Higher Education in Contemporary Society - Essay Example

With more and more businesses turning to overseas labor, the job market in America is suffering. We need a public that is educated and capable of contributing significant economic skills to the development of our systems and institutions. More competition in any given market means that candidates for positions need to be knowledgeable and capable of ingenuity. As globalization spreads, jobs are demanding more than primary education can offer; a key factor in obtaining a well paying career path is obtaining some form of higher education.

Employees and applicants need to be ahead of the times, ready to interact with people of different languages and customs in a business manner and achieve successful relationships. Entrepreneurial engagement is also important to a society, it allows for new markets to open up and eventually new jobs to come about. Higher education is essential to the success of any entrepreneurial business especially in today's rapidly growing marketplace. Another reason that higher education is so important today is the simple fact that without an educated public, democracy cannot thrive.

Believe in or not those fancy schools and education institutions were founded in service to us as citizens of a free country. They may fuss and moan about reputation and status; but when you get down to it they are here to allow us the pursuit of knowledge. A pursuit that is not only a human right but also a civic responsibility; "The schools of a country are its future in miniature." Tehyi Hsieh, a Chinese philosopher said that and has proven to be true. From the ancient Maya and Egyptians to the Greeks and Romans every outstandingly powerful and accomplished society has had a well developed education system.

As funding for primary public education dwindles and its accomplishments seem less profound with every year, higher education may be our only option to pursue knowledge within an institutional setting. Aristotle said, "To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers but common to all men (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel, 2007 pg. 267)." Let us uphold this idea and consist ourselves of well educated, adaptable and resourceful people. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" Neil Armstrong's famous quote as he stepped onto the surface of the moon drives home my next point.

Higher education is important in contemporary society because it is important for our country to push technological and scientific boundaries. In one year we made it from just breaking free of our earths atmosphere to landing on the moon and returning successfully as the fist country to accomplish the task. America would never have been eligible for this position without higher education. With diseases like Aids and Cancer growing out of the control; global warming threatening to change life on earth forever and populations rising into the billions it is important more than ever for us to be experimenting with new ideas.

We need to attempt to right some of the environmental wrongs we have done our planet; we need to find alternative fuel sources and ask why our globe is heating up. The questions of why, where,