Liberal Arts Education: It really is the best option out there...

Three years ago this August, I began my freshman year with the misconception that “all colleges were created equal” to some degree or another.  Sure, I knew my choice was a good one and that Furman was prestigious, challenging, and unarguably considered the best school in the state of South Carolina.  Still, I figured that in four years, I would be a “college graduate” just like all of my friends who chose state schools or less challenging institutions of academia.  In the end, we would all have a diploma and be venturing on to graduate school or the world of work.  Sound a little naive?  Let’s just say I didn’t quite understand what I was getting myself into.  Looking back on my choice for college, I can now say that the “world” I chose to enter proved to be a life changing experience that I would not trade for anything. I’m pretty sure it’s going to come in handy in the future too...

 I soon found that there was a little something different about being a Furman student and that there was something different about this thing they call a “liberal arts education”.  In my immature state of mind that I then called the age of eighteen, I had absolutely no idea how a liberal arts education would change my perception of myself, my studies and future goals, and the world as a whole.  Now, as I am on the brink of beginning my senior year, I know that the experiences I’ve had at Furman are going to open huge doors for me and for my peers.  This kind of education is something to be excited about, something that will set us apart from all the other applicants and faces when we enter the real world that so eagerly awaits us.    

So what exactly is it about places like Furman?  I can honestly say that liberal arts universities offer a supportive foundation for just about anyone, whether you’re outgoing or reserved, conservative or liberal, northern or southern.  Perhaps the greatest part about the whole experience comes when you combine all of these diverse characteristics and populations together into one student body.  In an effortless manner, some form of “the perfect recipe”  is cooked up as each student, professor, and faculty member balances the other out.  Further contributing to this equilibrium is the irreplaceable sense of community that you can find at just about any corner of campus.  

Sure, the college experience can feel so foreign and “far away from home” when you pile on the inevitable stress of exams, growing up, and figuring everything out. That’s part of the game we call life, and as young emerging adults, we certainly are in the midst of it.   And I’ll admit, college isn’t always picture perfect and everyone isn’t always running around with a smile on their face and bragging about their effortlessly earned 4.0 GPA.  However, I can say that Furman and schools with similar ideologies provide the necessary means of support for the ups...and the downs that a student inevitably encounters during college.

So, maybe its the rose garden, perfectly placed trees that line the Furman mall, or the aura of it all that makes this place so special.  Maybe its the professors that truly care about their students’ future endeavors and serve as mentors to numerous students on a regular basis.  Maybe its the sense of community, the opportunities for Greek Life membership,the on-campus clubs, the philanthropic involvement, or the support of the Greenville community.  The bottom line is that there’s something special about a liberal arts education and about this place we call Furman.  It’s something anyone can benefit, learn, and grow from.  It’s something that takes a hold of each person it encounters and changes who they are. It really is something to talk about.  

image found at: http://puka.cs.waikato.ac.nz/custom/cic/collect/cic-hcap/index/assoc/p673.dir/Campus%20(Furman%20Mall%20roadway),%20Furman%20University-large.jpg

Teaching Language in our Schools: Let's get it "Write"!

In this day and age, abbreviations and acronyms are becoming more and more common in the workplace, about town, at home, and in our schools.  Each generation has their own “language” of sorts that people of other ages cannot fully grasp.  There’s the groovy slang from the 70s, the punk lingo from the early 90s, and a new, emerging language from the texting and instant messaging generation that includes just about any child from age five to age eighteen.  Some adults can listen to two youngsters have a conversation and have no idea what is going on, which can be a little scary...

 While it is important for society to keep up with the new communication trends of our children, it’s also vital that we teach traditional methods of language learning in our schools.  Writing and reading have traditionally been at the core of the curriculum of any school and are important elements of a child’s education.  Some would argue that the jobs of tomorrow won’t really require their employees to have good writing skills (especially with the constant technology booms going on).  However, I really think that writing is an art that will always be cherished--- and needed by society.  We need language to survive--proper language that is.  

Traditional writing and print media may be trends of the past, but thats why we love them.  There’s nothing quite like walking to the end of the driveway on a Sunday morning to get the paper or picking up the latest edition of your favorite magazine.  Writing offers us comfort and sometimes makes us feel a little nostalgic, whether we think back to writing creative stories in grammar school or sitting on our Dad’s lap as a child while he read the latest sports section.  Writing is not something that will “die out”, whether we’re talking about print or web media. Blogging on the web may be a little more of a relaxed form of media, but it’s still important that our students have the traditional foundations in the subject of writing in order to blog, tweet, or plurk.   

Writing is also informative and relays information to the world regarding just about anything.  There is going to be a high demand for our children to fill the shoes of professionals in the fields of public relations, advertising, and writing.  We need to enable them with the necessary skills to do this.  This is the responsibility of our schools and parents.  So, lets keep the curriculum well-rounded and keep the subjects of writing and reading at the core.  And parents, maybe that second bedtime story is a good idea after all.  Keep in mind that a child who can read well can also write well.  And I’m not talking about writing a text to their BFF about the latest OMG drama.  I am talking about the good ‘ol traditional way of writing that we have historically loved and craved as a social means of communication.  So, let’s encourage it and teach our children about this amazing, informative art that can really enable them to do great things, whether they end up being the next New York Times best-selling author or working in a science lab.  A child needs good language skills in order to survive no matter what their future goals may be.