students who are about to graduate where the student is ready to head to work. Third, the moral advances, the most important in college live, it is the adjustment process between the learners (individuals) and the environment in which they live. Thus, Education is a social process of normalization and coexistence with the culture experienced by a particular community subject to certain creeds and lives under certain circumstances and under certain system.
Over the years, American institutions such as Humboldt State University have managed to accomplish the goals. However, with the advances in globalization and increase in human population, the realization of the cognitive and moral empowerment has been stalling. Instead, colleges have been fulfilling the commercial purposes. As Deresiewicz says, “They have been absorbed into the commercial ethos” (Brooks 1). Because of the absorbing, not all students today manage to fulfill their purpose in the community, and this has led to the rise in questioning on whether college education is still important. The opponents of the current structure argue that the institutions no longer serve their objective; hence, restructuring is necessary, or people should devise an alternative mode of learning. Additionally, programs adjustments would improve and proceed more affectively as a tradition that has been progressing for decades. Programs adjustment cannot proceed in a short time so it should be as a tradition, therefore, next generations will already adopt it. However, such should not justify the basis for scrapping college education. The stakeholders should consider the changes a step towards augmenting the accomplishment of cognitive, moral and commercial purposes that the institutions set to advance. In other words, there should be hard work to accomplish the purposes.
For the cognitive sector, Brooks in his article opines that the sole objective of colleges is empowering intellectually to facilitate societal progress. In the case of Humboldt University, the institution is serving the purpose since students engage in research that leads to solutions on various disciplines. The division of the institution into departments is also an indication that the college strives to advance commercial purposes, which necessitates specialization in one's area in preparation for advancement in a student’s career of choice. In fulfilling moral obligation, the college reunites students in alumni intended to initiate developments in the community. Just like in many other institutions in the United States, the college tests the intellectual capability of students, which is a cognitive purpose of the academic institution. Nevertheless, students take tests at the end of each semester, and over the years, the performance of the students have reflected the ideals of the institution of constantly improving students’ intellectual prowess.
Pietro Savo writes that the purpose of education is empowering one to think independently and not in conformity. He uses the clause “education does not make one smarter” in reiterating his point (Savo 1). However, according to the scholar, education ought to prioritize communication as opposed to striving to impart in individual skills since people possess cognitive skills that only require sharpening. Savo argues like Brooks when he reiterates the significance of the learning institution in transforming an individual's mental prowess. Smartness is an evolutionary process that commences at conception. For that reason, schools should not invest vast amount of resources in trying to boost intellect competence of an individual. Instead, learning institutions ought to create a platform in which students communicate their ideas freely.
When it comes to fulfilling the moral purpose, Humboldt University is trying by encouraging open dialogue on various issues affecting society such as political developments, ethics, etc. For that reason, it is justifiable arguing that college education is still essential for societal progress. Furthermore, the alumni of the college consists of people engaged in economic developments in various spheres of the American society. Humboldt University encourages students to think independently to identify their unique demands in life.
Conley views college attendance from a social perspective in which he argues that the institution should set the ground for interactions that inspire intellectual prowess. Conley cites roommate selection as one of the experiences that students miss in the present that used to make college attendance interesting. Conley thinks the progress is risky since the competence of an individual requires physical interaction with people from diverse backgrounds. He describes his experience in trying to affirm the significance of social interaction in cognitive development. According to Conley, who is now a professor, moral progress requires the exchange of ideas, but such is impractical in a context where people do not see each other (1). At Humboldt University, such is not the case since the institution has programs catering for students intending to learn online and those who visit the institution in search of accommodation. The institution also empowers individuals intellectually using exchange programs with other global institutions, thus making college education purposeful despite global advances altering the traditional system.
School should serve as the center for questioning of various concepts as opposed to the notion of embracing conformity. At no single point should the administrators try to instill ideas into the minds of students. Instead, educators should mature the students by encouraging liberal thinking leading to the realization of the cognitive objective of the institution’s existence. Dale Stephens argues in support of college education while inferring to his previous points he wrote in support of self-directed learning. In his first statement, he points out that admission to the university is not of much importance in the process of acquisition of knowledge in the institution. Attending college does not guarantee success in the latter stages of life. Instead, success emanates from combining the experiences gained in college with the decision to fit into different settings. In line with the thought of Brooks and Conley, Humboldt University is slow in realizing its cognitive mission because the school uses many tests that are not as effective as reflective thinking encouraged through research.
Self-direct learning can facilitate accomplishment of the three goals of education, which is improving cognitive skills, commercial role, and moral advances. However, at Humboldt University, the concept of self-direct learning has not taken root. Stephens’s explanation worsens the situation since he argues that 44% of the graduate populations below 25 in America fail to secure employment yet that is one of the commercial purposes of Humboldt University among many other colleges. Even though the tutors fail to guide the process effectively, that does not imply that education is insignificant. Pursuance of knowledge using a wrong strategy is to blame as it leads to increase in debt among many other challenges that make college irrelevant (Stephens 2). He reiterates that some learn without attending college; hence, the need for people to rethink what college education constitutes. He states, "We ought to question social cues that define education". According to Stephens. The increase in rates of unemployment among graduates is disheartening, although such should not formulate the basis for opposition to the college education. Stephens points out that self-direct learning is easier today unlike the case several decades. For that reason, institution ought to incorporate the use of technology in leveraging on the potential of students conceptualizing concepts individually. In doing so, Humboldt University together with many other universities in the United States will restore sanity in the education sector by making college attendance objective.
About the activities taking place at Humboldt State, I think there is need to re-educate people on the goal of schooling since students focus more on a commercial gain from the process. Such is not the objective of learning as per the numerous publication of the subject. Scholars allude that learning ought to advance holistic progress where one is competent intellectually, morality and socially. Unlike an uneducated person, the learned ought to questions various phenomenon in the society. It is up to the people to change their approach to educations since the current structures are not in bad shape as argued out by the opponents of the existing system. The only requirement from the school administration is readjusting the curricula to accommodate the use of technology in every sphere of learning besides empowering students to critic and question concepts. At Humboldt University, the management can opt to use its online platform in sensitizing the people on the purpose of education. The process can include communicating the need to uphold values that bound people together but allowing criticism of the system as the strategy for advancing intellectual enlightenment.
