Some argue that education is not just learning inside the walls of the classroom, but taking what they know into other areas and educating something more — their hearts.
In 1957, Cabrini College was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although the Sisters did found a college, what they started was truly something more. Deeper than just classrooms and dorm rooms, they founded a place where students could flourish and obtain an Education of the Heart.
According to cabrini.edu, Mother Cabrini “insisted that a Cabrinian education link intellectual competence with moral development and instill a special concern for those persons who are in need.”
Cabrini offers a variety of ways that students can educate their hearts, varying from volunteer opportunities to immersion trips. Some say that educating the mind without educating the heart is not a true form of education. If we take what we learn in the classroom and do not have any passion in our hearts to go along with it, what’s the point?
According to Pew Research, the millennial generation is on track to be the most educated generation in history. That might be true, but are we obtaining the type of education that we truly need?
How many students are actually taking the time to participate in service activities or volunteer to gain the insight that their hearts need in this cut-throat world that we live in? It is obvious that the campus has opportunities available, but are students actually taking part in them?
If students are not taking part in these alternative opportunities, that means that they would be getting their education of the heart from the classroom. Colleges give students the technical aspects of learning that they need, but what about teaching them things that will make them find the purpose of their lives?
We believe that college should make students more globally aware. The Engagement in the Common Good classes that the college offers do this, but do other classes do this, as well?
During a student’s college years, they need to find what is important to them and realize just why it is important to them. Professors should be pushing their students to find what is important to them. That’s why we are in college right now. To find what excites our spirit. If what we are studying does not get us out of bed in the morning, then what’s the point?
We need to open our eyes (and hearts) and realize what excites us before we walk across that stage on graduation day and get thrown out into the real world. If we do not know what is important to us right now, then college is the time to find out.
Every job has the power to impact someone in some way. Teachers impact their students. Filmmakers try to impact those who watch their creations. Doctors do what they do to change lives and make someone’s life a little easier than it was before they stepped foot into the emergency room.
College should not just be a place to learn the ABC’s of a major. It should be a place that pushes students to grow and find passion in what they are learning and studying. Each and every one of us has grown up with different goals and dreams.
Are all professors pushing students to act on these dreams? Or are they solely providing great technical, professional, or disciplinary skills? Do Cabrini professors try to instill more in their students than just competence in their major?
Students might have a voice, but they might not think that that voice matters. It might be a small voice, but that is okay. It is still a voice that no one else has. We might not have the courage to stand up and volunteer for what we believe in, but that is okay… We might just need a little help. Professors should push students to find their voice and have the courage to use it, whether it is in the classroom or out in the real world, because if we do not open up our hearts in college, when will we?
