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Should everyone go to college?
Graduating students attend New York University's commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium on May 16, 2012 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Commentator Robert Samuelson says too many students are encouraged to go to college who shouldn't be there.
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It's time to ditch the college-for-all crusade. Like the crusade to make all Americans homeowners, it's doing more harm than good.
True, the expansion of colleges after World War II helped democratize what had been an elitist privilege. In 1940, only 5 percent of Americans had completed college. Now, about 30 percent have a bachelor's degree, and another 10 percent have associate degrees.
But we've overdone the college obsession. It's become the be-all and end-all of K-12 schooling. If you don't go to college, you've failed, even though about 70 percent of jobs require no more than a high school diploma. But public policy has been to send more and more students to college -- resulting in three bad consequences.
First, we've dumbed down college. Even with lower requirements, dropout rates at four-year schools approach 40 percent of freshmen. And many graduates don't learn much. One study found after four years, about a third of students hadn't improved their analytical skills.
Second, the college-prep track in high schools marginalizes millions of students who feel disconnected from that singular focus. School bores them.
Finally, we're not preparing these students for productive lives. If they're not interested in chemistry and English lit, we still need to motivate them. We need, says economist Robert Lerman, to create a different route to a rewarding career.
One way is to forge closer ties between high schools and jobs through, for example, apprenticeship programs that train people for trades like high-skilled manufacturing.
The rap against employment-oriented schooling is that it traps the poor and minorities into dead-end jobs. But the reality is if we don't train many of our students for jobs that don't require a college degree, they'll end up in dead-end jobs anyway or with no job at all.
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I am 21 years old, quit college for the better. And now my little brother is starting. Here is my view point on it. COLLEGE =/= EMPLOYMENT or a good life.
The College itself is a scam that overprices everything in it while returning ALMOST zero value. 10,000 I have in debt. Guess what I did for that 10,000: sat in on art lectures, history classes, and other unnecessary non-skillbuilding college endeavors. These were all mandated by the school's program for ultimately getting a BBA. It's just utterly ridiculous, especially if youre listening to what this guy has to say about it http://www.pastillasparaadelgazar.org.es. . He quit school and went on to make over 5,000/month with computer skills he learned in a SIXTH GRADE HTML class.
That's what this comes down to, is the school delivering skills to its customers? Are they learning things that will actually help them in the work force (skills)? When I look at this http://www.pastillasparabajardepeso.mx , I have no choice but to wonder. Why the hell did I go to college? SCAM
I think college is still a valuable asset to life in general. This article articulates some of the points that support this: http://www.parentsandcolleges.com/blog/bid/153175/A-Worthwhile-Endeavor
The bigger problem is the people without college degrees attempting to block the people with them from advancement because they are either envious, intimidated, or afraid that person will outperform them!!! Only a real low-life can attempt to sabotage someone with a degree while hoping their children will one day get one.
I don't quite understand all the naysayers to Mr. Samuelson's comments. He didn't say kids shouldn't get an education!!! He said college isn't for everyone which is the bonifide truth. The USA is the only civilized country on the planet that doesn't offer their kids a choice during their formal education to pursue different paths that will lead to fulfiling and rewarding careers.
There was a time in this country where being a baker, mechanic or other tradesman was a respcectable, well paying job. BTW it doesn't mean that people can't go to college later in life if they find themselves wanting to further their education.
Right now this country offers a child three choices post highschool: College, the Military or flpping burgers.
Our eduction system is in dire need of reform. Maybe it's time we look across the pond to see how the Germans, Brits and Swedes are doing things.
I don't quite understand all the naysayers to Mr. Samuelson's comments. He didn't say kids shouldn't get an education!!! He said college isn't for everyone which is the bonifide truth. The USA is the only civilized country on the planet that doesn't offer their kids a choice during their formal education to pursue different paths that will lead to fulfiling and rewarding careers.
There was a time in this country where being a baker, mechanic or other tradesman was a respcectable, well paying job. BTW it doesn't mean that people can't go to college later in life if they find themselves wanting tp pursue a certain education.
Right now this country offers a child three choices post highschool: College, the Military or flpping burgers.
Our eduction system is in dire need of reform. Maybe it's time we look across the pond to see how the Germans, Brits and Swedes are doing things.
Apparently Samuelson is one of those people he mentions whose reasoning abilities weren't improved by college. He says 70% of jobs don't require a college degree, then that 30% of us have college degrees...simple math indicates a perfect match. He says colleges have been dumbed down, and in the very same sentence says that 40% of freshmen drop out. He says that "many" students don't have their reasoning abilities improved by college, and cites a study that shows that 1/3 aren't improved. That means that 2/3 do have their analytical abilities improved. Every statement he makes is contradicted by the evidence he provides to support it. I'd give Mr. Samuelson an F if he turned this in.
When educated men pontificate regarding the value of a college education from their educated, post-graduate, intellectual jobs to say that not everyone should go to college, I can't help but believe they do not see people as individuals, but rather cogs to fit the wheels of commerce. We should worry less about preparation for work, and more about preparation for a meaningful, fulfilling life. Every one should experience the burning passion to learn more, think critically, and influence the world with personal thoughts.
We are forgetting enlightenment as a culture. Here come those "Dark Ages" Jane Jacobs has described.
Well said. However, the "Dark Ages" only applies to the US. The rest of the world has caught on to the importance of education and the US is losing ground to growing nations. People who agree with Mr. Samuelson’s attitude toward education will be the very reason this country becomes a future third world country (relatively speaking). It is sad to see state and local governments cut spending to education when education is the very thing that will get us out of this fiscal hole. If we as Americans do not stand firm against those who look to destroy education we are doomed as a nation.
Agreed 100%, Mr. S!
But what's not mentioned here is the commercialization of college, where we market the product (college degrees) to consumers (parents and students) for the profit of the company (colleges, banks, textbook companies, etc.) Like medicine, the goal (education or healthcare) has been lost to the profit motive.
Here we go again, the age old question (see cliché), "Should I go to college or not?" Some say yes, some say no. With 100% confidence it can be said that no matter what one chooses in life there will ALWAYS be someone who disagrees. If we look to please everyone we will constantly be jumping from one foot to the next, always wondering who we are, where we stand and where we are going. I am 100% confident in saying to Mr. Samuelson that his viewpoint is completely wrong, misguided and narrow minded when it comes to many Americans, including myself.
In a world that is becoming more and more competitive with higher levels of standards required to simply "get by," higher education is even more critical. Yes, I agree that when an individual comes out of college he or she may not have the "perfect" skills for a specific job. In my opinion that is EXACTLY the way it should be and I would be glad to expound if asked. The new graduate might not remember everything about the education just received, nor have perfect analytical skills. The individual might have cheated their way through school, or had everything handed to them on a silver platter. Or, the individual might have struggled financially and scholastically every step of the way to complete his or her education by working hard and living by the rules. But, one thing is for sure; everyone is different in where they are in life and all have different reasons for choosing their path.
Education is a choice, and should remain a choice. If a person feels inclined to obtain an education, they should be allowed to do so, whether people like Mr. Samuelson believe it to be right, or not. It is up to the individual to accept the sacrifices involved with that choice.
Mr. Samuelson is right when he says that education does not guarantee a job and that it does not guarantee a person know everything about a specific job. I can personally attest that education does not ultimately guarantee the right to anything in life. In economic times like today the rain falls on everyone; both the educated and uneducated alike. However, what higher education does do is make it very clear that a person leaves “nothing on the field.” It makes it very clear that a person has done everything they can, could and would do to be a positive, functioning part of family, the workplace and the community. Everyone is proven differently and NO ONE has the right to judge a man until they have walked an entire life in his or her shoes.
If Mr. Samuelson and people like him choose to discourage higher education then they are certainly entitled to their opinion. But know this; I will stand firm against those who look to destroy education in this country. And, the division we as a nation are experiencing today because of issues like this will only be driven deeper, stronger and with greater intensity. The mentality that throws torts at a person for wanting to better themselves is nothing more than an evil attempt to degrade others. This degradation comes from pride, fear, jealousy and selfishness; and it is sad to see happen. If we learn to respect one another’s choices, and give hand to need when necessary, this division will be minimized. But, an inflammatory article like the one Mr. Samuelson writes does just the opposite. This type of article incites division and promotes a judgmental mindset.
Personally, I am doing “all I can” to be “all that I can be” in life. Obtaining a higher level of education is a very small part of that venture. It gets really old every time I turn around to witness another “néa sayer” like Mr. Samuelson.
I am proud to be an American where I have the right to be free, to choose, to learn and to recover from mistakes in life. Second chances are a good thing and should be welcomed by all. It is too bad Mr. Samuelson disagrees.
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