Satoshi Takizawa
Professor James
ARW Section AI
12 June 2007
Meiland essay final draft
Today many people go college. But, what do they go to college for? Is it useful for you? Students may answer that it is for preparation of a job, or that he wants to learn new facts. However, Karl Fisch who created the ‘Shift Happens’ stated that college work is useless. He pointed out two reasons. First, nowadays by information having advanced, circumstances in the world change very quickly. So, half of what students learn in first year will have gone out of date by their third year. Learning latest things of the time is useless for students. Second, by changing of the world situation, the jobs that now you want to become will be not exist when you graduate from a college. Therefore, Karl Fisch thinks that there is no reason to study in a college and the college work is useless. Do you agree with him? I don’t agree with his opinion. There are two reasons for this.
First, it can be true that a college education is useless since what you learn first year will have gone out of date by your third year. However, a student learns in college not only the facts which are the latest then, but also how to think about things and how to generate a new idea by himself. In ‘College Thinking’ Derek Bok, who is the president of Harvard states “every professor knows that much of the information conveyed in the classroom will soon be forgotten. The willingness to continuing teaching rests on an act of faith that a student will retain a useful conceptual framework, a helpful approach to the subject, a valuable method of analysis, or some other intangible residue of intellectual value.” And Meiland says “professors believe their courses to be worthwhile anyway because in courses students learn ways of thinking that stay with them even if they forget particular content. In order to learn how to think, you must think about something, about some particular content. But the content is not the main point. Much of the content that you are taught in college will be outmoded or discarded anyway in ten or twenty years. Learning intellectual skills and attitudes is far more important”. Therefore it is not important to learn the latest facts. And students will be able to know and create a new idea by himself even after his graduation from college.
Second, students can learn many subjects in college. There are a lot of students who don’t decide what they want to become in the future yet, and look for an occupation that they want to become. For such students it is necessary to look various subjects. For example, my friend goes to college because he wants to find what he is interested in. He spent his junior high school and high school life with doing club activities. So he didn't have time to find it. For a person like him it is useful to have much time to learn something in college before taking a occupation. And this is profit for students who already decide what they want to become. Learning various subjects makes it possible to them to look the world from many aspects. Because information advanced, today’s society becomes more complicated. So, all work needs the person who can look from not a specific aspect but various aspects. Therefore, learning many subjects in college is useful for every student.
But someone may agree that college work is useless. Because if students hear that the work which you want to become won’t exist when they graduate, their motivations are lost. For example, I study in this college because I want to learn about my future job. And I can study hard because I have a clear occupation that I want to become. So if my future job will not be when I graduate, there is no purpose that I study here. Therefore, if a job that students want to become will not exist in their future, college work is useless.
In conclusion, I think college work is useful because it change student’s mind and makes it possible that they look from many viewpoints. There are many things students should learn in college. Furthermore, all jobs want the persons who can look from many viewpoints. Therefore, I hope you understand what you should learn as a university student, and I want you to spend meaningful student life.
Work Cited
Professor James
ARW Section AI
12 June 2007
Meiland essay final draft
Today many people go college. But, what do they go to college for? Is it useful for you? Students may answer that it is for preparation of a job, or that he wants to learn new facts. However, Karl Fisch who created the ‘Shift Happens’ stated that college work is useless. He pointed out two reasons. First, nowadays by information having advanced, circumstances in the world change very quickly. So, half of what students learn in first year will have gone out of date by their third year. Learning latest things of the time is useless for students. Second, by changing of the world situation, the jobs that now you want to become will be not exist when you graduate from a college. Therefore, Karl Fisch thinks that there is no reason to study in a college and the college work is useless. Do you agree with him? I don’t agree with his opinion. There are two reasons for this.
First, it can be true that a college education is useless since what you learn first year will have gone out of date by your third year. However, a student learns in college not only the facts which are the latest then, but also how to think about things and how to generate a new idea by himself. In ‘College Thinking’ Derek Bok, who is the president of Harvard states “every professor knows that much of the information conveyed in the classroom will soon be forgotten. The willingness to continuing teaching rests on an act of faith that a student will retain a useful conceptual framework, a helpful approach to the subject, a valuable method of analysis, or some other intangible residue of intellectual value.” And Meiland says “professors believe their courses to be worthwhile anyway because in courses students learn ways of thinking that stay with them even if they forget particular content. In order to learn how to think, you must think about something, about some particular content. But the content is not the main point. Much of the content that you are taught in college will be outmoded or discarded anyway in ten or twenty years. Learning intellectual skills and attitudes is far more important”. Therefore it is not important to learn the latest facts. And students will be able to know and create a new idea by himself even after his graduation from college.
Second, students can learn many subjects in college. There are a lot of students who don’t decide what they want to become in the future yet, and look for an occupation that they want to become. For such students it is necessary to look various subjects. For example, my friend goes to college because he wants to find what he is interested in. He spent his junior high school and high school life with doing club activities. So he didn't have time to find it. For a person like him it is useful to have much time to learn something in college before taking a occupation. And this is profit for students who already decide what they want to become. Learning various subjects makes it possible to them to look the world from many aspects. Because information advanced, today’s society becomes more complicated. So, all work needs the person who can look from not a specific aspect but various aspects. Therefore, learning many subjects in college is useful for every student.
But someone may agree that college work is useless. Because if students hear that the work which you want to become won’t exist when they graduate, their motivations are lost. For example, I study in this college because I want to learn about my future job. And I can study hard because I have a clear occupation that I want to become. So if my future job will not be when I graduate, there is no purpose that I study here. Therefore, if a job that students want to become will not exist in their future, college work is useless.
In conclusion, I think college work is useful because it change student’s mind and makes it possible that they look from many viewpoints. There are many things students should learn in college. Furthermore, all jobs want the persons who can look from many viewpoints. Therefore, I hope you understand what you should learn as a university student, and I want you to spend meaningful student life.
Work Cited
Meiland, Jack W. College Thinking: How to Get the Best Out of College. New York: New American Library, 1981. (The ELP Reader, 2006.7-10)
Karl Fisch. Shift Happens(http://arwicu.wetpaint.com/page/AI+Meiland+Essay+Preparation)
Karl Fisch. Shift Happens(http://arwicu.wetpaint.com/page/AI+Meiland+Essay+Preparation)
