Martha Nussbaum Higher Education Analysis

Higher Education: What’s the Big Deal? What do I want to do with my life? A common question asked by countless students between the ages of 18 and 24. A simple, yet tough question nonetheless. It can be frightening to think that at such a young age, we’re expected to know what we want to do for the rest of our life. Often, this question begs other tough and frightening questions. Is higher education even worth it? What if it is just a waste of time and money? While some may feel unsure about the future, it’s important to realize the benefits of higher education. It can help students to grow and succeed regardless of whether they know what they want to do in their future. Although some may feel that higher education is a waste of time and money,
Barnett’s view of higher education can be related to Martha Nussbaum’s explanation of the U.S. educational system in Reading the World. Essentially, Barnett believes that a student must always be pushed and that higher education is not meant to be a comfortable experience. Nussbaum writes, “education is not just about the passive assimilation of facts and cultural traditions, but about challenging the mind to become active, competent, and thoughtfully critical in a complex world” (Nussbaum, Martha). Nussbaum’s idea and Barnett’s idea are similar in that they both agree that higher education is, in fact, a challenge and something that takes great effort. “A higher education experience is not complete unless the student realizes that, no matter how much effort is put in, or how much library research, there are no final answers” Barnett, Ronald). Essentially, Barnett is arguing that a great deal of effort must be put in and no matter how much effort is put in there is always something new that the student has not yet learned. As Nussbaum said, students are growing in a complex world and there are “no final answers” because the world is always
In my experience, higher education has pushed me past my comfort zone and has made me participate even when I did not want to. However, I have greatly improved in my classes by being pushed out of my comfort zone. Now, I am no longer afraid of what others think, and I am open to participation in my classes. I can directly relate to Barnett when he writes, “a genuine higher education is unsettling; it is not meant to be a cosy experience” (Barnett, Ronald). In my first college class, I realized that this would be a challenge because I was not comfortable with speaking in front of my peers. In both traditional schooling and higher education, I have noticed an emphasis on the need for participation and questioning. “Another aspect of the U.S. educational tradition … is its characteristic emphasis on the active participation of the child in inquiry and questioning …” (Nussbaum, Martha). Nussbaum would agree that I was forced out of my comfort zone and had to talk in front of the class because it is emphasized by the U.S. educational system. Based on my experience, I believe that this trend of the educational system is important in student development. Higher education introduces new experiences and focuses on class participation so that in the future students will be prepared for new