SammyDacanay

Prof.Serbulo
FreshmanInq:Portland
PlaceofEducation

ThefirsttimeIbecamefamiliarwiththetermcollege,waswhenmyfriendtoldmeshe
hadstartedacollegesavingsjar.Beingthecurious1stgradeselfme,Iaskedmyparentswhat
collegewasandtheonlythingsIcouldcomprehendatthetimewasthatnoneofmyfamilyhad
receivedthattypeofhighereducation,Ihadtobesmarttogo,andthatwhateveritwas,itwas
expensiveandIcouldntaffordit.Fromthatmomenton,Iwasleftunmotivatedoftheideaof
collegeasIgrewupthroughthedurationofgradeschool.Throughoutthestandardized
educationsystemthatistoday,adolescentsaretrainedtovaluelearningsothattheycould
somedayreachtheirpeakandattendcollege.Evenwithbeingtaughtthatthenormisgetting
highereducationafterhighschool,hundredsofhighschoolseniorsandevencontinuing
universitystudentshavequestioned,whycollege?Theanswerissimple.Collegeisan
importantmatterbecauseitallowsyoutohaveopportunitiestodwellincertaintopics,andto
gainavastinsightandknowledgeaboutparticularsubjectsyouwouldnthavediscovered
otherwise.Receivingacollegeeducationallowsyoutousewhatyouvelearnedandexperiences
gainedtoonedayadvancetoarewardingcareer.Alltheskillscollegecouldteachyouareskills
thatareapplicabletouseallthroughoutlife.Theexperienceisavailableanditstheindividuals
decisionwhattomakeoutofit.Withthatbeingsaid,thesolepurposeofcollegeistoliberally
educate,inspire,andchangelives.

Theresacompletedistinctionbetweentheeducationpracticinghappeninginhighschool
comparedtocollege.Inhighschool,teacherspreparedusforcollegebyusingthebanking
conceptwhichsimplymeanstheteacherisadepositorofinformationandthestudentsare
depositories.(Freire58.)ThebankingconceptplaysintoanarisingissuestatedbyFreiresaying
that,educationissufferingfromnarrationsickness.(Freire57.)Theoutcomeofanarrative
education,meaningthatteachersisolatestudentsfromreality,intertwinedwiththenotionofthe
bankingconceptresultsinaplethoraofmeaninglesswordsthatfailtosinkintothestudents
mindthuscausingnoimperativeeffect.Butincollege,Ihavewitnessedthatprofessorshave
brokendownthenormofthemselvesappearingmoresuperiorandknowledgableoverstudents.
Theycreateafriendlyatmospherewithintheclassroomensuringthateveryone,includingthe
professorthemselves,canlearnfromoneanother.Thatmaybeoneofthereasonswhyahigh
schoolstudentmightnotseemtoointriguedbytheideaofcollegeisbecausetheythinkthatit
willbethesametrivialexperience.Byusingsubtleandphilosophicaleducationtechniquesin
college,studentsaresecuredacuriousandactivelearningenvironment.Thestudentslearnto
refusethebankingconceptandtheybecomeauthenticallyliberatedmeaningthattheygothrough
aprocessofhumanization.(Freire66.)Throughanauthenticliberation,thestudentsdiscover
howtolearnusingcriticalthinkingandquestioning.Theyrealizetheyshouldntbealienated
thinkingthattheyareaninsignificantdumpingstationforunderlyinginformation.Thisrelates
heavilytomyselfbecauseinhighschoolIfeltasifIwasntreceivingandunderstandingasmuch
asIcould.Becauseofthat,IwasscaredtoattendcollegethinkingthatIwasntgoingto
understandthecurriculum.ButfromwhatIveexperiencedincollegesofar,Ivebeenin
classroomswhereinquiryisessentialanditisenforced.Overall,beinginaclassroomwherethe

studentsandprofessorvaluetheimportanceofcriticalthinkingandanalyzing,anystudentcan
gainintuitionabouttheworldaroundthemandcanbeliberallyeducatedresultinginlifelong
knowledge.
Relatingbacktotheconceptofanauthenticliberation,Freirestatedthat,Liberationisa
praxis:theactionandreflectionofmenupontheirworldinordertotransformit.(Freire66.)He
issimplyaffirmingthatitisour(allhumans)jobtoseeandmakeachangeintheworld.One
wayachangecouldbemade,isbyhavingacertaincareerthatspecializesinhelpingpeople.For
instance,therearemanydifferentdoctorsthattreatandconcentrateoncertainspecializations.
Allofthosepractices,ofcourse,helppeopleanditmakesanimpactontheirlives.Somepeople,
forexample,evenusewhattheyvelearnedfromstudyingbusiness,tostartorganizationstohelp
peopleoutofpoverty.Collegecansupplyanaspiringindividualwithacollectionofskillsthat
couldsomedaybeusedtoobtainarewardingcareer,suchasadoctor.Itsnounknownfactthat
manycollegegraduateshavenotyetgottenacareerspecializinginwhattheystudied,butmany
ofthosecollegegraduateshavelearnedanabundanceofskillsthattheyuseintheireverydaylife
andpossiblyinotherjobsaswell.InOnlyConnect,Crononstatedthatapersontransforms
andgainscertainqualitiesfrombeingeducatedthroughcollege.The10qualitieshegavesumup
tomeanthattheeducatedpersonhasprofoundadherence,aremultifaceted,andtheyadvocate
andteachtothepeoplearoundthem.Thiscorrelatesbacktothefactthatnoteverycollege
graduatehasacareeryetbecauseeventhoughtheydont,theystillhaveskillsandexperiences
fromcollege.Theystillobtainthesequalitiesofaneducatedpersonandtheycansharethose
skillstohelporteachotherpeople.Soallinall,collegedoesnotguaranteeagratifyingand
worthwhilecareeroffthegetgo,butitdoesindeedcertifycertainqualitiesandskillsthatinspire

someonetofindavaluableandpassionatepathwhetheritsadvancingtograduateschool,
becomingateacher,startinganonprofitorganization,orworkinginacubicle,ifthatswhat
floatsyourboat.
Thereisnotonlyonecorrectanswerastowhatthepurposeofacollegeeducationis,but
insteadtherearemultiple.Collegeusesprofoundteachingtechniqueswhichresultsinstudents
becomingmoresuccessfulandknowledgeable,itleadsanindividualtofindtheirpassionand
reachtheirgoals,andtheybecomeawareoftheworldweliveinandhowwecanchangeit.But
ultimately,itisthestudentsdecisionwhattomakeoutoftheirownexperience.ThetermOnly
Connect,explainsthatweshouldonlyunitetogetherandgetinvolvedandinteractgenuinely
andtoneverbelievethateducationissomethingtohavepossessionoftospiteothers.(Cronon
6.)Formyself,thereasonIdecidedtoattendcollegeistobethefirstinmyfamilytogotomake
sureIsetmyselfandmyfamilyupforsuccess.Bysuccess,Idonotmeanbeingwealthy.But
insteadImeanfeelingconfident,financiallystable,beingaware,andoverallhavingachanged
life.Beingeducatedisnotaconditionormodeofbeing,anditisdefinitelynotsomethingthatis
tangible.Withthatbeingsaid,inthefuturewhenmycurious1stgradedaughterasksmewhat
collegeis,Iwillnottellherthatshecantaffordit,Iwillnottellhershehastobesmarttogo,
butinsteadIwilltellherthatcollegeisvaluable,itislifechanging,anditisinspiring.

WorksCited

Cronon,William.OnlyConnect:TheGoalsofaLiberalEducation.TheAmerican
Scholar67:4(Autumn1998).Print.
http://lgdata.s3websiteuseast1.amazonaws.com/docs/441/1073076/MLA_414.pdf

Freire,Paulo.PedagogyoftheOppressed.NewYork:HerderandHerder,1970.Print.