Charles Murray Are Too Many People Going To College Summary

But saying that “too many people are going to college” is different than saying that average students don’t need to know about science, history, and great works of literature. It is further noted that some of 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, C. (2008) When asking the question “are too many people going to college” one topic required to think about would be the importance of liberal education. “Universities are not intended to teach the knowledge required to fit men for some special mode of gaining their

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).

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 the essay “College Value Goes Deeper Than the Degree” author Eric Hoover claims a college education is important to one 's well-being so they can get a job and be productive in other parts of life. Promoters of higher education have long emphasized how beneficial college’s value and its purpose. Many believe the notion that colleges teach students are life skills to apply anywhere, they also work hard to earn a degree and learn specific marketable skills which they can use to get a good job. Though obtaining a college education and a degree is helpful in countless of ways, it is not necessary to pursue a college degree in world where a college degree is seen different now, people without turn out fine, the growing average of debt that students who attend college have to pay off and people without a degree can obtain many jobs that do not require college degrees.

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

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

Within the article, “Are Too Many People Going To College?”, by Charles Murray, he goes over the reasons why we don’t necessarily need to go to college to be successful. By this, he is talking about how most liberal arts should be taught properly within grades K-8. What I mostly agree on with him is the topic of how four years of college is ridiculous. From personal experience and the practicality of learning important information, I strongly believe that students should have to spend four years at college. Why learn something irrelevant and have the possibility to fail if you learn the material for your future career sooner and successfully.

Perhaps some student aren’t ready to jump into four year college right after high school. Perhaps some students don’t have enough money or funding to afford four year colleges. For those who trying start taking classes, a community college, two years colleges or vocational school might a good place to get adjusted for college or for training to enter the workforce early. Liz Addison, supporter for two-year community colleges, considers community colleges the ideal place to begin and that it is not important to make the jump into a four-year university. In her essay, “Two Years Are Better than Four,” Addison portrays the theory of the community college. She assumes “The philosophy of the community college, and I have been to two of them, is one that conditionally allows its students to begin” (256). Her assumption are based on her idea “the community college system is America’s hidden public service gem” (257). A similar idea that Charles Murray believes in. He also believes community colleges the ideal place to begin for those who are training to enter the workforce early. He states “Try to force her (for example, by setting up a demanding core curriculum), and she will transfer to another school, because she is in college for vocational training. She wants to write computer code. Start a business. Get a job in television. She uses college to take vocational courses that pertain to her career interests.”().These to supporters of two years colleges and vocational training are encouraging students looking for place to start or those who are trying to get certain skills to join the

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.

In recent discussions of “Is College Worth It?” By John Green, a controversial issue has been whether, people should attend college or get a job after they finish high school. On the one hand, some argue that people can get a monthly income better than if they have a degree. From this perspective, some people they do not want to attend college. On the other hand, however, others insist that people should attend college after they finish high school. In the words of John Green, one of this view’s proponents, “after graduating from college, I actually made $1 per hour less when I started working as an assistant at Booklist Magazine, but the job was better in every way” (video). According to this view, he was working at Stake and Shake and he was getting better salary than what he got after graduate by 1$ less but money is not everything in life. Then he proved to the audiences through his experience that he was more comfortable with working as assistant at Booklist Magazine even he is making less money. Because he got a better job, got the knowledge, and work on something that he like. In sum, then, the issue is whether to attend college or work without a degree. My own view is that attending college is worth it even if it will cost some sacrifices of things that we can get it in the future. After, all, I have chosen to identify as a college student at Winona State University. Though I concede that choosing the university and working to

“The New Liberal Arts” by Sanford J. Ungar is an essay that talks about the benefits and misconeptions of receiving a liberal arts with Ungar on the benefits of students receiving a liberal arts education, but way the current education system is a liberal arts education isn’t the best financial choice to receive is a degree. education. Ungar was the president of a liberal arts education and the essay uses Ungars knowledge of liberal arts education to counteract arguments against students receiving a liberal arts education. I agree

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.

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 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