College Education Shouldn T Be A Privilege

Thesis – College education is considered one of the most important factors for the nation’s economic growth, therefore free college education is a necessity.

Shamus Khan’s book Privilege looks at the boarding school of St. Paul’s and the lifestyle, mindset and actions of the students that come out of it. We saw privilege manifest itself in multiple ways. One of those ways involved gender, looking at the girls who were forced to follow strict clothing rules all to the benefit of the male students. He touches upon class and the discussion of the old elite (exclusion) vs. New Elite (Inclusion). In the end, Khan notes, “ I would like to think it is my wits that resulted in my job at an Ivy League university. But there is more to the story…”(198). While Khan lays the book out to show the reader how privilege seeps thru all parts of life, I think it can be argued that people like to vocally accept the notion of privilege, but do not truly believe it is the reason behind their success.

relatively poor families not only well past the income achieved by their parents but also past the income achieved by many of their peers with more advantaged family backgrounds who did not obtain equivalent education” (Isaacs, Sawhill, & Haskins 34). To put it in another way, obtaining a degree is the best way, perhaps the only way, to possess economic stability. Now, if we look at it from the country’s perspective, education can be part of the solution to the wealth gap, because the occurrence of poverty in the United States is directly related to educational level. A college degree is the ticket to the middle class and beyond. Today, obviously, the idea that everyone should attend to college is indisputable. But there is definitely nothing magical about its price. As higher education institutions keep on rising its tuitions and fees.

One point of view is the strengthening of community colleges. In order to accomplish this the “Obama Administration has called for a new partnership with states to ensure that the first two years of community college are free for responsible students, whether they are completing the first half of a bachelor’s degree or earning skills to go directly into the workforce” (The White House, 2015). Also, the strengthening of community colleges is important because they are the gateways to economic prosperity for the American people. For instance, “Each year, over 1,100 community colleges provide students and workers with critical skills” (The White House, 2015). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the federal government, states, colleges, and universities to make higher education affordable for families and students.

In the paragraphs that below I will touch lightly on my struggles in understanding what it means “to “have” and “not to have” privilege. Lastly, I will address positive impacts of deflecting white privilege.

For centuries, people have been attending college; there they can get a higher education and secure their futures. It has never been easy; hard work, effort, and unwavering dedication were all things necessary if they were going to be successful. There has been talk of making college free to any student who desires a higher education; however, that is what it should remain—just talk. Some may call this close-minded; be that as it may, college is not free, as it is not a right. If society passes this unrealistic notion—we are then supporting the idea that success can be automatic: achieved without dedication and effort. The educational, economical, and personal standards of this country will be in danger of being compromised.

Our country is a democratic one. It is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Education plays a large role in that. Many believe that in democratic societies a free education is each citizen’s right. Others see education as a privilege, one that must be earned. The fact that education is key in making political, social, and economic decisions which help our government to stay true to its basis, and the fact that without at least some level of education, citizens can not get jobs and provide for the families prove that education should be considered a right in the United States.

The United States have long been held in high esteem by their peers for their higher education system’s ability to produce the best and brightest young adults that can impact the world. Students in our nation have a choice whether or not to attend prestigious higher-level institutions in order to educate themselves and prepare themselves for the job market. The U.S. has an outstanding reputation of educating students as well as making education available to everyone in the country. Whether it be a public university, private university or a for-profit institution, people can easily find a way to pursue their academic goals. However, many students graduate college with the inability to find a job because they weren 't properly trained and with massive debt due to the extremely high price of tuition at most universities. College is viewed as a necessity, but is priced as a luxury. This is leading to a drastic downturn to the success of the United States education system. Changes have to be made in regard to how universities are funded as well as universities reevaluating where their responsibilities truly lie—either making a profit or preparing students for the workforce in order to ensure the growth and posterity of the United States.

Today in this day of society K-12 education is free to every child in the United States, it is difficult for us modern Americans to imagine a world where public schools have not existed. Although, 150 years ago in many places throughout the country, not even elementary education was provided publicly; in fact, even by the turn of the 20th century, some young individuals still did not have entry to free public high schools. To our effort every American can get a free education and obtain a high school diploma, thanks to the efforts of our civic-minded predecessors. Let’s look at the developments that made this possible. Americans have believed for a long time that to completely participate in their government, citizens need to be educated.

Those pursuing higher education within the United States are facing financial obstacles and unfair opportunity, especially pertaining to those living within poverty. Whether or not our upcoming generations will be given the same, if not a greater opportunity towards higher education, is dependent on our countries decision towards educational reform. Higher education through the spectrum of equal opportunity, is generating concern from both the public as well as the government; and while the topic continues to be debated, the debt surrounding our countries educational system continues to grow. The Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has brought this issue forward by creating a National Commission to address Higher Education on a governmental level; the National Commission is directing the attention towards the countries costs and accountability pertaining to higher education.

For a teacher, managing issues surrounding privilege in the classroom is easier said then done. Having your students in the classroom understand what it means to be privilege is only the first step. In our class each student talked about their own definition of the word privilege. Privilege to me refers to a right that you have that others do not. The right tends to be special and unique to you and you are not aware that other don’t have that same right as you do. Depending on whether you are privilege or not can affect your outcome to living a successful life. I will first explain how one can be privilege, then compare schools with privileged students, and ending it with how can a teacher manage the issues surrounding privilege in the classroom.

America is a blessed country in numerous ways, and its citizens reap the benefits. Free education is one major benefit that not many other countries provide for their citizens. While it is only a privilege to many, but in the States, people have the right to be educated. However, free education cannot be translated to success for all. For those motivated ones who cherish the privilege to be educated are those who climb up the success ladders later in life. For a certain majority of students in the States, our current educational system may not seem to serve its purpose. In this paper, I will explore two possible adjustments that could be made to improve our system to benefit our next generation. Academic improvement and class size

In choosing to study inequalities within education, one must be aware of the inequalities which may be present, researched, or unexplained within the education system. Education in itself can be a loose term, not all areas of Britain, for example, enforce the same types of education as standard. Further to that, education is always changing, evolving, and governments introduce policies depending on that particular government, economic situation and education secretary in office at the time. Education is always a key issue; no political party can ignore education in an electoral campaign, and social mobility is key is defining a political parties term in contemporary society. Within Britain, and particularly over the past 20 years, in definition terms, has been a period of consumer choice over education. The emphasis has been on an education system that gives everyone who enters the British educational system an equal opportunity of educational attainment (Breen, 2010); though that is not the case in a lot of educates, tuition fees are a prime example of proportionate accessibility, though sociological explanations can dissolve this apparent equivalent system into one which is very much divergent. Schools are seen as a pathway into further and higher education, preparing the student for their GCSE exams, which is commonly recognised as the most important exams in a student’s life, opening or closing pathways to college, university, or the workplace. The question ultimately

College affordability is an important aspect to the United States educational system. Not only should public K-12 education be important, postsecondary education should also be easily available to everyone. Higher education should revert back to being seen as a public good. There is a great need to look back to the bipartisan legislation and cooperation that lead to college affordability, which in result, paid off economically. The importance of higher education policies and the consistent role of the government is once again considered in order to address what should be done to alleviate student burden.

President John F. Kennedy stated these famous words about the beauty of education during his 1961 proclamation celebrating American Education Week, “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.” As reflected in the message of the late 35th president of the United States, education is and has been widely considered the foundation of success and progress not just for the induvial but for the nation as a whole. Nevertheless, over recent years, the benefits derived from pursing higher education has been negatively impacted by the rising cost of tuition forcing thousands of students into insurmountable debt. In the United States, the average cost of college per year is $9,650 for in-state students. Students attending private colleges spend nearly triple that amount per year, averaging $33,480. Even though the United States government has no legal obligation to provide a free college education to the members of its society, an investment into higher education would greatly benefit this country because an education improves the economic growth, provides sought after critical thinking skills, and creates limitless personal developments. Undeniably, this would ensure each individual the opportunity to attain personal success yet also for the supposed greatest nation in the