Disciplines
Education
Mentor
Dr. Thomas Pentecost
Abstract
the capacity to think analytically about profound topics and issues. Although memorization makes up the majority of fundamentals in any field of study, importance lies in applying the things we have learned when we progress to a higher level of thinking. We learn to do this through instruction and practice, and our education can be enhanced by things such as environment and experience. Mentors play an important role in our educational development as they encourage curiosity and the idea that we are continuous learners. If truly accepted, this philosophy can shape the decisions we make and create pronounced traits as they become emphasized over time, stimulating an endless pattern of a desire for knowledge leading to personal growth. Ultimately, experience and personality come into play in later stages of learning and therefore play a larger part in higher education. Martin Luther King Jr once said that “the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education.” Without character, there is no real means to use intelligence, and vice versa. The task of preparing for roughly twelve years in order to attain a seat at a good college is daunting. Continuing on to graduate school is similarly frightening considering that higher education is a right which is not afforded to everyone. Various circumstances and differences in academic strengths can contribute to the undermining of students and their potential. It is important that we prepare students by equipping them with the right tools to succeed. “Without preparation for career success, we risk the loss of talented [individuals],” [2] dooming future professionals and creating mediocrity within fields of study, such as medicine, that must be constantly questioned in order to grow and flourish. The same can be said for students. They are simultaneously pushed and held back. “We want future scholars to take on hard questions and complex challenges… yet during training, [they] are advised to maintain a narrowly defined focus (limiting the scope of their work) to ensure that the problem they tackle is ‘manageable’…” Through the observation and analysis of achievement and the factors that contribute to success, schools can better prepare students for their future endeavors.
ScholarWorks Citation
Schoch, Stephanie, "Success In Graduate School Based On A Variety Of Factors And Predictors" (2016). Honors Projects. 480.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/honorsprojects/480
