A Rhetorical Analysis On Real Education By Robert Perry

In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.

In the essay “Are Too Many People Going to College,” writer Charles Murray explains that not everyone is in need of going to college for three main reasons: a liberal education should be gained in elementary and middle school, many people already have knowledge and skills necessary for a technical career, and many students are in college to “buy an admission ticket-the B.A.” (246) and ensure employers consider their resume. Murray does not argue anything against college itself but more against society and especially the education system. Murray also accuses guidance counselors and parents of “automatically encouraging young people to go to college straight out of high school being thoughtless about the best interests of young people” (249).

Mike Rose uses his relatives’ experiences along with his own to show that college is not for everyone. This point of view is supported by Owen and Sawhill in ‘Should Everyone Go to College?”. “It is a mistake to unilaterally tell young Americans that going to college… is the best decision they can make.”

A college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate 's degree, six require a bachelor 's degree, and six require graduate degrees to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,

Charles Murray’s essay proposes that American colleges are being flooded with individuals who are either unprepared for higher education or who are simply forced into attending college and can’t succeed because of the lack of certain innate abilities. Murray’s essay goes on to take issue with the idea that the pursuit of a traditional college education is somehow strategically creating a separation of the American class system. While Murray makes many salient points with regards to America’s obsession with college education as a standard into a class of the intellectual elite, the essay fails to take into consideration the various motivators that can lead to student success, despite

Despite what the current belief about higher education might convey, not everyone has to attend college. Larry Cuban attests to the rendering mantra of everyone needs to go to college in his blog post, “Why Everyone Shouldn't Go To College”, reposted by The Washington Post. Surely Cuban does not agree with common and popular belief that everyone needs to attend college in order to be successful in life. Cuban leaves the reader with the uncertain questions of, what could they do instead going to college, will they make a stable living, does higher education mean they’ll not be as successful as a person who doesn’t? Cuban does not address the different options that a person can attend other than college or the benefits of actually attending college.

The topic of “Are Too Many People Going to College?” was presented by Charles Murray, the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise. In today’s world college is a must due to many employers seeking educated individuals. Murray develops an interesting conversation by demonstrating that many high school graduates who are seeking to go to college do not need a degree depending on their career paths. Murray provides the analogy of a high school graduate who is looking to become an electrician but is not sure if college is the most logical decision. Murray acknowledges the fact that a B.A. does not necessarily led to a higher income than one with a degree. The logical argument of money is brought to attention and is stated “the income for the top people in a wide variety of occupations that do not require a college degree is higher than the average income for many occupations that require a B.A.” (Murray 247). Although this is his main point, he understand that it varies due to the occupation one is leaning towards. There has been individuals without a college degree that are making millions of dollars, but it varies. Murray claims that getting a B.A. is going to be the wrong economic decision for many high school graduates (Murray 246); however not everyone wants to be an electrician or any other hand held jobs that doesn’t necessarily need a degree, but if one wants to be a lawyer, doctor, or anything require a degree, college is the answer. Having a degree in a

In his essay, “Yes a College Education is Worth the Cost,” writer Rodney Smith discusses how students of this generation don’t care about receiving a great education for the future. Throughout his essay he explains how a college education is worth the cost. He stated that people between the ages of 18-34 say they would much rather get a job and make money than spend money to go back to school to obtain a higher degree. Smith’s family grew up in Oklahoma and they viewed education as an investment. Smith was influenced by his father’s upbringing and attended college and law school just like his father. By establishing and building his case about how education is worth the cost, uses a great deal of evidence, his argument is well organized, and he gains the audience’s attention. Background of the author

Perry also says, “If we continue to tell everyone to acquire a college degree, we lessen the pool of people who will do the jobs that keep our world running smoothly.” (681). This is true, if we did not have people working at fast food restaurants how would you eat on your way to work? If we did not have people working at gas stations, how would you get gas? Not everyone needs college. Not everyone needs a college degree. If you want to have a fun day out with your family and go bowling or skating, if there was nobody that worked their how would your family have fun? You would not be able to. The workers not going to college and getting degrees are providing an easy and fun life for the people getting degrees and going to college. Without them, there would be no gas stations, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, etc. People need to also realize, that maybe they do not have the money to go to college, or maybe they like what they are doing. There is also so much judging upon the people not attending college and it is ruthless. Who is to say others have a say so in whether or not you can discourage them?

In this article, Murray argues that many people go to college when it is not actually necessary for them to do so. He begins by explaining that obtaining a liberal education, while it is important to cultural participation, is not a good reason for everyone to go to college. Instead, he says that this education should occur much earlier, beginning in elementary school. Murray also believes that the in depth analysis of information that occurs college is too difficult for most people to enjoy, and many simply aren't academically capable. Even for those who are able, he claims that four years of college is much more than most professions actually need. He states that many people believe that getting a degree is the key to getting a

Marty Nemko, in the article, “We Send Too Many Students To College,” acknowledges that colleges have become obscenely expensive and that it is possible to be successful without going to college. Arguing that too many students are sent to college without realizing that it is not imperative, Nemko targets parents in his claims that colleges focus on educating in the cheapest way possible and most importantly, that the advantage of past college graduates in the job market is declining. One of his main reasons is that even though the average college graduate makes more money, hundreds of thousands of students in the bottom half of their high school class do not succeed in higher education. Nemko’s article is the most persuasive article on whether college education still has value as he argues that college is not beneficial to everyone through demonstrations of hyperbole, and figurative language.

The decision to obtain a higher education beyond high school is no longer a question of if, but when. This is the question that author Caroline Bird discusses in her article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” written in 1975. This text strives to convince students, parents, and advisors that obtaining a degree might not be in the best interest for those involved. Circling around the idea that college is a requirement and no longer an act of free will. Bird starts the article off strongly by building her credibility through her own personal research and other credible sources as well as appealing to readers through logical reasoning using numerous statistics, but fails to convince readers and discredits her ultimate goal through a disconnect in her use of analogies.

In “College in America,” Caroline Bird expresses her opinion on education focused around the year 1975. Bird disagrees with the the idea of high school graduates being forced to attend college since she believes that the chances of being successful without a degree are just as high as someone with a degree. She points out that sometimes college is a waste of time and money. The money a college graduate earns is not much different compared to the money a high school graduate makes due to college expenses, loans and interest rates. Moreover, Bird dislikes how in today 's society, a degree defines a person. Many people idealise that college will help them obtain a successful future. Bird counteracts this education ideal by providing an

In his writing, “Are Too Many People Going to College”, he talks about how a student should have already learned what they needed to learn in college and how it might not be necessary for them to even go to college. An example in his writing that gives reason as to why college may be pointless was when he gave a hypothetical situation about a student deciding on whether to attend university or skip college and become an electrician. Murray portrays the student through his thought process and reasoning, showing that the student had looked up the wages of an electrician, if it had sensible job security and the cost of attending college. The authors use of a detailed description of the student’s endeavors and going through the thought process really lets the reader see the student’s viewpoint through their own eyes. Nonetheless in this example, going to college proved pointless because the student would have made more money becoming an electrician than getting a degree due to the soaring cost of tuition for

Are too many people going to college? This is the question that has pondered many over the past few years. With increasing tuition and increasing attendance, college is becoming “not everything that it is cracked up to be.” Charles Murray, an author from the American Enterprise Institute, wrote an article in 2008 entitled “Are Too many People Going to College?” In the article he makes the arguments that the concept of college is slowly changing. Social norms are decimating the system, people get way too ahead of themselves with their life plans, and the system is suffering as a direct result. Murray indirectly states that too many people are going to college, sending the current system into shambles. Murray effectively states his opinion through persuasive writing, a simple structure, and notable examples that draw the audience into the essay.