What is the purpose of an undergraduate education? Should high school graduates spend the time and money to further their education at a university rather than entering the workforce? Charles Evan Hughes states that the purpose of a college education is: “the development…of the capacity to appreciate what has been done and thought… freedom from tyranny of ignorance, and… intelligence served by learning” (Hughes). I agree with Hughes, though I feel as if there is more to be said about the purpose of a college education.
Last year we read The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Without a foundational education up to this point, I would have never understood the insightful symbolism within the book. The green light that changes from hope to reality, the billboard representing the eyes of God watching the corruption of the American dream fly by; none of these would be apparent to me now without the “capacity to appreciate” that Hughes mentions. In absence of this capacity, we would miss the deeper meanings represented throughout art, culture, and entertainment, without which this world would seem empty. …show more content…
I believe that through the capacity mentioned by Hughes, human beings derive the ability to reach new “achievements, doctrines, theories, [and] proposals.” For me, this ability is exemplified through drumline. I spent the first two years learning the language of drumming; every rudiment, piece of music, and instrumental technique contributed to my foundational knowledge of the skill. I later found that the more I knew the language, the more I could create my own combinations of letters to make words, and words into pieces of music. Liberal education is the same way: the more we learn, the more we can apply said learning to new ideas and