As a student currently pursuing higher education, the simplest way of describing it is: it’s not as simple as it was told to be. From the time we were able to understand what “higher education” actually means, it was believed that you would simply choose the path you wish to take and you remain on it until you reach the degree you had aimed for. It’s actually quite the opposite of that, meaning; once we reach our idea of higher education, you don’t stay on the path you chose. Actually, students usually take classes or subjects outside of their chosen path, almost directing them off of what they wanted. Using my personal experience as an example, I am a Political Science major with a some odd classes. I take four classes this semester; Introduction to Political Science, Statistics, College Reading and Writing I, and Bio Medical Ethics. The last one throws me off more than Statistics does. As a Political Science major, why should a class of mine be Bio Medical Ethics?

Ronald Barnett’s view on higher education is the idea that no matter how much work a student is capable of putting in, there are simply no answers to they seek for the questions being asked. But also, students are able to see or learn things that can be opposite of what they actually are.

Although Barnett’s ideas are confusing at first glance, it is easier to relate his ideas to current experiences or observations. To start, he states that “A genuine higher education is unsettling; it is not meant to be a cosy experience”, which is in fact a relatable statement. In order to make the best of receiving a higher education, one must be able to push themselves out of their comfort zones and to be able to learn something that isn’t always easy to understand at first. If a student is unable to go out of their comfort zones then they will remain at the same level of education rather than improve in areas they don’t know, or hardly know. Speaking from personal experience, an assignment that needs to be done is to read two lectures. Sounds simple; however, I struggle to understand what I’m actually reading, and come across a sentence where I’m able to know every word written.

The degree of my knowledge and experiences can, in fact, relate to a lot of what the two passages contain. Most of the connection from Barnett’s passage are in the previous paragraph, so I’ll focus more on Nussbaum’s passage. Towards the beginning, she makes the statement that “students are required to take a wide range of courses in their first two years”, I had previously mentioned that I am taking a few random courses in my first year of pursuing my higher education, but to my knowledge it is the same for some other students here on campus. In the case of a student in my dorm hall, he is a Communications major that is taking Music Appreciation for one of his many classes. At the end of Nussbaum’s passage she talks about the challenges and traditions of higher education, and that it’s “about challenging the mind to become active, competent, and thoughtfully critical in a complex world”.