Have you ever sat in a class and though to yourself, "Why do I have to know this, and when am I EVER going to use this worthless information?" There are times that I sit and class and ask myself this every instant that I am sitting in that desk. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE learning, but I don't love learning useless things that I'm never going to use. I love learning about things that I am going to use. I love it. At Liberty, it is their policy that you MUST get C's in all of your major related courses. This is not a challenge because I get A's in all those classes, because I apply myself. I don't know what professor in their right mind wakes up each day, comes to school, and while they're parking their 93 Dodge Stratus in the faculty parking lot are saying to themselves, "I hope that what I say today is completely irrelevant to my students' lives". What teacher would do this? Not one.
Yet, we all sit through the classes that we don't enjoy, writing notes about things we don't care to remember except for the test, and listening to lectures with words we don't care to know the meaning of. Given this argument, why is a "Liberal Arts Degree" so esteemed? Because not only do I know stuff about say business but I can describe for you the inner workings of DNA, or perhaps tell you why rocks fall down when you drop them. What business man will need this if all he wants to do is push paper his whole life? I guess I just feel, that I'm not going to need some much of this garbage, and if I ever do need to procure some information in a hasty fashion on an unfamiliar topic, I'll google it.
Times are changing, and society wants someone who's AMAZING at one thing, not mediocre at a few things...Also, here's something that's perplexing to my mind; something that not one person has been able to answer for me: Why do we pay through nose for school, to be taught, and learn important things, and yet in every class we are told to "teach ourselves". If I wanted to do that, I would just buy the "liberal arts for dummies" book from Barnes & Noble.
I would be thankful if here at Liberty University I was taught how to think, and not what to think. They tell you that you're learning the answers to the questions of life, but their not answers that you've come to on your own. You're not taught how to answer a question, but only to reiterate the answer that they feel you should give. How will I be able to reason my way through life if I am not taught how to do so?
Luckily, my parents have taught me how to make decisions and to reason through issues. I feel at times that I am sitting in a room while a man with the letters "D & R" in front of his name tries to brainwash me into believing what he believes, rather than me being taught why he believes what he believes, and then me being able to reach my own conclusions.
All this to say, I don't mind Liberty, I'll be honest. However, I have taught myself to look at everything from an analytical perspective, and not just believe what people say because they are esteemed by society or peers in their field. Lastly, thank you mom and dad for instilling in me values and principles that have guided my path up until this point and will stick with me until the end of my days. I love you and thank you for teaching me what I need to know, and not what you wanted me to know.