Michael Jordon

    In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that  is in place. For “a brutal fact

The article, Not going to College is a Viable Option, written by Lawrence B. Schlack displays the possible alternatives and outcomes of going to college. With the help of ethos, from a former superintendent, Schlack uses his own self as a credible source by providing examples of what he has experienced and witnessed throughout the course of his work. Schlack appeals to the audience on a personal level by exploiting the weakness of high school graduates, who don’t know what they want to study when attending college. Granted, Schlack uses logic to reason with the audience on why not going to college is a viable option. However, with the lack of credibility, facts, and statistics, Schlacks article is not effectively persuasive on reasons why

Education as a whole has been the key to the future and provides to the students with skill that they could not get anywhere. The new age has clearly shown us that education is a vital ingredient for a person’s future. Education has shown that one who studies further has a better lifestyle and will be highly respected, but what education cannot do is offer everyone the opportunity to succeed. Only a few students can take advantage of education; because if suddenly

Murray hope this would leave these people to begin develop a better way for people to achieve academic or professional success. Also this essay translates easily to those in position of seeking higher education so they will understand Murray’s point of view.

Despite the fact that student’s desire is to gain a good education, some students fail their first year of college because they are not ready to pursue college life.

Lawrence B. Schlake, author of the article Not Going To College Is A Viable Option, suggest that there are many different opportunities that can lead to further success in life other than attending college. Throughout the article, Schlake references the European “gap year” and numerous other reliable options instead of college. As a superintendent, Mr. Schlake is a credible source when it comes to dealing with students entering the workforce or exploring career opportunities. The use of persuasive techniques and evidence displayed throughout the article is very effective in persuading the reader that college isn’t suited for everyone.

Today many high school students are trying see if college education would good idea for future jobs or careers. Teachers and parents alike think about college being a good investments in for their children or students future. They believe that college is helping people to grow mentally and socially. Furthermore, they believe that getting a college degree is good for students that are trying to start higher paying careers, which will turn into a higher sum of money. On the other hand, there are many naysayers arguing that college is not the only option for education. But there are other options such as self-education, online schooling and vocational schooling. They consider college in being too expensive and requiring to take out loans making

More often than not, young students are taught to believe that they must go to a prestigious university to obtain a Bachelor’s degree or higher in order to have a fulfilling and satisfying career. This may hold true for some people, but others do not need to follow this same path. For students who choose a career that isn’t considered conventional or isn’t high in pay, they tend to be looked down upon which pressures them into choosing career paths that they do not have a passion for, or the skill set to actually accomplish which makes college a waste of time and money. While everyone should be encouraged to get an education beyond high school, people should be encouraged to get the education that is relevant and proper for them to make sure they are getting their money’s worth.

In today’s world, young people think that if they continue their tertiary education, they can access a better job, no matter which subject they take. This situation indirectly causes a huge enrollment of students into universities and colleges, which may drop off the quality of education. As the author says, “quantity trumps quality” (pg. 168) which certify that the environment is skipped from education to jobs; meanwhile, the knowledge part is ignored by the students. In detail, they do not expect to learn something but just to get a degree which acts as “a passport to consideration for a job”. (pg. 164) This condition gradually turns credentialing into the norm. Everyone only cares about the degree that they will receive rather than concerning about what they will learn and develop through their subject’s material.

Parents believe their kids are too young and immature to make a decision by them selves, therefore they pressure their kids into attending college believing it is the best thing for them. The author does not agree with these actions and thinks that students should decide for themselves whether or not they want to continue their education. If students feel that college is not for them, they should not stay there just because somebody expects them to. Furthermore, she states that if everyone got a higher education everybody would be on the same intellectual level, and there would be no difference in people.

The article of “ In the Basement of the Ivory Tower” really remind me to considered plenty of things that I have never been thinking about before. In my mind, pursuing and accomplishing a higher level of education is always good for people. However, the view that the Professor X raised is a very sharp phenomenon buy it does exists in our society. In the article he questioned whether it is necessary for everyone to get higher education or not. It seems that as far as Professor X concerned, some of those students who are just waste of time and money by taking college education. He exposed that many colleges nowadays are bend to financial profits rather than to provide a high quality education. What is more, some of the students are not that well prepared for their college study and many of them cannot pass his class.

It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.

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.

Parents push their children to have more academic jobs and majors to improve their child's “status.” But when a student with high academic achievement chooses to have a vocational style job it is seen as unfortunate or even a waste of genius and intellect. Students should have the opportunity to be trained in whatever careers they want, even if it is a more vocational job like a trade instead of an academic job. If these students find these vocational jobs more meaningful than any academic job they should have the right to choose them because of their pursuit of happiness.

Academic success could never be fully measured by degrees alone, but it can include a person’s well-being as well as their mind and certain characteristics about a person that make them unique. This success can be achieved in different ways by these different people with different strengths, but there is the same ultimate goal in sight of each and every student enrolled in college at some point. However, this goal of being successful in not only school but in life, can sometimes turn out to be the opposite of how we plan. Of course, a student can achieve success by earning degrees and still fail in life. Academic success can also be a huge constituent to a students vocational calling in college as young students make a transition into adulthood.