The importance of the essay and its relevance beyond schooling and into the ‘real world’*, was an alarmingly real conversation held in class today.
High school was marred by the disruptive kids in English class who demanded to know “why we needed to write this sh*t if like we are never even going to use it in the real world?”
At times I felt their pain but at other times I was just like “mate, don’t disrupt the whole class because I’m a goody two shoes/suck up and want to get an A+ on dis essay bchz”.
Having now left the high school bubble and graduated to the far grander university bubble, I have learned that the relevance of the essay is in fact paramount- those teachers who claimed our learning through essay was important weren’t lying.
The essay prepares you to work under time constraints and to adhere to prescribed criteria, but it allows the formation of a holistic and sound argument by acknowledging multiple perspectives and in turn understanding your own.
Whilst blogging is fun and games, ultimately, I am able to blabby mc blab about any old thang that pops into my gooey thinking box**. Conversely, the essay is a far more thought out process that requires careful consideration and investment.
And so the moral of this story for all of you essay hating 16 year olds out there, is that the essay turns out to be a mighty fine tool for navigating life and for developing sound reasoning and understanding skills.
Essays forever,
Papa G
*I just got out of a philosophy class and have no idea what that is anymore- are we just dreaming? How do we know the world is not a dream we have yet to awoken from? I highly recommend not studying philosophy if you like the world and your understanding of it the way it is- for real lets all just have a tea together and be mellow and just rest our thinking minds.
**the brain obviously you goose