Reasons for Attending College

      Today, most people go to college or university. They have different purposes and hopes. Why do they attend college or university ?

      I believe the reasons why people attend college is to increase their knowledge.

      First, they want to make a special study that they are interested in. In my case, I'm interested in intercultural communication. So I have learned in university that has many professor about that. They give me invariably what I couldn't recognize or give thought to. So I will come to see various things in a new light. I'm satisfied with studying in college. I guess no place is able to teach me about this subject. Attending college is to search for their interests completely. And besides it is important to know many friends who is interested in the same thing. They stimulate each other through their new knowledge.

      Second, they want to get a license, for example, teacher, librarian doctor and so on. In the future, when they start to work, it may be useful. People who is in a business company must check their personal history. And then we need a license to show what we learned.

      As I have given two reasons above, to increase their knowledge and to take licenses. Lots of people go to university or college, naturally there are various reasons for that. But everybody find college is to decide to do in their lives through learning, finally.

Experience or Books

      We have some ways to gain knowledge. Especially, there are two ways that is gained from experience and gained from books. Which way is more important, experience or books?

      I guess that knowledge from experience and knowledge from books are both worthy. I can't choose which one. Both of them have good side and deficient side. We need suit knowledge according to time and circumstances. Let me compare and contrast these two ways.

      At first, to study from experience is important. When we were children, we study this way. For example, you behaved well; your mother or teacher praises you. Contrary you behaved badly, you are scolded. So we have got much knowledge through experience. This way's good point is to be rich in adaptation. And this helps me to have soft idea. But if we have only this way, it can be danger of prejudiced view. And it may be slow to expand their thinking and feeling.

      In contrast, to study from books is important, too. For many books are written by sensible person, that includes some instruction. For example, Ralph Waldo Emerson who is a famous American scholar stresses the importance of books. He believes that all people should be used as tools to expand their creativity and knowledge. Authors lived so long ago, yet we can still feel a connection with them. Feelings of those long ago still can stimulate modern feeling in their audience. Books kind of science, mathematics or history is also the basis of knowledge upon which all information builds. If we read and consider about that, it becomes our profit definitely. Plainly speaking, this way's good point is to be reliable.

      Knowledge from experience and knowledge from books are both important. We must use these two types of knowledge as the occasion demands. Each type of learning has a good side and a faulty side. If we have knowledge from experience only, we are almost the same as animals. But we can learn through humans past life. We don't have to repeat the same failure again and again.

Change in Your School

      I attend Dokkyo University. There are two aspects that I want to change in my school. Dokkyo University has a lot of students who are in the habit of smoking. I frequently find people who are smoking on the way to the school from station in the morning. It is dangerous to smoke as he walks. In addition to this problem, smoking area is set an entrance of every college building. There is so smoky and hard to breathe. I am sure that these situations must be changed clearly.

      At first, to smoke as they are walking is prohibited in various places now a day. Especially in the morning, the road is too crowded. Although most walking smokers may pay attention to the fire of cigarette, I have heard much impairment that is made a hole in cloth with fire of cigarette. In worth case, we can’t avoid getting burned.

      Secondly, smoking is really bad for our health. For example, smoking may start to grow a carcinogenic-free. The industry considered this, but dropped the idea for the potential legal exposure. Such a cigarette inherently means that all other cigarettes cause cancer. In the worst thing, tobacco influences health for not only smoker but person around him. It is wrong that smoker infringes people who are careful about own health.

      What is the solution about this problem? I suggest that smoker must avoid crowds. Another change is what the smoking area is limited than now. The smoking area does not place an entrance, but it must move lonelier place. So each building dose not have dirty and bad smell area. It had better to set up a small building for smoking.

      In the conclusion we have to behave with responsibility. There are lots of ashtray in my university. I guess if these ashtrays are not here, some of smokers throw away tobacco without the guilty. We have a right that persuades to smoke. On the other hand, we have to take on the responsibility of own behave. Everybody must remember this fact. Moreover, we have to move the smoking area far from crowd; people should try to smoke only there. So I would like to make my school clean. Of course, we all have rights to spend studying at ease. We should seek and make a comfortable environment any more.