Exploring Ourselves Through Education: Developing Our Networks of Opportunities - Essay Sample

Introduction

Most academic intellectuals argue that education is a process and period of searching for knowledge, a period to discover who we are, and time to find some of our undiscovered characteristics (Cronon, par. 4). Indeed, one of the best ways to explore who we are is via social interaction with other individuals who act similarly like us. By being able to develop our networks of opportunities through the education process, we can succeed in our objectives of life and also to conquer various challenges that we may or may not have experienced before. In Cronon’s literature work, “Only Connect,” he questions what it means exactly to be a liberally educated individual. In his entire inquiry and considerations, he discovers the most elaborate answer; "So one straightforward answer to my question is that liberally educated people have been liberated by their education to explore as well as achieve the promise of their own highest talents.” Hence, via this particular education liberation that Cronon addresses, as we fulfill our aspiration goals and overcome various challenges affecting our daily understanding, we can establish one of the most crucial attributes of the liberally educated individual called confidence in communication (Cronon, par. 7). Through my campus interaction experiences at the liberal science education center, I have realized that this liberal and diversified type of education has enabled me to expand my ability to interact with anybody I have met with more confidence.

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In his literature work, “Only Connect,” William Cronon analyzes ten elements that he believes a liberally educated individual possess. Among these attributes, he illustrates how the learner with this type of education can not only read, but also to read as well as understand, and to listen and hear (Cronon, par. 8). Thus, I consider qualities such as the ability to listen and hear, hear, and understandability to talk with anyone, and solve various puzzles and issues as my main strengths that have made me successful as a student. For example, Canon argues that a liberally educated person works tirelessly to hear what other people talk about by critically listening and following their arguments before making judgments (Cronon, par. 10). Indeed, as a student, this liberal trait enables me to accurately monitor and hear other people’s opinions before making any decision.

According to the second-best attribute, read and understand, I able to borrow various ideas from different sources of learning and education such as books, online sources, newspapers, journals, and many more. This attribute expands my understanding capacity as a student while solving any problem affecting my life either as an individual or a student. Concerning Cronon's Only Connect, I also consider the ability to talk to anyone as one of my best characteristics that have improved by the learning process (Cronon, par. 12). This trait enables a person to freely interact with anyone around him, including a child, the CEO of the multinational company, and many more. Thus, as a learner, this attribute has enabled me to interact with fellow students, school management, friends, and even top leaders in our country.

In this case, I have gained self-confidence that has led me to become one of the best speakers while delivering a speech in our school meetings as leaders. Finally, the ability to solve various issues and puzzles at a personal level is one of my traits. Through the college's learning process, I have acquired a wide range of skills that have allowed me to effectively solve various puzzles and challenges affecting my academic progress and life both inside and outside the school environment (Cronon, par. 15). However, as an individual, I also have some weaknesses in Cronon’s traits of liberal education. First, I have a great gap in practicing respect and humility, tolerance, and self-criticism. For instance, I find it challenging to tolerate laziness aspect in me or maybe other people around me. As Cronon states it that liberally educated people have tolerance of any circumstance around, but I find it hard to tolerate laziness. I always have self-respect and humility, but I still experience a considerable challenge when it comes to tolerance. Besides, I also experience the weakness of self-criticism (Cronon, par. 14). I never criticize myself, even if I am wrong. Usually, once I have done the wrong thing to myself or someone else, I find it difficult to question myself, but I will accept the challenge in me. This issue has become a significant problem to solve a liberal student.

Additionally, I consider both qualities, such as the ability to nurture and empower individuals around them, and they can talk with anyone as interrelated traits of the liberally educated person. For example, in both characteristics, liberally educated individuals can freely interact with anyone around them. As a result, they can nurture as well as empower those people around them either through encouragement and mentoring purposes. The liberally educated people can encourage other people to practice self-respect, tolerance, and humility in their environment (Cronon, par. 11). Again, they can also mentor other people to work hard towards changing the world through a proper understanding of the world around them.

Moreover, based on my experience, I also consider traits like understanding how to get things done in the world and the ability to solve a wide range of puzzles and challenges as interrelated. First, various skills I have acquired from my learning institutions have enabled me to identify and effectively resolve any problems affecting my life and development. As Cronon indicates, a liberally educated person can solve any puzzle or issue using several skills. Thus, with this aspect, I can change the world around me effectively since various challenges affecting the world around, also affect me.

How to Improve Liberal Education

In “Only Connect,” as Cronon puts it, the primary objective of liberal education is human freedom in understanding the world around him (Cronon, par. 13). Further, he discusses various signs of the progressive education process in shaping the socially conscious global population. Therefore, to improve my liberal education, then I must embrace the quality of talking with anyone. This trait will improve on my communication skills while interacting with others. As Cronon puts it, a good leader must be able to lead by an example by converting my thoughts into appropriate words and explain them to those I am interacting with daily. Hence, it improves my communication skills.

Secondly, I can improve on my liberal education by increasing my ability to solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems. This attribute boosts me with the strength to deal with any challenge that comes my way (Cronon, par. 17). Cronon argues that a liberally educated individual thinks faster and deals with the arising problem as it happens in the environment around them. Hence, these attributes improve my liberal education as a student to accurately identify, analyze, and correctly solve the problem.

Finally, I strongly agree with Cronon’s ten qualities of liberal education as they have helped most people deal with various challenges affecting them and their environment. For example, as a leader, I can apply the attribute of ability to solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems to deal with issues affecting the employee performance or overall performance of the company. Again, Cronon encourages us to freely interact with anyone around us to acquire new skills that can help us develop as individuals (Cronon, par. 13). Besides, we should also embrace respect and humility and tolerance when dealing with any problem affecting our lives. Hence, these qualities of liberal education are essential as far as life development is concerned.

Conclusion

Generally, as a future leader, I would like to embrace these ten qualities of liberal education. Through Cronon's argument, I can learn various things regarding self-growth in terms of personality, respect for oneself, and the ability to solve any challenge inappropriate manner. These ten traits have allowed me to think about how I can adequately listen and hear others' opinions before making any decision and how to practice respect, humility, and tolerance as a leader.

Works Cited

Cronon, William. “Only Connect: The Goals of a Liberal Education.” American Scholar 67.4 (1998): n. pag. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.