<p>What did you guys say and what did you use to back it up?</p>
<p>I said you have to look past practicality, based on Death of a Salesman and Thoreau's Walden.</p>
<p>I talked about people attending college for the wrong reasons -- money & prestige (as opposed to intellectualism & learning)</p>
<p>I talked about Chopin's Awakening -- how Edna led the ideal life of a mother but needed more than just the practical things</p>
<p>Then I talked about how practicality is still essential.</p>
<p>I talked a little about college. and somehow the renaissance man managed to jump in there too.</p>
<p>I basically just said that people will always emphasize what they think is practical because they put more value in it, therefore practicality will always and forever be emphasized, its just what is thought of as practical changes.</p>
<p>i talked about how practicality in education ultimately renders the student unable to learn for himself and thus destroys his/her motivation. I used a personal experience of mine (some crap i bs-ed about "practical classes and their applications) and I discussed the Science Fair (how these kids are not practical but strive to learn). I hope i got ovre a 10</p>
<p>lol only on CC do we all write about college. :)</p>
<p>how could we not? it keeps half of us awake at night with fear and loathing. hahaha :P</p>
<p>seriously. gosh, i hope they grade the essay really easy</p>
<p>AMEN. though last time i wrote one i thought was gonna be complete blah but with a lot of examples, and it turned out alright. its sounds like you put some really good stuff in there, truthfully, i have no inkling of an idea of what Chopin's Awakening is, but i'm gonna guess that you're in the clear.</p>
<p>I agreed and said that society puts too much emphasis on practical skills.</p>
<p>I used "The Stranger," by Albert Camus, as the main character (Meursault) does not accept a job offer that would put him in Paris with a larger salary -- and how society does not understand that he is content with his current job and does not necessarily seek external success.</p>
<p>And then I used the pressures some parents put on their children to succeed, and how these children don't really achieve any kind of personal fulfillment.</p>
<p>It was definitely a strange essay question, but I think I did alright...</p>