Valuing Education

Assignment Two: Valuing Education

In today’s society education is really important. Education has evolved a lot over time and has shaped American society. Back in the day, education was not as important because many jobs did not have educational requirements. In those days you could have a high school diploma and get a good job. Today, if you only have a high school diploma the types of jobs that you can get include fast food restaurants or maybe construction work. Getting your college degree is very essential to your economic success and your ability to get a good job that pays well.

Prior to entering college in the fall, I felt that college would be very challenging for me because of what my friends that were already attending college told me. I feel that high school as a whole does not prepare you for work at the college level. Many people in high school study very little or they might not study at all and they can still maintain an A average. At the college level you can not study very little and expect to get the same results. If high school better prepared students for college there would be more college students making it to their sophomore years of college instead of dropping out. Another big difference between high school and college is the fact that there is so much freedom in college. In high school you are on such a tight leash that you are forced to do things that you aren’t forced to do in college. For example, in high school, if you don't go to class, your parents will be notified. In college, you're on your own and you need to make the decision to go class as scheduled. I think that this is one of the main reasons why students flunk out of college. Many students at the age of 18 and 19 see that most classes don’t take role and don’t count absences so they feel like it is okay to miss a couple of days. Although it is okay to miss a couple of days here and there, it's not really okay when a couple of days turn into a couple weeks and it just keeps evolving.

Another difference in high school and college is the relationship that you develop with your teachers. In high school, in most cases, the highest number of students that you might have in a class is in the high 20’s. Because of this, the teacher is able to get to know all the students in his or her class and develop personal relationships with them. In college you might have a class with up to 300 people in the class and the professor could go the entire semester without knowing you unless you go out of your way to introduce yourself to them. These relationships are really important in high school and in college, especially if you want to make sure that you get a passing grade. Let's say you have worked really hard to get an “A” in a class, you have a good relationship with your teacher and he or she knows you are working really hard in the class. The teacher could bump your 88 or 89 up to a 90 if they know that you are working really hard, but if they do not know you then they would most likely just leave the grade as is.

I think that another reason that many students have a hard time transferring from high school to college is the amount of time that you must put in studying. You really have to study a lot more in college. When you're told prior to college that you need to study 1 to 2 hours a day, it is a true statement. The problem is that many students do not live by this rule. The reason that you should study this much is because in college there is a lot of material that is covered in a short period of time. In high school you might have a test over 1 to 2 chapters at once. In college you could have a test over 5 to 6 chapters at once.

Education is a very important component in my life. I come from a family of educators and they have always impressed upon me the value of education.

At the University of Kentucky, I am receiving the kind of education that will help me now and later in life. With the diversity of students enrolled here, I am learning different cultures and customs both in and out of the classroom. I am an African American and my roommate is a Philippino. There are many students in my classes from many ethnic backgrounds. Some are not as affluent as I am and others are much more affluent. Even with these differences, I am able to communicate and socialize with them.

For the most part, my classmates are friendly and helpful. They, like me, are very concerned about getting a good education. Their values are similar to mine. We believe in doing things the right way and spending quality time devoted to our studies.

The instructors are conscientious about their teaching. They give me work to do