For all of us, today is the last day of classes. For some, this is the last day until spring semester. Others, like myself, are experiencing our last class of our college career on this beautiful day. This transition period gives a new perspective on educational experiences. Whether it is for the next month or for the rest of our lives, the institutionalized university education system has now been paused. It is our own personal choice what direction the continuation of our education will take. The debate between education as a right or a privilege is irrelevant.
I am talking about education as a process.
Education as a process is best compared to a small child wandering through the woods. It is not genuine wandering, but one is easily distracted, and new goals and destinations are formed almost constantly. One enters the forest not knowing where to end up, but all along knows that the destination is deep in the forest. Children move through the woods, exploring trees, leaves, frogs, berries, dirt and a whole multitude of other wonderful creations.
A genuine educational experience follows the same basic form. I may read and discuss a book on democracy that will lead to a debate about civil liberties, which may lead me to read Walden, and then a book about early U.S. history, finally to explore the legacy of slavery in black society.
The best evidence of a successful class is not how engaged the students are during class, but how interested they are in the subject outside of class. If the teacher is able to inspire students to continue their education in either the subject of the class or a related subject, then I say it has not been a waste. But if the class does not carry on after the imaginary bell tolls, then it has failed both the students and the educational process.
Although some may often feel it to be this way, college never lasts forever. High school didn’t and neither will graduate school.
I am of the opinion a vast majority of us do not take advantage of the time and opportunities that we have to make our education the continual process that it needs to be. Even in college. The perfect time to establish these habits.
There are a multitude of interconnected factors, but to apply either correlation or causation is beyond my abilities. First of all, modern institutions treat education as a goal instead of a process. We are expected to jump through a series of hoops, classes and requirements; finally a degree is handed to us. The very system itself shapes a person’s mindset to think of the forest as something to be crossed, not explored.
Second, a vast majority of students think of classes as a wall as opposed to a window. Students talk with each other about how much it “sucks” that they have to go to class, not how excited they are that they are going to learn from a professor who is an expert in his or her field. In the same way that education is an end goal, so class is a multi-hour prison sentence. In combination, these two modes of thought are counterproductive to a genuine education.
Winter break is fast approaching. No matter how long this break will be for each of you, I beg of you to continue your education. Read a book that one of your classes led you to read. Or one that has nothing to do with anything you have learned before. Turn future discussions into debates about challenging subjects. Do something to keep your mind moving. The forest of knowledge is bigger than you can even imagine. Start exploring.
— John Best, biochemistry and Asian studies senior
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
justsomeguy13 1 year, 5 months ago
Amen. Awesome article.