so i know i haven't posted in a long time...
but... here's one of my articles that'll be published for the panorama. :D
What I learned in College
You learn something new every day is an adage that is circulated often. For the student that struggles through Algebra, learning what the value of x is in an equation may only be relevant for the test they have on Friday. Or, for the student that only took the course because they needed an elective, learning how to make a paper Mache mask may be great information, but when you major in Biology, the relevance may be limited to that semester. Students sit in classes and they turn in assignments for things that they may never in their life need. College is where you get an education, but what are students really learning?
College is not mandatory like high school is, so the education that we get is entirely on our own terms. Some of us will go through entire semesters dolling out assignments that mean little to us, and absorbing the material really does not matter because after all, this is just an UNIV course. What would be more relevant, would be if the instructor explained to you how to pack a tighter joint, because really, that is all you can think about. Our education is not limited to what we learn in the classroom, but rather, it is how we relate our lives with other peoples’.
“I could tell you stories about what I really learned in college,” says Frankie Saucedo with a smirk, a recent graduate of Pan Am in Rehabilitation Services. “To be honest, sometimes my mind wasn’t on classes because I had to figure out what I was going to do Saturday night, but I still managed to get through it,” he said. “It might sound all cheesy, but what you really learn in college isn’t what you learn by sitting in the classroom.” John Flores, a Senior at UTPA, majoring in Theatre Performance, agreed with Saucedo, “What you learn in college, and the way you learn, is entirely based on having to go through college.”
The academia around campus might demonize us when we show up a little late to a class because we were outside smoking a cigarette with a friend, talking about politics, but we are still learning. “I’ve learned that people are so different, and you become more accepting of them. I mean, you hear the craziest conversations just sitting on a bench-beer, Theatre, politics, video games, books, cereal-and you get to know the person sitting next to you. It might sound cheesy, but you get a whole new take on life,” says Flores.
Doing his homework at the local Boys & Girls Club in Edinburg, Manuel Reyes, a 17 year old Senior in high school said, “I don’t really know what I expect out of college. I mean, they don’t really tell you anything about how it’s going to be. But my dad talked about how he liked college because he met people that he still talks to.”
After four, or so, years, the timid little Freshmen that we entered as, will come out as Seniors who have gone through all sorts of different things, and learned how to deal with all sorts of situations. Some come down to all nighters that we pulled to finish a 10 page essay for the History class that we despise, or to the parties that we threw, that started off as an innocent mixer amongst friends, but ended up full blown keggers.
There will always be a story behind every piece that makes us up, and at the end of the day, hopefully we really did learn something-whether that be two plus two equals four, or that the girl behind you likes the color blue. What matters is how that little piece of information may say so much more about what is really going on in your life.
What I learned in College
You learn something new every day is an adage that is circulated often. For the student that struggles through Algebra, learning what the value of x is in an equation may only be relevant for the test they have on Friday. Or, for the student that only took the course because they needed an elective, learning how to make a paper Mache mask may be great information, but when you major in Biology, the relevance may be limited to that semester. Students sit in classes and they turn in assignments for things that they may never in their life need. College is where you get an education, but what are students really learning?
College is not mandatory like high school is, so the education that we get is entirely on our own terms. Some of us will go through entire semesters dolling out assignments that mean little to us, and absorbing the material really does not matter because after all, this is just an UNIV course. What would be more relevant, would be if the instructor explained to you how to pack a tighter joint, because really, that is all you can think about. Our education is not limited to what we learn in the classroom, but rather, it is how we relate our lives with other peoples’.
“I could tell you stories about what I really learned in college,” says Frankie Saucedo with a smirk, a recent graduate of Pan Am in Rehabilitation Services. “To be honest, sometimes my mind wasn’t on classes because I had to figure out what I was going to do Saturday night, but I still managed to get through it,” he said. “It might sound all cheesy, but what you really learn in college isn’t what you learn by sitting in the classroom.” John Flores, a Senior at UTPA, majoring in Theatre Performance, agreed with Saucedo, “What you learn in college, and the way you learn, is entirely based on having to go through college.”
The academia around campus might demonize us when we show up a little late to a class because we were outside smoking a cigarette with a friend, talking about politics, but we are still learning. “I’ve learned that people are so different, and you become more accepting of them. I mean, you hear the craziest conversations just sitting on a bench-beer, Theatre, politics, video games, books, cereal-and you get to know the person sitting next to you. It might sound cheesy, but you get a whole new take on life,” says Flores.
Doing his homework at the local Boys & Girls Club in Edinburg, Manuel Reyes, a 17 year old Senior in high school said, “I don’t really know what I expect out of college. I mean, they don’t really tell you anything about how it’s going to be. But my dad talked about how he liked college because he met people that he still talks to.”
After four, or so, years, the timid little Freshmen that we entered as, will come out as Seniors who have gone through all sorts of different things, and learned how to deal with all sorts of situations. Some come down to all nighters that we pulled to finish a 10 page essay for the History class that we despise, or to the parties that we threw, that started off as an innocent mixer amongst friends, but ended up full blown keggers.
There will always be a story behind every piece that makes us up, and at the end of the day, hopefully we really did learn something-whether that be two plus two equals four, or that the girl behind you likes the color blue. What matters is how that little piece of information may say so much more about what is really going on in your life.