Hi again Caitrin........

At the risk of actually being serious, I too have some appreciation for the foibles of the educational system here in the US and elsewhere. It could use a lot of help. But your question, relating to the essay expected from UNC/Asheville, does not have within its scope a mandate that you list the problems with education. In that context it is perhaps worth mentioning the role of the student in all of this.

Its often said of young people that they seem to feel "the world owes them something." It does. The world does not owe them a home, a job, a free ride, or any of the myriad things that generally follow that statement. The world, our culture, our society, does owe something to its young folks...an education. But it comes with a price that is not financial. The role of the student is to demand that which is theirs. Too often we just complain that its a crummy class, a bad teacher. It is the right, duty, and responibility of a student to demand the education they deserve. When I was a teacher, I used to preach this to my students and one of my two finest moments came as a result.

Twenty of my teenage males, vocational students who had resisted school in the past, walked out of another teacher's class and went to the office. The principal was completely confused when they explained that they were not getting what they believed they needed in that class and the instructor had no interest in improving their lot. This man and his assistant had a combined total of 58 years in vo-ed and admitted they were completely confused as they had never before encountered a situation where students demanded better instruction. It was a "gimmee" class, but the guys still felt they needed something more. It was the talk of the school system for awhile.

Anyway, don't be swayed too much by our cynicism. Sure, there's more to be learned outside of the classroom than inside. But what you can learn and what is owed to you can prepare you for that learning too and perhaps fire the passion of curiosity from which, perhaps, all real learning develops.

Spaw