Using knowledge you have on college and what you learned at the FLA session on Saturday and what you read in the college pamphlets you received on Saturday, decipher what Hutchins means in this quote.
A education frees a man from the prison-house of his class, time, place, background, family and even his nation.
~Robert Maynard Hutchins
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I believe that the true power of this quote resides in the first five words, an education frees a man. With an education you become free to be who you want to be. My education has enabled me to learn so much about myself, more than I could have ever imagined. I believe education brings self awareness by broadening perspectives. When expose yourself to different truths and realities, it will allow you to define your own truths and realities. An education is the only way to get that exposure.
I agree Tor. I also have experienced that education
I agree Tor. It has also been my experience that education elevates one’s status, much in the way that increased income does. Once upon a time, people lived in societies where a man could only become a gentleman by money or background. Now, especially in our society, factoring in one’s education also becomes apart of the process.
I agree with you Tor. Having an education, especially in today’s society, is critical to your success as a person. Education is not limited, it is ultimately a power in its own sense. Knowledge of any sort can give a person unique thoughts, theories, perceptions, and ideas. If a person can escape the limits of what they are “enslaved” by, it gives them the option to pursue what they aspire to do. Therefore, an individual will not be held to the confines of their background, class, time, etc.
The meaning of this quote is in the quote itself, basically it is education makes you better( having more knowlede) and therefore by you have a chance to become greater than where you came from and whatever else acts as a boundary in your life.
Also most higher paying jobs require a greater ammount of education than none at all, so with a good education you can earn a lot more therefore making you have a greater social mobility.
I agree Sadar. Education helps eliminate some of the the barriers that would hold us at bay from elevating to certain heights
I really like the face that you brought up “social mobility.” That is the beauty of education. It does not matter if your family is poor, or your parents never went to college. A good education can help you reach a higher status instantly.
This quote is profound because for some it questions the very foundation of their existence. We as people are a sum of what we have learned by being a part of our families, communities, region, society and culture. To discover through education (i.e. a book, trip, experience etc…) that a value (ex. slavery in the past or tribal rituals) you have held true is flawed will rock your world. Thus causing an awaking the beginning one’s re-education on a matter and ultimately the FREEDOM from what is “common” that Hutchins refers to.
I agree with Tor about the first five words but the rest of the quote, I believe that Hutchins was speaking to the changes that he saw that need to be made in the world around him. I see things that need to be changed in our community. For Example: At our last session one of our scholars asked a great question. “Why do we have public high school but not public college?” I wish I could have answered that question but, I do not know. This is one of the changes i woud love to see in the 100 years in America.
People have always said that having an education opens doors. I believe that this quote resembles the fact that once you have an education, you are being introduced to a whole different world of opportunities outside of your house, school, neighborhood, etc. I think Hutchins refers to not having an education to being in a “prison-house” because without one we are basically stuck.
A good education enables us to move and venture further into areas of achieving.
The less education you have the more you are limited in you ability to reach higher heights.
And as far as the information gained from Saturday, it is a great tool that will allow students to know what to expect. It also allows students time to think of ways to prepare themselves for the adversity they may face and give them ample time to set things in order to where they may be able to eliminate some aspects of the equation that they would face had they not know about them.
What the quote “A education frees a man from the prison-house of his class, time, place, background, family and even his nation”, means to me is that the true power of education is the fact no matter who we are, or where we come from, education will open are minds and let us travel to any place in the world and become the person we truly want to become.
I believe that this qoute is simply stating that an education is a place where one can escape to, no matter what the circumstances seem to be. An education has many possibilies and it can take you to the top of the pyramid. It can give you the power of knowledge and raise bring you up to your dreams. Also, an education can seperate you from the rest of the people in the world, making you unique.
I think that in this quote Hutchins means that when you leave to go off to college, you are your own person. You can’t rely on other people to make sure you get your work done. Also Hutchins is saying that education can free you because of all the possibilities you can have with an education. The better the education you have, the better and high paying job you can get.
I think Robert Maynard Hutchins refers to a person’s class, time, place, background, family and even his nation as a prison-house because, no one can just up and leave and/or change who they are and what people perceive then as being. Just like no one can just leave prison. It takes courage, endurance and a lot of hard work to break away from your comfort zone of how you live and who you are today so that you can dream and pursue what you wish to be in the future. Once you have a reached your goal and gotten whatever education you had set out to get you can become whoever you wish. Without an education it is hard to get a well paying job. With a well paying job you could mask what you used to be with what you are now. For example Dr. Denial Williams performed the first open heart surgery that ended successfully and hospitals across the nation ended up using his techniques to save lives. Instead of saying, “O well I’m not white I can’t do anything to contribute or help people in life,” he became a doctor and strived to be the best. When people talk about him it is more so of how successfully he was and not about how his grandparents were probably slaves.