Here we go again (the beginning of a new series)

My first blog post of the new year, congrats to me. Happy New Year to the general internet public. Hope it's going well so far. My new blog goal for the next few months is to inform everyone of my thoughts on the purpose of higher education. If you read the cute little "about me" post somewhere to the right side of your screen, you will see that I am currently studying higher education. I am also very interested in education. Therefore, my interest in the purpose of this institution. Spurred by a short writing assignment in my new class (The History and Philosophy of Higher Education through the graduate program at Montana State University). So, I want to explore this topic in a short series over the next few months.

My questions/thoughts revolve around:

• What is my personal philosophy or purpose of higher education?
• What's the who, when, why and where of higher education in the U.S
• Are there multiple purposes of higher education (yes), if so, what are they? Who do these purposes actually serve?
• Has the purpose changed over time? What was the purpose when higher education institutions were first formed versus now?

I am sure I will think of more in the future. For now, what are your thoughts? What is the purpose of higher education in the U.S? If you truly begin to consider this question, you will see that the answer may be more complicated than one would first think!

Cheers and see you soon,

L

Mother Teresa said that “we shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” I completely agree with that statement. Just simply smiling makes me feel good. I also can’t help but feel a little happier whenever I see someone else smiling.

However, once place I do not believe smiley faces belong is in professional documents or emails. While some professional people apparently believe that a smiley face emoticon can help ‘make your email more personable’ or ‘bring some fun into a paper,” this is just not true. While the following emoticons are quite fun, I will keep them:

1.       To myself, and

2.       In personal communications and not professional ones.  

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Smiley		Smiley with a nose
:)	Basic smiley	:-)
;)	Winking smiley	;-)
:(	Unhappy smiley	:-(
:|	Apathetic smiley	:-|
:-	Neutral smiley. The user made an ambiguous comment.	:-
:D	Laughing smiley	:-D
:*	Kissing smiley	:-*
:X	Smiley keeping quiet	:-X
:P	Talkative smiley (or smiley sticking its tongue out)	:-P
:o)	Clown smiley	:o)
:O)	Very funny smiley	:O)
;(	Sad smiley	;-(
:o	Surprised smiley	:-o
:O	Very surprised smiley	:-O
O:)	Angel smiley	O:-)
>:>	Devil smiley	>:->
>:)	Impish smiley	>:-)
:->	Sarcastic smiley	:->
8)	Smiley on vacation/holiday (or with glasses)	8-)
:\	Unsure smiley	:-\
:/	Innocent smiley	:-/
=|:)	Abraham Lincoln smiley	=|:-)
<:o}	Smiley for, oh, let's say Merlin the Magician	<:-o}
:&	Spaghetti-eating smiley	:-&

Smileys copied from http://en.kioskea.net/contents/www/smiley.php3

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My personal favorites are the Abe Lincoln smiley and the spaghetti eating smiley.

What are your thoughts on smiley faces in professional papers or emails? Know any other interested smiley faces?

Comment below!

Catch ya later!

Lins