In "College and the Well-Lived Life," Derek Bok talks about the importance of college in students life. He tells us that studying in colleges can change student's understanding about happiness and guides them to live a happier life. Also, It shows us that colleges help freshmen students to gain the knowledge and interests which leads them to a good and satisfying life. Colleges and universities are helping students to fulfill their interests in a way that lead them to satisfaction and happiness.
At the beginning of this article, the author compared two periods of time to the idea of being a college student in the early 1960s. The idea of being a college student or the reason which made students attended colleges was for the sake of knowledge and to improve their perspective of life. However, now 75 percent of college students attend colleges for the sake of money or to have a good opportunity to get the job that he or she wants. Thus, both of them are looking for the satisfaction and happiness from their own way and their own understanding of life, and no matter how they achieve their goals.The idea of being rich and have a lot of money became the main aim for students to enter a college. Because of the widespread idea for making money, many colleges are forced to offer more pre professional courses which help students to increase their opportunities to get a good paid-jobs.
Most of undergraduate courses were focused on making lots of money and preparing students for a good life. Otherwise, colleges ask students to study other general courses in order to increase their knowledge in many fields, such as social sciences and humanities.Colleges also encourage students to determine their concerns and in another area in life and to help them live an easily life. In these days, colleges are offering courses about happiness or similar to the behavioral sciences courses. Some students are majoring in vocational majors because it is grasping the students interests.
However, the research yields results those courses can bring satisfaction but lead to unhappiness.As the author mentions that even colleges and universities are confused in how they give the students the answers for being happy after their graduation. In other words, colleges and universities are affecting the student choices of what kinds of occupation to enter. For example, ''according to the National Opinion Research Center'', the ten common professions which leads people to a good living have a lot of risks, for instance, clergy, teaching manager, and psychologists. Moreover, the article explains that the principle people like policy makers should pay more attention to help students to become an affective members in society.
From my point of view, I disagree with the author's idea that students must study a general education at a first year in college. In my experience, I have studied a business class before. I took this class in order to stable my financial status and control my way in spending money. But it did not help me in what I needed and expected from taking this class.
However, I agree with the idea that universities and colleges should offer vocational courses for students for many reasons. First, It helps them to build up their future and what kinds of job that can fit his interests.Second, these courses help students to be more flexible and can practice different skills in life. Also, students who practiced different practical skills in college have are more opportunities to gain a good paid job and to a happy life as well. To summaries, it can be clearly seen that universities or colleges cannot bring happiness to student but it can lead them to the right path of a good living. Likewise, universities cannot tell students what will make them happy.
They have to experience the happiness themselves and look for the happiness from their own ways.
