Why do people go to college? Some people decide to go to college to learn a skill. Others see college as an opportunity to achieve success. A few go to college to gain practical and valuable experiences. Should we only go to college to get a job or should we go to college to obtain substantial knowledge? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to explore the main purpose of education. In addition, it is key to consider the differences between the utilitarian point of view and the humanities point of view. People go to college to get a higher level of education. The Merriam Webster dictionary explains the term education as “the knowledge and development resulting from an educational process”. It is essential to emphasize the words “process” and “development” to understand the purpose …show more content…
Two of the models used to educate are the utilitarian model and the humanities model. The utilitarian model is based on instruction; it teaches individuals to retain information. The instruction, in this model, is what prepares the individual to do a job. Strictly speaking, the utilitarian method prepares students for a specific occupation and trains them for that purpose. When students decide their upcoming career based only on obtaining employment, they are influenced by a utilitarian viewpoint. On the contrary, the humanities paradigm is focused on enrichment. The humanities perspective of education goes beyond learning mathematics, science, writing or physics. The models’ main goal is to transmit information that will help students to interact with their physical and social environment. Students learn skills and information as well as values and philosophies. I have heard this method referred to as “education for life”. Humanities viewpoint instructs a person as a whole rather than focusing in one particular area. It also teaches many skills, not just the ones that make students