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Chad Creutz Mr. Harrell English Composition I 16 Oct 2013 Higher Learning Most people would likely agree that there are strong benefits to attending a place of higher learning. Whether it is a traditional college or trade school, it is all but necessary to attend some sort of school in order to be successful in todays society. Almost every place of higher learning, especially colleges and universities, vary greatly from one school to the other. In his book The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinners Semester at Americas Holiest University, Kevin Roose describes two schools at two opposite ends of the spectrum. Roose began his college experience at Brown University, one of the most liberal universities in the United states, but then decided to spend a semester at Liberty University, one of the most strict and conservative universities in the United States. Ultimately, while both conservative and liberal forms of education share many of the same benefits as any moderate form of higher learning, each method has benefits unique to itself; therefore it is up to the students to choose the school which best fits their needs. Higher education has become a necessity in todays society as it allows for a different form of learning than would be effective to a student at the high school level. It also prepares its students for a much more specific career field and teaches them how to be a much better-rounded citizen. Most of the students mentioned in The Unlikely Disciple, have chosen to attend college for this reason. But higher education can even go beyond what is taught in the classroom because

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it provides an experience where young adults can mature and get used to life on their own in a relatively safe environment. Roose writes of many students who used this as the determining factor of which school to attend. Most major employers in the United States require some sort of degree or certification. Primarily, the degree is required to be for that specified career field. This allows for the company to spend significantly less time training their new employees as the employees have already been trained at least to some level. It also ensures that the employee is fully qualified to safely perform the job. For example, if a hospital wants to hire a new nurse and the only two choices were one that has bachelors degree in nursing and one that doesnt have a degree at all, they will pick the one with the degree. This ensures that the new nurse is already fully trained and can perform all the assigned duties safely and effectively. Having a degree or certification not only shows what an individual was specifically trained for, but also says a lot about that persons character. Even in jobs that dont require a degree, an employer is far more likely to choose someone with a degree than someone who doesnt. This is because having a degree shows that an individual is responsible and hard working as both traits are required to acquire a degree. It also shows that an individual is more likely to be a well-rounded citizen as many places of higher learning strive to make their students exactly that. The benefits of higher education also go beyond that of a classroom into the personal lives of students. It is a time when young adults are able to learn who they really are and learn how to live on their own. Students that have just graduated high school are nowhere near mature enough to enter the adult world on their own. This is potentially the greatest benefit to attending

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a place of higher learning. It allows students to progressively step into adulthood while still providing additional support when needed. As exemplified by some students in The Unlikely Disciple, this is the primary reason they went away to college. Without this time, an individual is much more likely to make lasting mistakes. The direction in which a school helps its students mature varies greatly between each individual school. Every school has its own set of standards that it tries to impart upon its students. While most schools tend to remain as neutral or impartial as possible, some schools sway greatly one way or the other. Though schools such as Liberty University and Brown University can be considered polar opposites, each type of school has its own unique set of benefits. On one side of this spectrum there are the conservative schools such as Liberty University. These schools are often deeply based in religion and typically enforce strict rules based on that religion and also tend to be very structured. Though restrictive, such structure often causes a sense of unity within the student body otherwise unachievable by schools without this sort of structure. The greatest benefit, perhaps, of this type of school is that it instills values that remain with its students far after graduation. The strict rules and regulations seem to be what define conservative schools. For some people, such as Kevin Roose, these strict rules appear daunting and challenging, while others view them as liberating and helpful in terms of keeping them focused. In The Unlikely Disciple, Roose writes: Most of the Liberty Students Ive met came from secular high schools and chose Liberty because of the ideological sanctuary it gave them. They assume I fled Brown to escape its

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atmosphere of secular hedonism. I get a lot of Man, Liberty must be such a breath of fresh air for you. Im not sure breathing fresh air is the best metaphor for how I feel so far. If were sticking with the respiration theme, its more like violent, post-Boston Marathon panting. (50) While most of the students at Liberty prefer attending a school with strict rules and regulations, those like Kevin Roose found it to be rather challenging. For most, a strong structure and strict rules effectively eliminates many of the distractions associated with a more liberal school which allows for the students to focus more on their studies. Such restrictive structure creates another strong benefit that most people wouldnt otherwise expect: unity. A rigid and restrictive school structure, such as that which is laid out by the Liberty Way, has a way of unexpectedly bringing people together. When such a large group of people all follow the same set of rules and guidelines and all follow many of the same basic beliefs, it allows for the differences, which would otherwise turn people away from each other, to become substantially less significant. This allows for people from very different backgrounds to come together in celebration of these shared beliefs. An example of this form of celebration is Baptism Night at Thomas Road. Roose writes: Wednesday night I walk into Thomas Road for the second-to-last Campus Church of the semester, and theres a party going on. Well, not really. But its close. All around the sanctuary, students are standing in the aisles, cheering and yelling, snapping photos with their cell phones. It takes me a few seconds to realize that everyones attention is directed upward at the pool. Tonight is Baptism Night. (264)

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Thousands of students of all different backgrounds were able to all come together in celebration despite any differences. This is the night that Kevin Roose truly discovers this unity and the benefits it creates. He writes: Ill miss the nights like tonight, when Liberty students come together to lift each other up in celebration. Because isnt that what this is? Take away the religious symbolism, and Baptism Night is a giant group hug. Its six thousand Liberty students saying, We affirm your membership in this community. We value you. And as mawkish and sentimental as that sounds, its true. (266) Roose discovers the value of the unity created by widely shared belief. This unity creates so many other benefits. Some of these being that it eliminates many of the unwanted social pressures, it creates a solid and extensive base of encouragement, and it develops a multitude of meaningful friendships, and many other benefits as well. Of all the benefits that a conservative school offers, the greatest may be that the values learned during college stick with the students long after they leave. Even after spending just one semester at Liberty University, Kevin Roose was changed indefinitely by his time there. Roose writes: A few days after I left Liberty for the last time, I tried to peel the silver Jesus fish emblem off the bumper of my Honda. The metal part came off easily, but a brown, fish shaped residue remained on the bumper, and no amount of scrubbing or scrapping could get it off The indelible Jesus fish provided me with the worlds easiest metaphor to describe my transition from Liberty back to the secular world. Namely, no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt quite scrape it away. (310)

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Even after making a conscious effort to revert back to who he was before going to Liberty, Roose could never fully break away from who he became and the values he learned. For students who have spent four or more years at conservative schools like Liberty, these values become embedded in who they are for the rest of their lives. It transforms them into the kind of person that many sought out to be. On the other side of the spectrum are the liberal schools such as Brown University. While these schools differ greatly from their conservative counterparts, they also hold their own unique set of benefits. Since liberal schools do not typically follow one major belief or culture, it allows for the school to become much more diverse, thereby expanding the students global perspective. This leads to one of the most common and well known benefits being that they teach students to tolerate many cultures no matter how different they are. These two allow the students to make friends that they wouldnt make otherwise. Liberal schools strive to be as diverse as possible. They intentionally hold no school-wide beliefs in order to allow students to explore which religion or culture works best for them. Some will even go out of their way in order to bring different cultures into their school. The benefit that this creates is that the students are able to obtain a much greater global perspective. Students are able to talk with people from many various cultures and beliefs and learn to accept each one. This creates a universal sense of tolerance that becomes celebrated throughout the school. Such tolerance is one of the strongest values that liberal schools attempt to instill into their students. The diversity and environment of tolerance held be liberal schools allows for its students to develop many significant relationships and friendships that would be otherwise unobtainable.

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In The Unlikely Disciple, Roose mentions his diverse friendships at Brown. He writes, my social circle at Brown includes atheists, agnostics, lapsed Catholics, Buddhists, Wiccans, and more non-observant Jews than you can shake a shofar at (9). This sort of diversity would not be able to exist at a school that strictly follows one belief or at a school that doesnt create an environment of tolerance. But since liberal schools celebrate diversity and encourage tolerance, it allows for such beneficial relationships to develop. In The Unlikely Disciple, Kevin Roose describes two very different universities. On one hand is the liberal Brown University and on the other is the strict and conservative Liberty University. While both forms share many of the same benefits in terms of education and the provision of a maturing period, both conservative and liberal schools have benefits unique to themselves. Conservative schools provide structure, unity, and long lasting values, while liberal schools provide diversity, tolerance, and varied relationships. No one school is right for everybody, therefore each student has to decide for themselves which school best fits their needs.

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Works Cited Roose, Kevin. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinners Semester at Americas Holiest University. New York: Grand Central, 2009. Print.