In an interview last year with Inside Higher Ed, Edmundson defined a real education and why it needs defending. “It's an education in which the student follows the Platonic injunction: Know Thyself … and also seeks to know the world. It's not about career planning or preparation for success.
Edmundson is a professor of English at the University of Virginia, and when he talks about a "good" or "real" education, he means a liberal arts education: one that emphasizes the humanities, in particular the reading of literature, and takes self-development rather than career preparation as its primary goal.
In “On the Uses of a Liberal Education: As Lite Enterainment for Bored College Students”, Mark Edmundson argues that college students do not take humanity classes seriously. Rather, they see these classes as a form of entertainment, when they should see the classes as a challenge.
Summary Of Who Are You And What Are You Doing Here By Mark Edmundson. In the article “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?” The author, Mark Edmundson, writes about the American education system and why it's so important that everyone fights for the chance to get the best education they can possibly receive .
Summary Of Who Are You And What Are You Doing Here By Mark Edmundson. Mark Edmundson, published the essay “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here” on August 22, 2011 in the Oxford American. Edmundson received his education at Yale University and is currently a professor of English at Virginia University.
Mark Edmundson’s Critique. (2017, Jan 20). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/mark-edmundsons-critique/
Mark Edmundson’s Critique. (2017, Jan 20). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/mark-edmundsons-critique/
Edmunson points out on various occasions that colleges in general are aiming more to a consumer rather than a student. I’m not sure his point is that students are “too cool” to study, it’s more that student’s lack a certain passion, a desire to learn. In my last quarter Psychology class we talked about the difference between students 50 years ago and students nowadays. The difference being the motivation for being here, or any learning institution for that matter, and years ago the reason for people to want to learn was for pure enlightenment, to acquire knowledge, and today the students come to school with the only motivation being money, or a high paying job. Today there are more people with the wrong approach to college life, it’s not the money that should come after achieving a degree that should motivate, and it’s the knowledge within these walls that should bring someone here. Society has changed that and now the student isn’t a student they are customers, and teachers are viewed as the shop owner. Edmunson says it’s wrong that in college the customer is always right.
To understand his dismay and disappointment you have to first understand the topic. Edmondson sites two specific theories of Freud called the Oedipus complex and the death drive
He predicts that most of the students will commend him for being “interesting”. He is unhappy with this. He teaches a Freud class and they discuss subjects such as Oedipus complex, which is Freud’s theory that describes when a young boy desires his mother and feels jealously and anger towards his father. The boy feels like he is in competition with his father for possession of his mother. He competes with his father for her attention and affection (Cherry, Kendra). Another topic they discuss in the class is the death drive. This is another Freudian theory that states a primitive impulse for destruction, decay, and death, manifested by a turning away from pleasure (“Death Drive”). With such serious topics like these being discussed in the class, he is disappointed that the students describe such topics as being “interesting and enjoyable to contemplate.” Instead, he wants the students to be changed by the discussions and to measure themselves against them. He wants them to take these subjects seriously and to critically think about them. He also points out how these generations of students’ lives are based on consumerism. Because of this, students are so used to being “entertained” by the media that they claim that he as a teacher can take important and controversial material and present it in enjoyable and approachable way. The last thing he wants to do is to divert, entertain and interest students on the topic of Freud. He believes that the students should describe such subjects as tragic, riveting, and eye-opening. Instead of the students being merely entertained, he hopes that they would dig deeper and find actual significance in the lessons and discussions.#N#Cherry, Kendra. "Oedipal Complex ."Psychology. about.com, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://psychology.about.com/od/oindex/g/>#N#"Death Drive ." Medical Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company, 14 Aug. 2004. Web. 7 Apr. 2013. <http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Death+dr>
They only want the money, and they don’t want to have more knowledge in their heads. They will not care about the knowledge that they hold, they will simply throw it away and ‘learn’ new subjects. Knowledged that they obtained, would be dross. Even though some students’ grades flounder, that doesn’t mean you have to bribe students for grades.
If all the students are worried about is getting good grades to get those scholarships, then they are in school for the wrong reason. I believe that the point of going to school is to learn material not to take the easy route to satisfy yourself by getting good grades.
Caroline Bird’s argument against postsecondary education is incorrect, specifically her beliefs that students are exposed to too many options and graduates only desire jobs that save people.
8). Students who have secured their future with classes before college are more likely to be prepared in college and going into the real world. Not only will educational classes help the students, but also a variety of elective
Success is its own reward. The effect of this is that students will expect an award for good grades, but they will give up on getting good when the reward stops. Undoubtedly, students should not be paid for good grades because they should be happy with their
Furthermore, the more mature college students will be able to have more in-depth discussions regarding The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In today’s world, it’s tough for a teacher to not be able to discuss certain aspects of the book.
Because a bachelor’s degree does not ensure a stable income anymore, this debt can be crippling and make a person even worse off than someone who did not attend college or someone who pursued an alternative form of higher education.