Letterman Logic: What is Education? by Mitchell

Letterman Logic: What is Education? by Mitchell - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

At Ball State University, we espouse the legend of David Letterman. The late night icon, and BSU alum, is remembered around campus as a leader and an inspiration. He is also a self-declared underachiever. In fact, Letterman has donated a building to telecommunications upon which there is a plaque that reads, "Dedicated to all 'C' students, before and after me!" Letterman found extraordinary success in life without necessarily excelling in the classroom. By contrast, there is many a CEO, actress, or Nobel scientist who has diligently hit the books in order to achieve their goals. It seems obvious that there is not one single recipe for success. What, then, is the purpose of education? Over the course of an academic career, students will learn a large host of information on English, Social Studies, and math that is almost always forgotten. What are not lost, however, are the skills needed to learn that information.

The difference between Letterman and some of those CEOs was most likely that he did not understand some of the more complex theories or concepts he was being taught. He simply wasn’t grasping the concepts. This is fine! Some individuals are simply wired a different way than most, making it hard to understand concrete subjects. However, the crucial similarity between Letterman and the CEOs was that both of them were completing the process of receiving an education. They were all following the steps of learning: trial and error, research, time management, hard work, and eventual success.

This is truly the purpose of an education. From first grade to senior year, we are forming the capability to become successful people through education. The homework assignments may seem to be about memorizing the content, but in reality they will prepare the student to take care of paperwork in the real world. Group projects teach teamwork just as much as the geography or biology that they cover. The networks in our brains are being trained to eventually gain the real knowledge we need to complete jobs in the world.

It is true that at some point, the material trumps the process. This generally happens once we reach college or our first job. The fact that we went through the education for the first 12 years, however, allows us to be ready for this real knowledge. We have a background in basic subjects and a wealth of ways to continue learning. This is evidenced by the success that Letterman had. In school, he was not the greatest learner. However, he found major success in his field because he knew the process of learning and succeeding, and was finally able to find a field he could understand. Education is a process where we learn how to learn, in order to actually learn in the end: this is its purpose.