Eatmyclutch
09-20-2007, 10:00 PM
Money makes the world go round. Money doesn’t grow on trees; money is the root of all evil. An inescapable truth of life is that it is more or less run by money. The pursuit thereof, is a defining quality of human life. We are a species enthralled by wealth and greed. It seems a bit bleak to look at the world this way, but such is life.
My essay will discuss consumerism and education; more specifically, the role of students as consumers. I believe that students are indeed consumers. I will advance this claim through two areas of analysis. First, I will discuss consumerism as an idea, and the common misconceptions of it. Also, I will examine education as a principle, process and business. To be sure, consumerism is not a young idea. Yet, it is a term largely misunderstood and misrepresented in our society.
Advancing a Marxist viewpoint on consumerism, I believe that consumerism is often confused with fetishism. Fetishism is the pursuit of objects that derive their value from advertising, promotion and abstract ideas. Fetishism is a hypersexual desire to possess things not for their use-value, but rather the satisfaction that possessing it projects. Consumerism, on the other hand, is simply an increasing consumption of goods or services. By separating fetishism from consumerism, we see that students simply as consumers aren’t a negative thing; it is natural and obvious. However, consumerism is not readily separate from fetishism in our society, thus students as consumers are a villanized idea. I will now discuss education and its many faces.
Students are wayward opposites of teachers, who in being taught, walk along the path of their continued education. I believe that education is a defining process, a building upon the mind. Moreover, education is a world within itself, a series of paths that intersect to teach enlighten and broaden. Further, education is a business, a niche-market that brings with it an endless subset of jobs, opportunities and wealth. Teachers are not necessarily in the business of becoming extraordinarily rich (as any teacher’s salary will attest), rather they walk beside the student, guiding and learning. This relationship, although singular in nature, is nevertheless a business one. Thus, teachers provide a highly specialized service to the student. Again, though the relationship between student and teacher is an extraordinarily unique one, it is never the less grounded in a service-to-customer format. Therefore, students are consumers while teachers provide a continually progressive service. I will now discuss the last point, the impact of consumerism on students.
The impact of consumerism on students is not a readily accessible one, though my essay points out that it is a natural phenomenon. I believe however, that consumerism, or at least a business conscious mentality is prevalent in almost every aspect of our society. The same holds true for our educational system. Our society is rooted in a business mind. Therefore, it would follow rather logically that our educational system that is supported by it is thus. The advent and increase of technology is perhaps the greatest changing quality on our educational system. With so much information at one’s fingertips, knowledge abounds. The trick then is separating information from knowledge; this is the teacher’s job.
In the end, I believe that consumerism is often mistaken for fetishism, with the result of a negative perception of students as consumers. Again, this is a fallacious concept and should be changed in our society. Moreover, the relationship between students and teacher, although unique, is never the less formatted in a service based industry. To be sure, education is indeed consumerism and students are consumers. For what it is worth, the money spent in such industry is the best possible way to spend. Continue spending.
My essay will discuss consumerism and education; more specifically, the role of students as consumers. I believe that students are indeed consumers. I will advance this claim through two areas of analysis. First, I will discuss consumerism as an idea, and the common misconceptions of it. Also, I will examine education as a principle, process and business. To be sure, consumerism is not a young idea. Yet, it is a term largely misunderstood and misrepresented in our society.
Advancing a Marxist viewpoint on consumerism, I believe that consumerism is often confused with fetishism. Fetishism is the pursuit of objects that derive their value from advertising, promotion and abstract ideas. Fetishism is a hypersexual desire to possess things not for their use-value, but rather the satisfaction that possessing it projects. Consumerism, on the other hand, is simply an increasing consumption of goods or services. By separating fetishism from consumerism, we see that students simply as consumers aren’t a negative thing; it is natural and obvious. However, consumerism is not readily separate from fetishism in our society, thus students as consumers are a villanized idea. I will now discuss education and its many faces.
Students are wayward opposites of teachers, who in being taught, walk along the path of their continued education. I believe that education is a defining process, a building upon the mind. Moreover, education is a world within itself, a series of paths that intersect to teach enlighten and broaden. Further, education is a business, a niche-market that brings with it an endless subset of jobs, opportunities and wealth. Teachers are not necessarily in the business of becoming extraordinarily rich (as any teacher’s salary will attest), rather they walk beside the student, guiding and learning. This relationship, although singular in nature, is nevertheless a business one. Thus, teachers provide a highly specialized service to the student. Again, though the relationship between student and teacher is an extraordinarily unique one, it is never the less grounded in a service-to-customer format. Therefore, students are consumers while teachers provide a continually progressive service. I will now discuss the last point, the impact of consumerism on students.
The impact of consumerism on students is not a readily accessible one, though my essay points out that it is a natural phenomenon. I believe however, that consumerism, or at least a business conscious mentality is prevalent in almost every aspect of our society. The same holds true for our educational system. Our society is rooted in a business mind. Therefore, it would follow rather logically that our educational system that is supported by it is thus. The advent and increase of technology is perhaps the greatest changing quality on our educational system. With so much information at one’s fingertips, knowledge abounds. The trick then is separating information from knowledge; this is the teacher’s job.
In the end, I believe that consumerism is often mistaken for fetishism, with the result of a negative perception of students as consumers. Again, this is a fallacious concept and should be changed in our society. Moreover, the relationship between students and teacher, although unique, is never the less formatted in a service based industry. To be sure, education is indeed consumerism and students are consumers. For what it is worth, the money spent in such industry is the best possible way to spend. Continue spending.