Why go to college?

Public Number: Cross the Bridge Potato/guoqiaopotato

From June 23, the national college entrance examination scores and score lines have come out, and the next step is to fill in the volunteers.

All kinds of Internet celebrities are talking about how to choose a volunteer and how to choose a school. I would like to talk about a fundamental topic, why should I go to college?

Why go to college? Why go to a prestigious university? I don't know if every parent and student has seriously thought about this issue.

Many people feel that going to college is a natural and natural thing, but the reasons are not clear. This makes "going to college" into the same propositions as "one must get married in one's life" and "one must have children when married".

It has long been forgotten what the purpose of the act is, and only the form of doing it remains.

As for the purpose of going to university, the most common answer is: "Is there any need to ask? Education changes destiny. If you don't go to university, you can't find a good job, your social status is not high enough, and there is no way out." However, if you go to college, you can find a good job, is there a way out, and is your social status necessarily high?

But in fact, it's not. Many poor students have worked hard for more than ten years on their own, and their parents have spent their entire family's financial resources to send them to college. In the end, they can't even find a good job after graduating from college. This phenomenon is very common.

——①The result of the unclear goal of going to college——

Most of the best universities in the world are in the United States, and those admitted must be elites. Let's take Harvard University as an example. Every year, about 20% of Harvard students are Asian, but in American politics, business, literature and art or other aspects, Asian elites do not account for a high proportion.

Contrast that with Jews. Jewish students make up about 10%-15% of Harvard's population, and Jewish Americans make up so much of America's elite.

To a certain extent, the purpose of Asian-Americans going to college as a whole is not clear, and their studies are in vain. And the Jews because of the clear purpose, so the university did not go to waste.

On the other hand, in China, because the purpose of going to university is not clear, some students have no goals and become confused after going to university. Therefore, many college students study hard to get into a good university from middle school, and simply don't study hard when they go to university. In addition, the content of Chinese university professors is out of touch with the social market, and more students have good reasons to think that university education is optional.

Of course, many students and parents think that this is a Chinese education problem, and this problem can be solved as long as they study abroad during college and receive education from European and American universities. In fact, on the contrary, many international students today cannot find a job after graduating abroad, and many have to go back to their home country to find a relationship and find employment.

Be assertive and don't follow the crowd. When it comes to going to a university or a prestigious school, the Chinese just lack opinions and generally follow the herd mentality.

It's clear why going to college is important, and that's where most of us get confused. If the purpose is not clear, the motivation will be a problem in the future, and the result will be greatly reduced.

——②The purpose of university education——

The first real university in the world was the University of Bologna, founded in 1088 and now located in Italy, specializing in law, medicine, and theology. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I issued a decree in 1158, stipulating that the university is not affected by any power.

Later, the school continued to evolve and developed into the University of Paris, Oxford University, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University. But one characteristic of these schools is their strong ties to the church, and for centuries they have insisted on elite education.

And students are those who really want to learn. No matter what major students study, it is impossible to immediately turn what they have learned into a means of making a living, and it is impossible to immediately improve their social status. It can be said that college students at that time did not have a strong utilitarian intention.

Many priests and bishops are well-educated. For example, Darwin's major was theology, but he did not become a priest. Most people are also unwilling to devote their lives to theology, so more students study subjects that are not related to theology, such as writing, mathematics, logic, astronomy, physics, law, medicine, and so on.

When Chinese universities started, they were already very government-run and did not have the above characteristics.

The purpose of university education is to train people of insight, not to make a living. As the elite of the society, the college students at that time not only had to be knowledgeable and educated, but also needed to understand the society, understand the history, and have a sense of social responsibility and dedication.

In the past, most universities implemented generalist education, especially liberal arts. This tradition has continued to this day.

Therefore, universities demand far more than test scores from students, because these scores do not directly help social elites to solve appeal problems. This value continues to this day. So, they don't just admit students based on grades, and they naturally shut out many high-achieving students (especially Asian Americans).

Students learn not just knowledge, but how to apply knowledge to change the world. The purpose of the university is to cultivate elites, and the elites are different from the successful people or dignitaries that the general public understands, but all kinds of people who drive the society forward.

——③Why do you want to go to university——

Therefore, before going to college, students must have a position on themselves.

If you want to solve employment problems, or have a clear goal, you are interested in certain industries and careers, and you have a lifelong passion for this, then choose some highly specialized universities or good majors to seek knowledge realization. It is a basic ability to be able to support oneself in the future society. By mastering skills, one can prove that one has the ability to learn. As long as a person is motivated after going out of school, he can learn new knowledge and adapt to the new environment.

In addition to learning skills, an important purpose of college is to improve its own pattern. For universities, realization is only one of the goals, not all of them.

How to increase your own pattern? The best way is to live with people who are stronger than you. Where are the most such people? Inside the university. That's why you want to go to a prestigious school. circle. As for why circles are important, you can read my article " Circles are really important ".

Individual achievements, upbringing, values, outlook on life, etc. are only part of the external manifestations of individuals under the influence of university culture, and the scope and connotation covered by culture are far more than these.Individuals under the influence of university culture will be very different in terms of academic literacy, knowledge, conversation, and dealing with people, as well as cognitive thinking and rational decision-making.

Some students will make plans for their future, begin to learn to think about the value of life, the meaning of individual existence, and learn to explore and love the world and life in the world; At the same time, some students have begun to pay attention to their social participation, know how to maintain their right to make decisions, dare to challenge the social value system and moral standards that are not correct in their opinion, and try to convene influential people to build a new system together and standard.

——④Summary——

The purpose of going to university is not to make money. Education is not only about studying a few more years than others, or going abroad to get a gold plated layer, or getting a higher degree, but to complete the process from an immature person to someone who is able to study at the university level. The role of being a responsible person in society is changing.

Going to university actually separates the means of making a living and educating people themselves.

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Posted on: June 25, 2021