Rhetorical Analysis : ' We Send Too Many Students ' College '

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.

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).

Rhetorical strategies are ways in which authors craft language so as to have an effect on readers. Charles Murray, in his essay “Are Too Many People Going to College?” uses various forms of persuasion to convince readers that attending college is not and should not be a stereotypical norm for all millennials capable of obtaining a degree. The synopsis of his claims essentially lies in these three statements: college should not be a place where core knowledge is learned, college does not benefit everyone’s career path, college should not be required to achieve a higher educational understanding of a vast variety of interests. Murray peeks readers curiosity to his claims by making critical, emotional, and logical appeals. By appealing to all forms of persuasion, Murray’s opinions on this topic might just change the way reader’s view college.

In Freeman Hrabowski’s piece, “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” he mentions the differing opinions between going to college and choosing another path. Many people find college too expensive, and once a student graduates, he or she will face enormous debt and potentially risk still being unprepared for the working world. Hrabowski acknowledges this, and also notices that many students who do attend college occasionally make the wrong decision in terms of choosing a school and major. But while the stakes are high, he argues that college not only provides financial stability, but also allows students to become more virtuous citizens in the long run. He does this by providing information to backup his claims, using a passionate tone to explain his beliefs, and paralleling college attendance with good intentions.

Many young people think that obtaining a college degree is the best way—perhaps the only way—to get a good job anymore. So is it still possible to get a good job without one? According to Professor Blanche D. Blank, attaining a college degree doesn’t always guarantee success. In his published article “Degrees: Who Needs Them?”, he argues that American college is not teaching young adults the actual skills they need for the workforce, instead the education system is becoming a jumble of generalized credits that amount to a degree. College is becoming a mold for one to fit in the technological culture, rather than to release one to actively engage in the pursuit of knowledge. Blank begins building his credibility with personal experiences and

Mike Rose uses his relatives’ experiences along with his own to show that college is not for everyone. This point of view is supported by Owen and Sawhill in ‘Should Everyone Go to College?”. “It is a mistake to unilaterally tell young Americans that going to college… is the best decision they can make.”

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

Andrew Delbanco’s essay “A college Education: What is its purpose?” gives three reasons why college still matters. Delbanco teaches at Columbia University, where he’s the director of American studies and has written several books on the meaning and benefits of college. Delbanco, begins his essay by discussing what college means to each individual student. He states, “For many more students, college means the anxious pursuit of marketable skills in overcrowded, under resourced institutions. For still others, it means traveling by night to a fluorescent office building or to a “virtual classroom” that only exists in cyberspace.” (1) Delbano successfully uses pathos to appeal to his audience’s emotions, his personal experience and anecdotal combine to persuade his readers to consider or realize the importance of receiving a college education, however his essay contains minor flaws that can counteract his claims.

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.

    In the article “Are Too Many People Going To College,” Charles Murray claims that a lot of colleges are filled with students that lack certain skills and qualities that are needed for the college level. Murray goes on to say that not all students learn at the same level, but he still believes there are ways for lower ability students to be successful in college it taught better throughout K-8 and high school. Charles Murray wants all students to learn the importance of all subjects taught at college. However, he believes these students should be taught more in high school in order to be more prepared for college. Murray certainly expresses how important K-8 and high school can be when stating, “More people should be getting the basics of a liberal education. But for most students, the places to provide those basics are elementary and middle school.” Murray argues that core knowledge is very important to reading and writing comprehension, stating that familiarity of these concepts is important when going to college. He believes K-8 is the perfect time to teach the core knowledge, which should raise the students effort right away in elementary school. Murray wants kids to be taught more throughout kindergarten and eighth grade, and believes students in high school should learn by surveys and classes that are just slightly below college level courses. Another interesting quote

Although neither my parents nor my older siblings have college degrees, as a child, I don't remember ever planning my future using the phrase “if I go to college.” From a very young age, it was always “when I go to college.” For me, a postsecondary education is the logical next step in my life, the missing puzzle piece to get me where I want to go. For a long time, I believed that the only reason anyone would choose not to was because they were academically or financially incapable. In “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Charles Murray refutes this belief, examining the increasing accessibility of a college education and how our culture pushes people who may not need it to attend anyways.

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 her article “College Is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird attempts to pursued her readers that colleges are overflowing with students who don’t belong there. Her article first appeared in Psychology Today (May 1975). Since this material is outdated, I find it hard to believe that most of the responses by students and parents quoted in the article still hold true. The author has set out to pursue the readers that college is a bad and unnecessary choice for today’s youth. Yet the author holds a bachelors and a masters degree from two different universities. I would think that if she thought college was really a bad choice and a waste of time and money, she would not have gone back to get her masters degree.

College is seen as a requirement for a stable life. From an early age, we are taught that college is an essential step in life. Yet is college all that it is pumped up to be? Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill along with Charles Murray gives us a good look into the benefits and drawbacks of going to college and take us on a journey of understanding that college may be a hindrance for some rather than an intelligent move.

This text is published in The New York Times thus addresses the whole nation and anyone else, but it is targeted to high-school graduates and undergraduates with the aim to encourage those young people to start and actually finish their higher education in college’s and universities. The author talks what can happen if one chooses a seemingly O.K worklife over costly higher education and thus warns the young