In the excerpt from their book, When Hope and Fear Collide: A Portrait of Today’s College Student, authors Dr. Arthur Levine and Jeannette Cureton effectively comprise the changes of today’s education based on how individuals perceived a “perfect” education to be decades ago. Dr. Levine explains that the idea spread by John Henry Cardinal Newman is very bright and was once embraced but is no longer strictly adhered to anymore. With several grounding points of argument, the authors are capable of organizing the text in a way that makes understanding the information easier for the readers.
Immediately, the authors present the recent demographic transformations throughout the nation and that data alone makes it apparent that people are viewing their education differently today. Reports suggest that students are graduating older and more are in the workforce while they are studying. Many of these students stated they wanted a different type of relationship with their university. In previous times, residential living in study quarters was considered proper and necessary. Nowadays, however, more and more students are choosing to live away from campus and focus on the business of their everyday lives.
Also, the authors include a large section focused on the diversity and multiculturalism that is now seen in Universities across the nation. Dr. Levine also stated quoted a college student that it was a lot easier to talk about diverse issues in solitude rather than with large groups of people. Maybe this could be one of the reasons leading up to the fact that today’s college education isn’t the same as it was yesterday.
I believe the information in this excerpt is very credible and logical. From reading the text, it makes sense because I see much of the same things going on at the University I attend. I do believe that people want more and more and they aren’t satisfied with what they have now. Also, I will agree that this generation is definitely a “tired” one. I find this fact to be a bit disappointing because it is unfortunate that individuals rely so heavily on an objective, material lifestyle. All in all, I think Dr. Levine and Jeannette Cureton did an excellent job aligning this coercive argument.
Nick, you've done a great job analyzing both the content and the form of this argument, including a look at the ethos of the authors as well as the logic and emotional appeal of their claims. The authors certainly seem to base their comparison with out-dated collegiate modes, which seems to be the main area that upset our class.
ReplyDeleteTheir approach used a lot of statistical information which seems informative enough (although it can always be questioned; for instance, did they include community colleges?), but some of their claims seem slightly speculative. Increasing numbers of students living off-campus could suggest different things depending on your point-of-view; it may mean isolation and a tendency towards solitude, or it may suggest greater independence than the students of the past. The mistake would be for the authors to argue their case for ALL students, because nothing is ever true for everyone.
Great analysis. FULL CREDIT
- jeff