On Higher EducationSubmitted by Charlie on Sat, 03/29/2008 - 00:15 |
Every day I get a few quotes in my igoogle page and this one struck me:
"The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side."
- James Baldwin
This is so true. When you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up they will answer: "A scientist", "An astronaut", "A Veterinarian" Almost without exception, children know what they want to do with their lives. And yet, according to Learn More Indiana "Nearly two-thirds of all college freshmen have not chosen a major, and 55 to 60 percent of college students change their major at least once." Northern Kentucky University even went so far as to say this:
"1. One out of five students changes their major between admission and the first day of classes!
2. Nearly three out of four students change majors at least twice before they graduate!
3. Three out of four college students express uncertainly about their major!"
What happened to the certainty?
I know personally, when I was young my parents were involved in technology and people would ask me: "Are you going to work on computers too?" Th which I would reply: "No waay!" I kept this attitude through High school and when it was time for college I started school with a Sales/Marketing concentration. Shortly after that I switched to a Business Information Systems program. Now I'm looking into switching again to a Computer Science bachelor's degree while taking Network communications classes so I can go for a double major. Will that change? It's possible but I guess the point is that college is more about learning about yourself than the actual topics. What I've learned about myself through the progression is that I have more interest in the technical fields than I had thought. Actually, with all the options for night classes or internet-based classes, I plan to always be working toward some degree or another. There really is no good reason not to.
I know I don't have many readers at this point but I'm really curious to hear what everyone thinks of "Higher Education" Personal experiences, the state of it, is it valuable? Has it helped you? Hurt you? Etc... Hit up the comment box on the bottom.
Charlie is currently the Director of Repair at 
Interesting blog. In 1980,
Interesting blog. In 1980, my major was sports medicine at Pepperdine University. I completed 3 years toward a B.S. degree. Now, I just completed my first semester at Idaho
State University, and my major is sport science. I started as a nursing major, but quickly realized that my interests and goals haven't really changed; so I changed my major to sport science to fulfill the requirements for graduate school in Physical Thereapy. I believe that higher education helps us solidify our passion into tangible goals if we keep our heads up and our eyes open.
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