Learning to learn
You’ve gotten along well enough to this point — so why pursue a college degree?
It’s a question that three quarters of a million Missouri adults — 23.9 percent of the state’s adult population — routinely ask themselves. That’s how many Missouri adults report having gone to college only to exit before gaining the credential of a two- or four-year degree. That same Lumina Foundation report gives county-by-county data, detailing the gap between employer demand and degree completion rates in cities such as Kansas City, St. Louis and Jefferson City.
William Woods University offers an online associate of liberal arts degree because we believe that adults can not only benefit from classroom learning, but apply it quickly and routinely to life and work.
Here and in future blog posts, we will give you some concrete detail on the value of a college degree — not just in terms of better salaries, job security and career growth, but in terms of how you think, make decisions, form opinions and navigate life.
So, why care so much about the kind of foundational learning you get from a William Woods University online associate of liberal arts degree?
Let’s start with the idea that the brain is like a muscle — use it or lose it. Core courses build the strength of your mind — and provide a template for lifelong problem solving.
As you begin college again, be conscious of how each course helps to build that strength of mind and an ordered intellect. Yes, muscles being worked in a psychology class will be applicable to your life as an accountant or nursing manager.
Think about the component pieces:
- Developing habits of attention and concentration
- Learning to follow arguments
- Distinguishing important information from trivial
- Creating organized solutions
- Following hierarchical procedures and rational sequences