Winters-+TELL+step+1

Stephanie Winters Winters- TELL project

What do you believe is the purpose of a college education?
The purpose of a college education is to prepare students for the work in which they will be taking up after college. A college education is important for many jobs and should be something that many people should consider getting. Having a college education is important once you leave college and often helps you to find a good job. Going to college and taking classes that have to do with your program of study makes you skilled in that area. Colleges also require general education credits which makes students well-rounded. For example a nurse taking classes in anthropology may not directly help with them with their job, but will make them more knowledgeable.

What does it mean to be educated?
Being educated to me means being knowledgeable in different aspects in life. I believe that someone who is educated knows a little bit about multiple things rather than just being skilled in one area. Being educated can mean graduating college and going out to work. It can also mean staying home and taking care of your family and having the knowledge and ability to do this. Being educated can be defined by the previous two examples. However, we can look at it in a broader light too. Being educated in some countries may mean understanding how to use the land to your full benefit. An educated person in Africa may not be the person who can read and write, it may be the person who knows how to grow the best crops. Depending on where you are and the culture in which you are in the criteria for what it means to be educated will change. To me the idea of being educated can't be easily explained because it is such a broad topic that can be interpreted in many different ways. Everyone will have their own idea about what the definition of being educated means.

What experiences have you had with education that led you to this belief?
I have had different experiences that have led me to the belief that being educated means having knowledge in different areas and believing that the culture where you live has a great impact on whether or no you are considered educated. Both my parents have jobs. My mom is nurse and is extremely smart when it comes to medical things. She always has an idea about what to take or do if you are sick. She is very good at her job and enjoys working at a hospital. However, she not only is a good worker but is a good mother and wife too. She takes care of me, my younger brothers, and my younger sister. This is a key aspect that I think of when the idea about being educated is brought up. Not only does she work as a nurse, but knows how to take care of a family. She knows how to balance her time between the two which can sometimes be challenging. She works night shift so she can sleep during the day when we are at school and be up when we get home. This is something that many people would not be able to do. I know that i would not be able to be up working all night and only get a few hours during the day. My dad is a manager where he works. He is a hard worker and is always finding ways to improve the company where he works. Two years ago he graduated with a 4.0 in his masters program. He decided he wanted to go back to school for his masters and began a long journey to get it. He worked a full time job and would take a night class. This took him a little less than 4 years to complete. His dedication shows me that he is serious when it comes to getting an education. I considered him to be very educated. He also raises my family along with my mom and is very involved. He likes to do fun activities and vacations throughout the summer. I feel that this shows he is educated in the respect that he finds ways to make his family have a good life. In my anthropology class first semester, we watched many videos about different tribes. After thinking about being educated and reflecting back on these videos I am finding many interesting things. One video we watch was about a man who was the head of his village. In order to keep his position he would have to make a large pig offering to another tribe. This meant that he would have to take care of many different pigs and trust other people to help him take care of them. If his pig offering was not a success, he would have to fear the idea that he may lose his spot as head of the village. Here we can see that this is different than our own society. In American many people would not agree on a president by whether or not he can have a good pig offering. This shows that being educated is different all over the world. Overall being educated means being able contribute to society and having knowledge in different areas of life. A college education contributes to what it means to be educated but does not define it. The definition of being educated is different for everyone.