Goldstein Essay

In “Are Too Many People Going To College?” Charles Murray puts forth the question that seems to be a hot topic of controversy. Should all students automatically plan to go to college? Murray established that the common mind set of getting a liberal education is an awesome thing but this education should be based more in the lower K-8 grades or even in high school. Murray purposes that not all students are geared to be successful in college and demonstrates that obtaining a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) is not always a direct ticket to success as many believe it to be. I agree that our society is inaccurately treating the acquisition of a B.A. as a requirement to be successful and anyone who chooses to seek an other than college path is treated as substandard.

In Charles Murray's article “Are Too Many People Going to College?” he argues that the route that has been set-up, whether knowingly or unknowingly, for individuals to achieve success in their life by obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) is obsolete in a modern world. He espouses six reasons for his position. In this essay, I’ll summarize Murray's position and then elucidate on his points while explaining my position on wach of his views. Lastly, I'll state my belief that getting a college degree is valuable even if it is not the source of my financial income.

Couple go through a discussion on how they should raise their children. Parenting style in countries such as China, Japan, and Korea have different views than Western’s parenting style in the United States. In recent years, a term Tiger Mother has brought an idea that these mothers have a strict parenting philosophy that incorporates firm parental control and high standards for excellence (Chua, 2011). Parents everywhere agree that raising a child is a complex and daunting task, in which, parents have encompassed both their beliefs and practiced into their own parenting style. Both stories, Mother Inferior was written by Hanna Rosin and Why Chinese Mothers are Superior was written by Amy Chua, explore the different parenting styles and methods. Mother Inferior focuses on allowing children to freely express themselves, while Why Chinese Mothers are Superior

In the article, “Adapted From Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” Amy Chua, the author, gave some very valid points about how Western children and Chinese children are raised very diversely. Chinese parents are more strict and Western parents are more laid back. Most of the authors points that she made were backed up with statics so they were reliable and valid. There were just a few she didn't back up it was just her opinion. The statements about how the Chinese mothers raise their children are not agreeable or realistic. In all the authors article was valid and had some great points.

The author’s tone is soft and direct to have the audience read with a concerning ease. The author wants to be perceived just like everyone else, but most importantly like every other parent. The author’s mood is very emotional and it is a mood that fluctuates with

In “Should the Obama Generation Drop Out?” Charles Murray believes that “a large majority of young people do not have the intellectual ability to do genuine college-level work” (95). Although this is true, not every career field requires the same level of coursework and may require different levels of intellectual ability. Also, academic intelligence should not be viewed as the only type of intelligence out there, and people with other gifts and talents should definitely be acknowledged and respected as well. Of course, most well-paying jobs require more than a high school education “…but it need not mean four years on a campus” (Murray 95). For instance, people who are aspiring to become a

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

As the writing advances, the argument shifts to people capable of hands on jobs out of high school considering whether going to college should really be advocated as much as it is today. Along with this, he says that eventually attending vocational schools will become scarce due technology and the fact that many things accomplished at these schools can be done online. He also claims that income statistics of high end jobs today are skewed considering the fact that when you look at average incomes of a profession, many of us will end up in the lower percentiles. For many people, he says, the best option is to pursue a service or hands on job that doesn’t require a four year education. He ends the essay by claiming that “College isn’t all it’s cracked up to be” as well as depreciating the value of the normal B.A. that little college pursuers end up achieving. Murray writes: “the misalignment is in the optimistic direction, as adolescents aspire to be attorneys or physicians without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goals”.

In Linda Lees "The case against college", she argues that going to college may not always be the right move for every high school gradatuate. She explains that, "only 27 percent of Americans have a bachelors degree or higher". This does leave a staggering amount of room for people that have had success without degrees, such as bill gates or the average hard worker entrepreneur. She uses a personal anecdote from her own experience of why college isn’t for everyone. Lee explains that her son got into a pretty good school, and enrolled because all his friends were going and it should be fun, but he wasn’t ready, he elected to miss classes and was there for all play and no work, while Lee was paying one thousand dollars a week for her son’s education.

Sharon M. Draper is a well-known author that started her career as an English teacher. Her writing career began after she entered and won a short story essay contest for a magazine. This led her to write her first book Tears of a Tiger, followed by Forged by Fire and Darkness Before Dawn. All three books have been very successful and in 1998 Tears of a Tiger received the Coretta Scott King Award. Draper also received the National Teacher of the Year Award for 1997-1998. She said that her main goal in writing has always been to inspire and encourage her students. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that most of her books are aimed towards high school teens. Draper’s writing style has been very controversial, which is the reason her first book was rejected by so many publishers. According to Draper, she sent copies of Tears of a Tiger to 25 different publishing companies and received 24 rejections. The only “yes” that she got was from Simon & Schuster. She said “the editors told me just to write the story, but I said kids don’t need all of that. They don’t need long narrative passages”. Some called her books profound, but she said,” she writes like that because it teaches multiple lessons that are good for the students to learn and for teachers to teach.”

Amy Chua’s provocative Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother has caused great controversy and debate mainly because of her strict parenting philosophy exercised throughout the entire novel. Chua is questioning the traditional Western parenting ways and inevitably promoting her self-righteous “Tiger Mom” ideology. While I understand certain positive aspects of her extremist theory, I believe that Western parenting is in fact the way to go. Not only should parents respect their

Beginning at an early age, children who are encouraged academically by their parents, educators, and coaches will grow up with the realization that a thorough education will provide for them—financially and professionally—in the future. One of the first things that we are taught is that if we graduate with a degree from college, then we will have a better job and more opportunities in the future. There are many instances where this rings true. According to Brookings Institution publication “an individual with a college degree is nearly nine times more likely to make over $100,000 than someone with only a high school diploma and 13 times more likely to make more

In this society of scratching and winning mega Jackpots or investing in your talent and earning more than a brain surgeon will ever earn in a life time, many parents today worry that their children might abandon education in search of alluring horizons that promise wealth without a college diploma. If the young people would stop to think about it, only a very small percentage of the population have such luck coming their way. College is and will always remain important because somethings, some experiences in life not even money can buy but a college can make you experience and reason like a diplomat. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the young people who have abandoned reality for utopia. Student loans and lack

Amy Chua, the author of the much debated book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom was just sitting at her labtop writing on her blog like any regular day. On this day, however, she had just gotten into an argument with her 13 year old daughter. Frustrated, Chua went to her blog to vent. What was just a venting session became an instant controversial debate. She had no clue her blog would turn into a book and that her book would become a worldwide discussion.

I have read an article "Is a College Degree Necessary" published by Los Angeles Times, and was written by Mike Rustigan in my English class. The author wrote about the number of dropouts from the university because they feel that school is not the appropriate place for them to learn the knowledge and life. They just want to work with your hands, and learn a skill by itself after high school. By contrast, President Obama wants every student has the opportunity to attend college to obtain higher education. President Obama told Congress, "We expect all our children not only to graduate from high school but to graduate from college and get a good-paying job." (Los Angeles Times). After reading the article, there is the big question in my mind is: Is there a college degree necessary for success? Some people may think that not going to college will not have much influence on their life, because going to college or a vocational school, finally, people still go to work and earn money to support themselves and their families, should a college degree is not important and necessary; as long as we have the ability and effort, we will succeed. Is really very difficult to believe that a person needs a college education to succeed in life because success in life has different meanings for different people, and there are many who have succeeded , become a billionaire, but not through a whole school or class in life. Some others said that the university is not only a success, but the path