Should a College Education be Primarily Technical or Liberal Arts - Essay Example

?Should a college education be primarily technical (teaching concrete skills, focusing primarily on preparation for employment) or liberal arts (teaching critical thinking skills with the goal of producing free and competent citizens) Without a doubt, the long debate between a traditional student and a vocation school has been the focal point of debate for many years in education. The Educational system in America is plagued with this discrepancy for decades, as it fails to prepare students to excel in their workforce. As a technical student, I have always felt that both theoretic and application technology play a pivotal role in harnessing a student’s education. Learning and memorizing knowledge is a fairly non-trivial challenge for the average American as it entails countless hours of drilling useless facts into one’s cognitive thinking. However, applying those concepts require specialized education and knowledge that must be harnessed. It is clear that business leaders are foreshadowing that specialized trade skill workers will be in shortage. This paper will discuss the importance of technical skills and the challenge for students to acquire these necessary skills. Without a doubt, I believe that college education should consist of primarily technical skills that are more aligned with the employment of my choice. Although it is essential to understand the theories behind a methodology, I firm believe that technical knowledge is much bigger of a force when it comes to ‘tangible’ skills. For instance, understand how electrons move from one place to another place is an element that can give a perception of a student being smart. However, if that same student is not able to fix a motor, or understand the wiring system in the car, then what is the point of education itself? Much of the emphasis in today’s universities is for methodologies that does not harness the cognitive Competence and Metacognitive Skills. Technical knowledge is molded into an art that allows students to take the necessary tools and techniques into a tangible form or skill. This skill is much more appealing to an employer who is looking for individuals that possess this experience. Often times, employers are forced to interview individuals that maybe sharp in theories, but possess no experience in applicable knowledge. As an employer, delivering goods and services is dependent on revenue, not theoretical thinking. Yes, to a certain extent- understanding theories is quite pivotal, but it does not translate to direct revenue when no product of tangible goods is conducted. This type of mentality has hurt many students because they have failed to acquire necessary skills to be entered in the workforce. As a matter of fact, many high-end universities put students in debt but fail to teach them basic skills such as Microsoft Office. Based on a survey of several hundred employers, the report concluded that “Far too many young people are inadequately prepared to be successful.” This is even more critical regarding high school graduates who were deficient in such skills as oral and written communication, critical thinking and professionalism. As a technical student, I can attest to this because I feel that technical colleges provide double benefits as they teach these soft skills as well. When I visited a traditional four-year university in midst of making my decision, I was shocked to see that most students did not know how to utilize simple software for a criminal justice presentation. This changed my perception on how I approached education because I became more of an applicable thinking. To study for my tests, I actually began to watch videos in court room and read about popular issues trending in law forensics. My drastic approach truly was a true experience because I began to see the “overall picture” in confusing concepts. This similar perception is discussed in Pathways Ahead: Reform and Rigor and The Road to Pathways. This piece of literature is a great testament towards understanding the common issue that young Americans face today in the workforce. It is clear that many students lack the skills in a very competitive labor force,. In fact, the “forgotten half” challenge has deepened with the growing importance of post-secondary education to success in the labor market. The trend that has been emerging the modern years was the fact that more than half of the employment required an undergraduate degree. For instance, the average earning of workers with bachelor’s degrees were 65 percent higher than those of high school graduates. However, this discrepancy is a national paramedic in my opinion because I feel that even with a university degree, students are not in a position to excel in the work force. Technical students rectify this issue by allowing students to have a more “hands-on” approach. These are skills that transferrable in any work environment. This issue is heavily discussed in Peer Tutoring Systems: Applications In Classroom And Specialized Environments” an interesting subject viewpoint by Timoty Heron, discusses lack of student skills in his literature where he describes these discrepancies. The concept of peer tutoring was extremely vague decades ago as many students struggled to obtain academic achievement due to the fact that they were not equipped with the necessary skills of college level studies. The reason for this epidemic was because students refused to get additional help and needed help that extend beyond the traditional methods of classroom teaching. Most students found it to be time consuming to seek extra help not to mention were embarrassed to realize that their academic skills were inadequate at a high level. Another issue that was prevalent amongst students is correlating a bridge between general education and the job they desire. This is perfectly depicted in the fact that at least 30% of high school students drop out. Some of my peers were prime examples, who fail to understand the connection between their program of interest and tangible work opportunities that were available. As a student, I felt that all these opportunities are linked to a narrow channel of success. There is little or any guidance to how to be successful in a field, which truly extends below certain courses. The common misconception that students are deceived in is the list of courses that are handed down to them. Young adults are extremely weary of this because they want to earn money as young individuals. There is no clear technical development in even high-end universities that nearly charge more than $50,000 a year. As a criminal justice student, going to prisons and court systems I think is much more valuable than a course that is strictly books and lectures. Since the human mind is prone to learning from cognitive thinking and application, students are able to capture more information and data from applicable training then learning. The training supplements the methodologies which is what students lack in the modern era. As the author states it in Pathways Ahead: Reform and Rigor and The Road to Pathways, it is not imperative that students successfully complete high school, but rather a more focus is embedded to guide these young students with the correct directions. It is evident that there is push to retain students to obtain a post-secondary education. However, I truly feel that without truly understanding the concerns of the students and giving them an applicable roadmap, it will be extremely hard task to achieve. It is clear that students in the future are barred with double burden as recent high school graduates are often poorly represented in such programs due in part to lack of information. It is highly imperative that students continually to develop technical and business acumen as the needs of the business change. Undoubtedly, propagation for vocation schools is a model that is not heavily discussed in USA but is also prevalent in European countries. Much of emphasis in Europe is conducted on technical expertise, which has allowed the labor force to be packed with skilled workers. As a matter of fact, employers organize the program and play a major role in collaboration with educators and trade skilled partners. This creates a mutual symbiosis of learning and collaboration that allows students to not only understand the roadmap but create a substantial investment. In countries such as Germany, this example is much more prevalent in which private corporations invest as much as the government does. This is due to the fact that employers understand the gravity of incorporating technical skills in the syllabus. In contrast, the stigma attached to technical skills in America is completely negative because of the fear of incorporating “soft skills.” Often times, students that attend vocational schools are deemed as introverts that cannot communicate properly. I strongly feel against this issue as a student because I feel that technical colleges also harness this skill. Even if a student is a technical student and possible an introvert, they can effectively communicate via different channels. I have been on the opposite side of the spectrum as I have constantly provide leadership by assisting clients in identifying and responding to opportunities when needed. Although students also are exposed to theories; they are more prepared with the necessary skills to excel in their work environment. I truly feel that as a student attending a technical school pursuing criminal justice that I made the right choice differentiating a school that will give me the correct road map to excel in the future. Works Cited Heron, Timothy, Donna Villareal, Ma Yao, Rebecca Christianson, and Kathleen Heron. "Peer Tutoring Systems: Applications In Classroom And Specialized Environments." Reading & Writing Quarterly 22.1 (2006): 27-45. Print. Kruger, Justin, and David Dunning. "Unskilled And Unaware Of It: How Difficulties In Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead To Inflated Self-assessments.." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77.6 (1999): 1121-1134. Print. Marquardt, Michael. "Globalization: The Pathway To Prosperity, Freedom And Peace." Human Resource Development International 8.1 (2005): 127-129. Print. Read More