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INTRODUCTION
Getting admitted to college is a goal by almost all high school students not only in the US but also in many other countries. College provides an opportunity for students to grow academically and success or lack of it may determine the students’ professional career. Therefore, educational experiences offered in colleges must have realistic and attainable goals to produce individuals who can think critically to solve problems while at the same time remaining sensitive about how their actions may affect others.
This paper looks at the various literature that offers insight on the type of educational goals colleges should have to achieve the above goal. The paper compares and contrasts the views of five essays in a bid to analyze what goals for college education are best.
CRITICAL THINKING AND EMPATHY IN COLLEGE EDUCATION
One such literature on this issue is the article by Lukianoff and Haidt titled “The Coddling of the American Mind” which was later developed into a book of the same title. Here the authors underscore the importance of critical thinking in ways in which college students handle varying situations. The article argues that there have been increased cases of irrational thinking by students resulting in many riots in colleges (Stevens). This the paper argues irrational behavior results from parental insulation where children are raised to avoid stressful and uncomfortable situations. Therefore when subjected to the pressures of excelling academically and social competition from social media, many college students tend to get anxious and exhibit cognitive distortions which have no room for critical thinking. The paper concludes by stating that students are not fragile, and if let be will thrive from stressful situations (Stevens).
In his “Necessary Edges,” YoYo Ma differs from Lukianoff and Haidt in his view that emotion and reason can be both employed in thinking and actions for better outcomes. While Lukianoff and Haidt call for students to move away from mind-reading, a practice where one assumes the thoughts and feelings of others, Ma calls for empathy which involves putting oneself in the shoes of another and imagine their thoughts and feelings towards something (Ma). Ma argues that with this knowledge student can make better decisions which are sensitive to the feelings of others hence promoting harmony in colleges. He feels that schools should adopt the STEAM approach to learning (Ma).
However, Coate in his “Between the World and Me” presents an opinion that greatly differs from Ma’s views on education. Coate, an African-American believes that society is structured in ways that continuously work against blacks in attaining equality through education. He does not share the optimism and belief that education will bridge the gap between the whites and the blacks (Coate). Coate states that colleges and schools should not provide synthesized solutions but prompt students to think about questions and find solutions themselves. Unlike Ma, who believes that empathy can solve these differences, Coate cautions against the “dream” of equality through education (Coate). From this perspective, one can argue that Ma’s belief in empathy did not consider the underlying historical discrepancies in the race and social class in the US. His call for empathy would only be feasible without the underlying inequalities between whites and blacks, inequalities that Coate believes will always be there despite efforts to level the ground by blacks.
Coate views are opposed by Wesley Yang’s views in his “Paper Tigers.” Yang acknowledges the many stereotypes that affect him negatively as an Asian-American. He, however, avers that minority communities can outdo the whites, unlike Coate’s belief that the status quo cannot be challenged. Yang cites the incredible success of Asian-American students in education to illustrate this. To him, the competition between the different ethnic communities in schools should be encouraged for this enriches educational experiences (Yang). Yang states that despite the socioeconomic class of students, excelling in academics is determined by the effort of the individual. He illustrates this by arguing that Asian-American cram classes result in similar success rates as private tutor classes by the rich.
Gilbert’s “Stumbling on Happiness” introduces the concepts of super-replicators and surrogates to explain incidences in society. Beliefs held by the members of the society that can be transmitted among other members and influence people’s thinking processes are known as super-replicators. Surrogates, on the other hand, facilitate these beliefs and ideas (Gilbert). Our schools’ system should work to discourage super-replicators that promote judging people based on their ethnic background. This is because ethnicity does not define people.
CONCLUSION
This paper has looked at various opinions by different authors on what should constitute the goals of a college education. Critical thinking and empathy towards one another have been seen as important in producing sensitive and productive students. College education should thus aim at enabling students to think independently to solve problems. Similarly, it should equip students with the knowledge to identify negative super-replicators which result in erroneous beliefs and attitudes towards one another.
Works Cited
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. Spiegel & Grau, 2015.
Gilbert, Daniel. “Stumbling on Happiness.” The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, 7 May 2015, www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/books/review/07stossell.html.
Ma, YoYo. “Necessary Edges.” WordPress, 2016, elishaemerson.uneportfolio.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/400/2018/09/YoYoMaNecessaryEdges.pdf. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
Stevens, Sean. “The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure.” Heterodox Academy, 27 Mar. 2020, heterodoxacademy.org/coddling-of-the-american-mind/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
Yang, Wesley. “What Happens to All the Asian-American Overachievers When the Test-Taking Ends? — New York Magazine – Nymag.” New York Magazine, 6 May 2014, nymag.com/news/features/asian-americans-2011-5/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.