Emerson, in the American Scholar, makes a distinction between
the scholar (Man Thinking) and a mere thinker, or worse, the parrot of other
men’s thinking. This contrast can be
seen on college campuses and schools across the United States. There are students who strive to learn at
every opportunity and those that merely repeat what they memorized from their teacher/book/peer. The question is, whose responsibility is it
to make sure these creative, ever-learning, original thinkers exist?
During my second semester of
college, I encountered the first teacher that really made me think. She incorporated many of the characteristics
that Emerson mentioned in the American
Scholar; she created an environment that fostered creative learning. I was to write a paper after sitting outside
for about an hour, the subject had to come from the nature I experienced in
that hour. Another assignment was
writing a paper based on Jonathan Swift’s “Modest Proposal”, I was to write a
proposal that was original to solve a problem in the world as I saw it. These assignments and many more like it from
this particular teacher were challenging at the time, but because of them I
grew as a student and gained more confidence for other assignments.
In contrast, my US Politics,
History, and Psychology classes were not as engaging. I would be hard pressed to tell you more than
3 things that I learned from those classes.
I am a good student with a decent memory, so I received excellent scores
in all of these subjects. The reason
that I cannot recall any information, in my opinion, is that I am also good at
forgetting what I don’t use or care about.
There was more work to do in these online classes than in the aforementioned
English class in many ways, but I did not retain any of it. I remembered enough to take my test, then
moved on, leaving the knowledge behind.
I had all the resources I needed to learn and retain; the fault for that
loss of information is mine.
I have given you two examples
from the same college experience, one of an American Scholar as Emerson
describes and one of just a mere thinker.
My college experience has been one of learning not only about the
subject matter presented to me, but of personal growth. I am learning who I am, what I can do, and where
I can improve. My personal belief is that
the responsibility of a person’s college experience rests mostly on them. I think that it is the teacher’s job to
facilitate an environment of learning, but it is up to the student to learn. Emerson describes a person who is always
learning; a man who goes beyond the classroom and lives life creative and
curious and thoughtful. I am the American
Scholar, sometimes.
