Goals and Expectations for My Time At Castleton and Beyond
Castleton is the perfect environment for me to exercise and apply the ideas expressed in Zakaria’s book, In Defense of a Liberal Education. After reading the assigned book this summer I found that I gained a new understanding of how schools are run, from elementary to higher education. Throughout my time in high school I experienced an ever growing curiosity as I was being exposed to new ideas by both my teachers and my peers, but not being thoroughly taught about these new subjects. Castleton is where I hope to gain the ability to explore these curiosities I’ve acquired more effectively both in and out of the classroom. I was never quite sure what it meant to go to a liberal arts …show more content…
I’ve never been in a situation where there are more classes I want to take than time I have to take them. It’s hard to believe that I’ve finally found a place to truly explore after being told for years that I need to plan my career beforehand. In high school I was lucky enough to somehow pick up an interest in learning, something that doesn’t seem adequately encouraged in public secondary schooling. The subjects I found myself interested in were vast and varied, almost to a fault. This left me with increasingly dwindling attention to my common core classes, specifically math and some science classes. Castleton is where I plan to pursue my interests, from programming to anthropology in the classroom, to whatever else occupies my mind outside the classroom.
Zakaria’s book has shown me what to expect from a college like Castleton. Zakaria’s third benefit of a liberal education is one I now realize is what modern American schooling is all about. He explains in chapter three that a liberal education, “teaches you how to learn” (pg 78). Not only am I excited to experience structured learning from highly educated professionals, I’m also eager to become better at teaching myself. I think the bulk of that skill will be delivered from my …show more content…
Related in a way to what a math teacher would call an “Ah-ha moment”-when a student comes to understand something on their own- an intellectual adventure can be anything from finding a way to work through a small problem to experiencing a subject for the first time, or maybe not even the first time depending on how much you like it. This is one of the ways in which I find the common core appealing. I think the idea of a community of students all experiencing the same adventure together can create a supportive, unitive, and homey feeling for those involved. I can only assume that’s why the entire freshmen class was assigned this summer reading. I’m in full support! Though one thing I’m looking forward to in college is being able to move away from the Core, that’s why I’m at a liberal arts school afterall. My first semester at Castleton is dedicated to embracing the intellectual adventure, and the second semester might be as well. I’ve chosen a couple of subjects related to my major, but beyond those I’m immensely excited to begin learning about things I was never before offered a formal education in. While these sorts of classes may not really contribute to my major in the end, as Zakaria points out in the final chapter, a
Castleton is the perfect environment for me to exercise and apply the ideas expressed in Zakaria’s book, In Defense of a Liberal Education. After reading the assigned book this summer I found that I gained a new understanding of how schools are run, from elementary to higher education. Throughout my time in high school I experienced an ever growing curiosity as I was being exposed to new ideas by both my teachers and my peers, but not being thoroughly taught about these new subjects. Castleton is where I hope to gain the ability to explore these curiosities I’ve acquired more effectively both in and out of the classroom. I was never quite sure what it meant to go to a liberal arts …show more content…
I’ve never been in a situation where there are more classes I want to take than time I have to take them. It’s hard to believe that I’ve finally found a place to truly explore after being told for years that I need to plan my career beforehand. In high school I was lucky enough to somehow pick up an interest in learning, something that doesn’t seem adequately encouraged in public secondary schooling. The subjects I found myself interested in were vast and varied, almost to a fault. This left me with increasingly dwindling attention to my common core classes, specifically math and some science classes. Castleton is where I plan to pursue my interests, from programming to anthropology in the classroom, to whatever else occupies my mind outside the classroom.
Zakaria’s book has shown me what to expect from a college like Castleton. Zakaria’s third benefit of a liberal education is one I now realize is what modern American schooling is all about. He explains in chapter three that a liberal education, “teaches you how to learn” (pg 78). Not only am I excited to experience structured learning from highly educated professionals, I’m also eager to become better at teaching myself. I think the bulk of that skill will be delivered from my …show more content…
Related in a way to what a math teacher would call an “Ah-ha moment”-when a student comes to understand something on their own- an intellectual adventure can be anything from finding a way to work through a small problem to experiencing a subject for the first time, or maybe not even the first time depending on how much you like it. This is one of the ways in which I find the common core appealing. I think the idea of a community of students all experiencing the same adventure together can create a supportive, unitive, and homey feeling for those involved. I can only assume that’s why the entire freshmen class was assigned this summer reading. I’m in full support! Though one thing I’m looking forward to in college is being able to move away from the Core, that’s why I’m at a liberal arts school afterall. My first semester at Castleton is dedicated to embracing the intellectual adventure, and the second semester might be as well. I’ve chosen a couple of subjects related to my major, but beyond those I’m immensely excited to begin learning about things I was never before offered a formal education in. While these sorts of classes may not really contribute to my major in the end, as Zakaria points out in the final chapter, a