The real lessons of a college education
I’m teaching three online classes again this fall for New Mexico State University. Over the weekend, I asked my students to email me a short note describing the expectations they have for the class. The method to my madness is by doing so, I get an idea right off the bat of what they think we’ll be doing, and if they’re way out in left field, I can address and correct those expectations right away.
One student said she hopes to improve her public speaking skills. I reminded her it’s an online writing class – no speaking involved. So far, she’s still on my class roster. Maybe she decided that speaking skills are overrated.
Another student said he wants to learn how to succeed in life by taking the course. I told him I didn’t think the class would do much in the way of teaching him life success, unless he was aiming to become an expert on APA documentation style and knew about a job that would pay him richly to exercise that expertise. I added that if he knew about a job like that, I’d really appreciate a link to it so I could apply.
It got me thinking, though, about the real lessons of a college education. I don’t think it’s about mastering documentation style, or memorizing formulas, or earning grades on teachers’ assignments. I think it’s about learning to make your own way in the world.
That, and remembering to bring toilet paper.
For the last month, my daughter and I have been making lists of what she needs to take with her when she leaves for college this weekend.
“You need some cups and plates,” I told her. “You won’t have a kitchen cupboard stocked with dishes when you want a snack or something to drink.”
She bought a pair of cups and plates. The next time she did her laundry, she commented, “I’m going to need laundry detergent, aren’t I?”
“Yup,” I said. “It’s hard to get clothes clean without it.”
“And dish soap,” she added, remembering her recent purchases . “I’ll need to wash the cups and plates.”
“That would be preferable to the alternative, yes,” I agreed. “Basically, everything you take for granted here at home, you’ll need to take with you, or you won’t have it – toothpaste, soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, sunscreen. Even toilet paper, since you’re living in a quad with your own bathroom. “
She shook her head. “I’m sure my roommates will have that covered. Two of them are going up a week early for an outdoor program. They said they’ll bring all the bathroom stuff.”
But I noticed that the next time we went supply shopping, she picked up a package of 12 rolls.
“Just in case,” she explained.
Last night, she sent an email to her new roomies, asking if there was anything they had forgotten or would like her to bring.
The answer: toilet paper.
“It’s going to be a long couple of days for your new roommates,” my husband observed. “Aren’t you glad you listened to your mother?”
Yes, indeed, going to college is about learning self-sufficiency.
Although it doesn’t hurt that going to college also reminds you that, sometimes, your mother really does know best. Even if it is about toilet paper.
