18 pages • 36 minutes read
Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education
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Themes
College as an Opportunity
The main goal of the essay is to change the way the general public views college. In the essay, Sanders argues that college is not about acquiring specific job skills. Learning specific skills is by no means superfluous when it comes to choosing one's major, but those specific skills are not the most important lessons one gains from the college experience. College is about developing one's ability to think critically, which means not taking information at face value. College learners must research, finds supporting information, considers that information, and arrive at a conclusion that is based on multiple perspectives. Furthermore, college offers opportunities for students to hone their communication skills by interacting with fellow students, professors, and other college staff. For example, most students must deal with someone from the financial aid department in one way or another. These interactions will better prepare someone later on in life should they need to deal with loan officers, for example, because they are similar situations. Thus, learning how to professionally communicate in a manner that is respectful, polite, but also wherein one can express their needs and wants effectively, will provide the student with an advantage over those who have never learned how to properly manage such conversations.
Positive Affirmation
One of the key characteristics of becoming a learner is the ability to use positive affirmation. Positive affirmation means using positive statements to affect human behavior. For example, positive affirmation can be as simple as someone telling themselves they “can do it.” Cognitive behavioral therapy utilizes this technique.
Sanders uses the concept of positive affirmation to change the “conversation” about college. When Sanders challenges the present discourse and introduces a new perspective, he’s hoping students will become learners rather than passive students. The primary element of this change is using positive affirmation to take any challenge or hardship faced by college students and find something positive in it. The entirety of Chapter 3: Distracting Conversations focuses on taking negative viewpoints about a college education and viewing them in a different light. Furthermore, Chapter 5: An Invitation, provides several examples of how one can approach difficulties with positivity, especially when faced with classes or teachers that seem opposed to the student's education goals.
Learning Extends Beyond College
While the focus of the essay is to change the general perspective of incoming students on the purpose of a college education, Sanders points out that a learner is a learner because they never stop learning. The ability to constantly learn new skills and acquire knowledge extends beyond the university campus. Once one obtains their degree, the individual will constantly find themselves in situations wherein learning is important for success and advancement. It is a rare thing when a job is static. As technology advances, so does the way people perform their jobs, and those individuals who are flexible remain competitive in a competitive job market. Furthermore, being a learner often provides one with the ability to be creative. This ability goes hand-in-hand with being flexible with new technology in that the person with an open mind is able to find new, improved ways of getting the requisite work done as effectively as possible. These advantages come about from someone who realizes that learning is a constant state of being.
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