Korean students study for more 14 hours a day according to Times Magazine Amanda Ripley. When Singapore’s education minister was asked about the state of his nations private tutoring, he replied “we are not as bad as Korea”.
Studying may sometimes seem like the most natural (though unpleasant) thing to do yet we see a vast difference in the attitude towards this simple body practice in other cultures. The American culture may not seem to be as obsessed with studying as other cultures but is America as obsessed with the outcomes of studying. Often times it makes sense, getting good grades eventually lead to better colleges and then better jobs. We should know however that studying in itself is a natural act (some animals have to learn how to hunt or find food and shelter in order to provide for its own needs), it is the extent, content and outcome of studying that requires a bit of observation. The Docile Body is seen here as students who are conditioned into a culture that emphasizes the importance of a competitive education system above other aspects of society and this system relies principally on exam grades in order to progress into a university. The Intelligible Body, the goal of it all is to be either rich and/or important.
If studying is the process and being rich/important is the goal, than I must ask: how rich/important is enough? When do we actually reach the point of wealth and honor that we are ready to stop pursuing it?and do we really stop studying at that point? It is in my view (as Bordo would call it) a 'pursuit without a terminus'. Our idea of material success is ever changing and it varies across cultures yet the ideal is elusive and illusive.
The other –oriented view of self also comes into mind because society has already defined in our minds what material satisfaction is and it often requires the appreciation, admiration or even the envy of other in order to achieve that.
The whole point I'm trying to make with this post is that, we would do anything in order to be perceived as successful and this often requires "studying".
America’s education may not be as insanely vigorous as other nations but education comes in many forms and "students" are taught many different ways of acquiring wealth and significance.
College for some
College to others
I thought this was an interesting post because that ‘pursuit without a terminus’ feels very real at this point in our lives. In the same way we can never do enough studying to get the grades that lead to the college that lead to the career we want, we can never seem to do enough in our lifetime that makes us completely satisfied. We all seem to imagine this ideal moment, this Intelligible Body period of time, later in our life where everything is perfect in all aspects of our lives, but we never seem to come to that point. There is always more work to do, more money to make, and more things to pay for. Another interesting thought from this particular body practice is the idea that we can never stop studying or learning no matter where we are in our lifetime. We can always go back to school and pursue more formal education and we are constantly learning culture through the interaction with other people. Studying is a very important aspect of our culture and it is an important body practice that will continue because it leads to discovering new attributes about ourselves and pushing culture forward.
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