The main reason why we go to college is not because we want to, but because it’s a must. Nearing the end of your high school career, you are persuaded by guidance counselors and our parents to apply for colleges because it the “right thing to do”. In an essay “Are Too Many People Going to College”, Charles Murry wrote, his narrative is about someone who is trying to decide what to become an electrician or a manager. He compares how his life can benefit from becoming electrician, “the satisfaction of being good at what one does for a living (and knowing it),” vs becoming a mediocre manager, “to the melancholy of being mediocre at what one does for a living (and knowing it).” He explains that someone who still is growing and developing may not
by pointing out that while getting the basics of a liberal education are valuable and that most should receive it, he believes that this should and can take place prior to the level of the college education. Murray states that “for most students, the place to provide those basics are elementary and middle school.” He then goes on to cite E.D. Hirsch Jr. in his 1987 book “Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know” as his authority on the topic. Hirsch builds his template around the concept of a “core knowledge” that most need to know. Murray cites three points of Hirsch: 1) full participation in any culture requires familiarity with a body
In the article “Are Too Many People going to College?” Charles Murray argues that not everyone has the academic ability to go to college and only the top percentile of these people should attend college because they will actually understand the material and joy it. Although too many people are flooding colleges in order to achieve higher learning, Murray believes that most of these people should take a different career path and aspire to gain a skill in an industrial job.
In “Too Many People Are Going to College”, the author, Charles Murray’s main purpose is to encourage people to rethink college. He clearly gives very valid and educated reasons on why college isn't for everyone and how society has made everyone think that college is a norm and, in a way, a rite of passage into adulthood and citizenship. Murray is given the difficult task of proving to the people that society has marred and distorted the views of college. He does an exemplary job of executing this task. Murray presents his argument that college is not all society says it is by presenting counter arguments and either giving rebuttals or conceding.
Charles Murray: “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray is the author of “Are Too Many People Going to College.” Charles Murray does not clearly state a main claim or argument at any time throughout the essay. Instead, he states several arguments throughout his essay. Some of the main points include core knowledge, liberal education and of course the title of the essay “Are Too Many People Going to College”.
In the essay, “Are Too Many People Going To College?” author Charles Murray addresses the issue of the increasing demand of college degree from all individuals, regardless of their abilities and talents. “Today, if you do not get a B.A., many people assume it is because you are too dumb or too lazy”(Murray, 253). Murray puts a strong argument against this kind of growing culture among people. He believes that a B.A. degree is not a gateway to success as different people have different ability in various fields, making them unique. Murray also emphasis instilling the liberal arts education in the minds of young students of this country. Furthermore, he explains that the development in technology and an increase in the availability of online
I have been asked to give my professional opinion on which article to publish in this week 's edition. The two articles I have to choose from are “Are too many people going to college?” by Charles Murray and “Should everyone go to college?” by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill. In short, Murray’s article explains throughout the article that the basic knowledge essential to a being an American can be learned in k-8. Murray explains that high school can be the place where students learn about their career paths and there would be no need for college. Murray believes college is not a necessity in today 's society if we can teach more in elementary, middle, and high school. Owen and Sawhill’s article can be summarized, in short, with their theses, “While the average return to obtaining a college degree is positive, we emphasize that it is not universally so. For certain schools, majors, occupations, and individuals, a college may not be a smart investment. By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice” (Owen and Sawhill PG#). Both articles use rhetorical strategies to convey the purpose of their article to the reader. Charles Murray uses interesting anecdotes, understandable logical reasoning, and relevant statistics to facilitate his non-traditional ideas clearly to the reader. On the other hand, through the use of credibility Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill uses assertions, logical reasoning, and
In Charles Murray’s essay “Are Too Many People Going to College” he tries to change the reader’s view of college. He claims that there are too many people attending college for the wrong reasons. According to Murray, "consider that more than 90 percent of high-school students report that their guidance counselors encouraged them to go to college." (251). Since this has become the social norm people are attending college regardless of their skills, interest, or financial situation.
High school graduation marks the start of young adults’ lives, a time where they are expected to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Many young adults are pressured into attending college, whether they have determined their goal or not, but is it necessary? “The Case Against College,” an article written by Linda Lee, a mother who has questioned the former belief that college equals success, claims that “not everyone needs a higher education.” College, though beneficial to many, is not for everyone and should not determine an individual’s life.
“K-8 years are the right years to tech the core knowledge and the effort should get off to a running start in elementary school” (Murray 234). Charles Murray’s “Are Too Many People Going to College?” gives the readers inside information about how college could truly affect college students. He had multiple points about how college truly is not for everyone, but if you want to be financially well off, then going to college and getting your bachelor’s degree would be the way to go. One of the points that Murray made was that, students who acquire “core knowledge” tend to do better than students who have acquired traditional education. Core knowledge, according to the author, is an education that tends to become more difficult the higher you go ending the senior
More people than ever before are attending college due to the endless opportunities that it provides. Louis Menand, a college professor and the author of “Live and Learn: Why We Have College,” explains the meaning of college through three theories that have been developed. Theory 1 supports the idea of the sorting-out process that separates the highly intelligent from the less intelligent. Menand’s second theory explains that college provides opportunities for developmental growth, personal growth, and teaches individuals about the world around us. These are valuable lessons that will not be learned anywhere else. Theory three supports the idea of people attending college to specialize in a specific vocation. I
Throughout my middle and high school years, both my peers and I were strongly encouraged to go to college. I was not only urged by teachers, but my family members also. It is intriguing how closely connected that is after Murray discussed how college is promoted and organized. Growing up, I was taught that college would be the door of opportunity to a guaranteed better life. While college maybe unnecessary for some, it is necessary for others. As for myself, I believe college is necessary in order for me to advance towards my career in Journalism. Upon my high school graduation, I had decided to go straight into the workforce. At the time I preferred to have a job making money instead of going to school losing money. Quickly, I learned that I was still losing money even though I was working. I was working for survival, just to "make ends meet”, and in opposite direction of the career I desired. That experience alone encouraged me to pursue my college education even more because I knew I could not make it without it. Nowadays a bachelor’s degree is a prerequisite for jobs in journalism, regardless of the fact that one may have
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).
Throughout the essay, Charles Murray stresses the idea that college is the wonderland of finding oneself and to find the career that one would want to follow for the rest of their lives. “College is seen as the open sesame to a good job and a desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood. Neither reason is as persuasive as it first appears.” Murray, C (2008) Practically spoken, this is not normally the case. College is a fair amount of work, much more work than one would normally acquire through any course of a high school or secondary school setting. In no way saying that the average student cannot meet the requirement and achieve success over the amounted work, it would also be ridiculous to expect every graduate to pursue going into higher education with the expansion of work that will be given.
Caroline Bird’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money” explains her beliefs on why, for some people, going to college is an ineffective and inefficient use of their time. She states that many students do not belong in college because they are there for the wrong reasons and they are not happy learning. She also gives evidence to suggest that going to college and getting a degree does not actually allows a person to make more money in their life time. Her final claim is that college does not prepare most students for the real world and the jobs they will have once they graduate.
After high school, a choice that many students have to make is whether to go to college or not. There are many factors that go into one’s decision. There are pros and cons to going to college and also there are pros and cons for not going to college. But the decision that will give someone the better opportunity to have a more successful life is to go to college. The money that one will earn after getting a college degree will be more than the money a person will make without getting a college degree. As our society has continued to evolve, education has become the optimal route to professional success: pursuing a degree is the best way to receive training, to gain expertise in a given field, and even to guide you and help you make choices