I think too much. My mind is constantly at work filling itself with intricate but tangled thoughts and ideas, neurons rapid-firing, and I often find it hard to keep up with myself. I think this is one of many reasons I gravitated towards the English major- because English study corrals my unruly thoughts and helps me make sense of them. Continue reading “Making Connections”
Why I Chose English
Everyone’s been posting about their own experiences struggling with what it means to be an English major, so I figured it was time for me to jump on the bandwagon. Why did I choose this major over one of the many more practical ones which are “targeted at specific areas of the graduate market and service the economy with ‘human capital’ in concrete ways” (Moran 18)? Because I do not view myself as merely an asset to society, equipped with certain skills which I am obligated to hone because I have a duty to the economy. I’m not living for others, I am living for myself. And English means something to me. Creative writing is one of the primary ways in which I express myself. Discussing great literature makes me feel like a part of something bigger. Reading inspires me and helps me escape. I think there is a beauty in the way language works. I enjoy editing because it involves chipping away at imperfections in writing in order to uncover this beauty. I am trying to teach myself as much as possible about linguistics because it deals with the science behind this beauty.
I am worried about what the job market will hold for me post-graduation, but probably not as worried as I should be. Right now, I am just enjoying learning more about, and growing in, a subject which has come to mean a lot to me- English.
The Many Faces of English
As we all know, English as a field of study can take a student in numerous directions: literary analysis, creative or technical writing, linguistics, journalism, speech pathology, early language learning, ESL, teaching any of the aforementioned, and many more areas not directly related but in which an English background can prove very useful. Continue reading “The Many Faces of English”
What Is Education’s Purpose?
I have always truly enjoyed learning, and taken every opportunity I could to learn something new. No fact is too obscure or too seemingly unimportant. Take, for instance, what I found myself doing the other day in the Milne library after my brain was feeling a bit fried from my schoolwork: researching, and compiling a list of, strange units of measurement. Voluntarily. For my own amusement. Human beings are naturally curious, and learning satisfies this curiosity. Learning is a kind of growing which enables us to move forward as individuals and communities. It is a powerful tool, and helps people transcend both literal and figurative boundaries. And a lot of the time, it can actually be fun.
I often ask myself what the purpose of education is. Is it to satisfy that human curiosity, expand the mind, enrich students’ lives and prepare them for the responsibilities of citizens of modern democracy, promote higher thinking, and inspire lifelong learning? Or is it to tirelessly drill facts into their heads and get them ready for specific jobs, in the process deterring them from seeking knowledge outside of what is absolutely necessary? In other words, what is the value of earning a degree, for example, that ends up having no hand in the earner getting a job post-graduation?
I believe there should be a lot more to getting an education than just memorizing pieces of information necessary for your future career. A “liberal” education should satisfy both meanings of the term: it should be concerned with a general broadening of knowledge and opening of the mind, while also being an education applied generously, and in copious amounts. Aristotle, who was the first to organize knowledge into disciplines, believed that “there is a kind of education in which parents should have their sons trained not because it is necessary, or because it is useful, but simply because it is liberal and something good in itself” (Aristotle 1961: 337, as cited by Moran 4). In Aristotle’s time, education was about breeding scholars and thinkers. But as Moran points out, “the [classical divisions of knowledge] were eventually transformed by market forces and institutional changes” (Moran 4). As the world grew more complex and advanced, there came about “a perceived need to relate education to specific economic, political and ecclesiastical ends” (Klein 1990: 20, as cited by Moran 4). With this, it seems, the “liberal” in “liberal arts” has been lost, and the learning has been removed from education. I am curious to see if Moran will address the modern day issues of the educational system and link interdisciplinary study to these problems as a possible solution.