DB 2: Ideas of the University

Plan II is my Love

I applied to 21 colleges. Twenty. One. And only half of them were ones which my mom made me apply to. I had so many options and a ridiculous array of different environments to choose from. Until the very end, I knew that I was going to school on the East Coast. I pictured myself in a huge city, usually New York, up at all hours and amassing life experiences by the minute. I never really considered UT because it was something I had always heard about, and I didn’t see myself going to the ‘state school.’ My counselor told me that if I applied to the University of Texas, I should also consider Plan II. I turned in the application, but, to be honest, I didn’t really even know what it was.

The college application process is daunting in part because we are being presented with too many good choices! Thankfully, I found Plan II, ironically closer to home than anything else I picked!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joe_13/3667606027/

My senior year, I went to information session after information session after panel discussion to learn as much as I could about the colleges I was considering. By late spring I still had no idea which college drew me the most. One weekend, my mom and I drove up to Austin just to see what Plan II was like—just in case I chose to stay close to home. I absolutely loved what I found here and was most impressed by the students I met when I was brought to sit in on a World Lit class. They made jokes under their breath about the oedipal complex. They were really smart…and so interesting. I surprised myself by making Plan II one of my top choices, even though I still had so many more options to sift through. A few weeks later, I attended a gathering of Houston Plan II prospectives at someone’s home and my inclinations toward the program were enforced. Slowly, I came to realize that Plan II would give me just as many great experiences as the East Coast could and an unmatchable education. I remember turning to my mom late one evening, the one when I was supposed to “decide,” and saying, “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot, and even with all these other schools I really think Plan II might be the perfect place for me…” I am so happy with my decision.

Plan II is an ideal environment by providing a true liberal arts education and a social component. As students of a liberal arts program we are encouraged to find the truth which will set us free, to learn in a very free way without being “absorbed and narrowed” by only acquiring professional knowledge. (Course Anthology 169) Because I am not at all sure of ‘what I want to be when I grow up,’ Plan II will enable me to explore many options. I am excited by the prospect that I may become interested in something that I had never known before or choose a career path that I have not yet considered. For those who are more certain of their future plans, such as Jade, Plan II will allow them to acquire additional life skills which will help them in their career and hold value throughout their life; it will make all of us more whole. As Newman says, the liberal arts education gives its students “an acquired illumination, […] a habit, a personal possession, and an inward endowment.” (167) Plan II encourages students to pursue knowledge for knowledge’s sake and to make learning a constant component of our lives even when we are finished with formal schooling: “education for a life, not a living.” (Dean Parlin, 173I)

Plan II students are enthused by the prospect of education for education's sake, of learning a whole wealth of information and acquiring new skills.

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In addition to strengthening the individual, Plan II aims to create community and global contributors through strengthening social skills. I have already grown to love the Plan II community. The students and professors are all so different and fascinating but are united by a common intellectual goal and shared class experiences. By developing this “intimate community among students,” (173 J) Plan II is able to create an environment easily conducive to discussion and the pursuit of knowledge. By listening and participating in the discussions for only a few weeks in my seminar class, I have already seen how much I may learn from my fellow classmates. The connections I will form with my fellow classmates will transcend my time at UT, not only in forming lasting friendships but in teaching me that most learning may be done in the outside world, through speaking and interacting with others. By presenting its students with a wide range of information, Plan II gives students the ‘big picture’ and encourages “paideia—education for active citizenship.” Through reading about accomplishments and talking with people in Plan II, I know that Plan II students have been around the world and in all fields of discipline, learning and contributing to our world.

Plan II encourages us to be global learners.

http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/plan2/?path%5B0%5D=plan2

One way our experiences through Plan II may help “[connect] information to the ‘real world,’” (184) is through experiential learning. Plan II is by design a very hands-on sort of program. We are encouraged to choose what interests us, to engage in active discussions in our seminars, and to delve into great detail through our senior theses[1]. Experiential learning is valuable not only because it is more entertaining than rote education but because it is more lasting. Experiential learning allows students to learn in their own way, by making “personal connections” and using both sides of their brains. (184) When Plan II students have finished their education, they will be able to not only remember the information they have learned but to apply that style of learning to the rest of their lives.

The Magic School Bus is a prime example of experiential learning!

After reading the passages, I was reminded yet again of why I chose Plan II. The experiential learning component and unique curricula will allow me to explore my options and grow not only as a student but as a person