What Are You Doing Here By Mark Edmundson Analysis

Mark Edmundson, who is a professor of English at the University of Virginia and has published many books, wrote “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here?” as an advice piece to students just entering college. He lets students know that it is a great accomplishment that they have made it to college, but their job is far from done. They have a lot of forces against them built in the college system that will try and keep them from getting a true education. He tells them it won’t be easy, but if they work hard and put their heart into their education, then they will receive fully what college has to offer. Through this essay Edmundson covers the issues with the average college classroom, problems with college administrators, and doing what …show more content…
They treat college as a “means to an end”, which will give them what they need to secure a quality job. They focus on the money and success that is at the finish line and forget about everything that happens in between now and when they get there. Then the students often get lost in the numerous other distractions around them like parties, music, friends, clubs, and sports. Not only that, but the faculty is also guilty of letting other things divert them from what is happening in the classroom. They get wrapped up in their research and work that will help them increase their status at the university. These things combined create an unspoken pact between the students and teachers, where neither party puts their all into the classroom and both will focus on other matters. Edmundson wants the teachers to engage students in the classroom and ask them to think deeply and on a personal level what they took away from the text. You should take what you read and analyze what you believe to be the essential truths. The consequence of all this is that most of what you learn in college will be forgotten by the time you graduate. That means you didn’t receive your diploma for what you learned, rather you received it for the challenges you overcame. Edmundson says that he doesn’t necessarily see this as a bad thing because it does technically …show more content…
Edmundson tells a story about when he was young and picking classes for college he got caught up in trying to find something that would make him the most money. It was on that day he learned from his father that if you try and be what others think you should be instead of going for what your passion is you will risk living a very dissatisfied