The Irrational Consumer Culture Surrounding Education

Deresiewicz believes that “The purpose of education in a neoliberal age is to produce producers.”(1) In his introduction, Deresiewicz compares the ideologies of colleges from the 1920s to today’s thoughts. He concluded that “College is seldom about thinking or learning anymore.”(1) He also believes that there is only one value of education now and that is commercial. The other values are tolerated only when they pertain to commercial value. With the new beliefs in neoliberalism, Deresiewicz determines that “The world is not going to change, so we don’t need young people to imagine how it might.”(3) This leads to education just being about information rather than free thinking. He then goes into discussing how there are others who have come to the realization that not everyone can have high paying jobs as well. Deresiewicz concludes that students only care about the skills needed to start their career not obtaining general knowledge. Colleges teach their students to be leaders for their own benefit not the benefit of others. The neoliberal society, Deresiewicz believes, has begun to give students “a sense of helplessness”(5) so they have no

At the beginning of the essay, the writer expresses the difficulties experienced by high-school graduates in gaining admission to universities, nowadays. She states,” College as America used to understand it is coming to an end” through Rick Perlstein (Addison 3). To show contrast between the past and modern days, Addison brings another character to the scene. She states that Perlstein had a ‘beatnik’ friend alongside him. The term ‘beatnik’ makes reference to a person of the artistic Beat generation of the 1950s and 60s. During that period, college education, offered in universities, was highly regarded. To further her argument, she claims that admission to universities, nowadays, relies solely on their Curricula Vitae.

The context of this definition implies that people in American society today have aquired such a demonstrative way to define those who choose to apply themselves in and out of the classroom. The writer illustrates the statement that even at the prestigious institute Harvard University, the concept of being academically superior to others is not only frowned upon, but is hidden. With its notorious success and respect from all over, a feeling of shock is taken in a sense that students are known for their great attitude and drive for greatness. However, students at Harvard have adopedt the sense of being “ashamed” for their success and passion. Following the claim, the phrase “Nerds are ostracized while athletes are idolized” is expressed to provoke awareness from the reader of this harsh characterization of those who put academics first. Within the opening paragraphs, the writer values getting the concept across that people today have a problem of looking down upon those who are intelligent, resulting in these certain individuals being penitent in regard of their talents and aspirations, regardless of the school or academic

Published in Harper's Magazine’s September 1997 issue, Mark Edmundson’s essay, “On the Uses of Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students,” presents a very personal argument for an apparent crisis in liberal education–the lack of passion in students. According to Edmundson, a professor at the University of Virginia, “liberal-arts education is as ineffective as it is now…[because] university culture, like American culture writ large, is, to put it crudely, ever more devoted to consumption and entertainment, to the using and using up of goods and images” (723). He believes that consumer culture is responsible for students’ dispassionate attitude towards his class because they view liberal education as a paid service or product that should cater to their wishes. Further, he writes that universities feed into consumer culture, maintaining a “relationship with students [that] has a solicitous, nearly servile tone” (725). In this way, Edmundson lays out the reasons for why he thinks liberal education is failing.

Gerald Graff’s article “Hidden Intellectualism” asserts that academic settings, such as public schools, need to incorporate students’ personal interests into the school policy so that students are more inclined to engage in an academic mindset. The problem, however, is that the school systems do not attempt to tie non-academic material with academic assignments, therefore neglecting students the opportunity to engage in intriguing, intellectual conversation (Graff 245). Targeting students, educators, and administrators, Graff makes an effective explicit, qualified claim of policy as he utilizes the rhetorical strategies of ethos, logos, and pathos.

Many are quick to disregard education’s role outside of the classroom. According to Mike Rose, “a good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it” (Rose 33). Rose emphasizes the value in the experience of education beyond the value of education for the purpose of custom or intelligence; he explores the purpose of going to school in terms of how he defines himself and his personal growth in the stages of his academic career. By reflecting on his personal experiences and how those gave him the tools applicable to his daily life, he emphasizes why education should never be overlooked. Rose’s use of referencing relatable experiences in a logical manner makes his argument persuasive to the readers and he succeeds in making the readers reconsider why education matters to them. Mike Rose’s Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us effectively persuades his audience of the importance of education beyond the classroom, which proves true in our everyday lives because the essential aspect of education is what we do with it and how it helps develop one’s personal growth.

Andrew Delbanco wrote the essay “A college education: What is its purpose?” as a positive opinion on the purpose of college in a time he called “A period of wrenching change, buffeted by forces-globalization, economic instability, the information technology revolution, the increasingly evident inadequacy of K12 education, and perhaps most important, the collapse of consensus about what students should know.”(2) Deblanco uses quality logos in this paragraph and appeals to the audience’s logic. He uses current world factors and problems that help the audience connect

At the beginning of this article he states “colleges and universities are primarily vehicles for the preservation, development and transmission of our intellectual culture (scientific, humanistic and artistic).” He then goes on to explain that we expect colleges and universities to provide

Mark Edmundson, the author of “On the Uses of a Liberal Education”, is an English teacher at the University of Virginia who expresses his concerns about the trajectory of the universities and colleges in America. Edmundson depicts how college students today have “little fire, little passion to be found,” towards their classes (4). In an effort to find the source of this lack of passion, Edmundson describes contacting other professors about this issue while refining his own ideas. Ultimately, Edmundson comes to a conclusion. He believes that the consumer mindset of college students has hindered American universities as a whole. My target audience is my professor, Professor Chezik. Looking closely at his wording, formation of sentences, and idea structure, one can see a recurring theme throughout Edmundson’s essay. Edmundson uses fragments, specifically at the beginning of his paragraphs, to start his point, pose counter arguments, and to have a poetic refrain.

To discuss the value of liberal education, there should be a mutual understanding that investing in college means to invest in oneself. Furthermore, while some consider this investment to be a critical stepping stone to success, others dismiss it, explaining that school simply cannot prepare someone for the “real world.” Sanford J. Ungar and Robert Reich explore both of these subjective values in their essays “The New Liberal Arts” and “College is a Ludicrous Waste of Money.” Ungar, the president of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, discusses why a liberal education should be sought after; he does so by introducing common misconceptions about liberal arts and, using argumentative persuasion, proves their insignificance. On the other hand, Reich, the former secretary of labor, argues against the conventional belief of college being the only road to financial wellbeing; rather, he explains why a two-year education may better accommodate many college students, especially those in need of immediate work or those that simply cannot afford a four-year education. In all, although both Reich and Ungar generally discuss liberal education, their perspectives differ when it comes to its practicality in the current economy. Also, to express their different views about liberal arts, the authors use contrasting tones to present their ideas to different intended audiences.

In The Basement of the Ivory Tower is a very illustrative and witty analysis that presents the idea that not everyone is suited for college. The author, who goes by the alias Professor X, presents himself as a man of scholar with the difficult task of teaching English to students he believes should not even be in college. He is an adjunct professor that teaches at two community colleges as a last resort. Throughout this article, he argues that there are too many unreachable students. During his efforts in exploring various strategies to help these students, he claims that they are deficient in ability to complete any college course—especially English. Overall, with a lack of statistics and research, Professor X utilizes his professional character by sharing multiple anecdotes that feebly argue higher education is simply not for everyone.

Leonid Fridman, in his work “America Needs Its Nerds”, argues that American society has a misaligned view on the value of education and intellectuals in comparison to social skills and physical abilities. Fridman juxtaposes the literal definition of a “geek” with the current American societal use of the term to emphasize America’s misconstrued comparison of an intellectual with a strong interest in education and knowledge to “a freak biting the head off a live chicken.” He continues on to contrast the unpretentious fame and respect that university faculty receive when compared to professional athletes in America to the overwhelming fame and respect that university faculty receive in “very few” countries. He continually focuses on the ostracization

As a high school senior, the pressure to pick the school that will provide me with both a good social and academic experience is on. For someone like me, I would be content with going to a good state school to save money. But for other students, Ivy League is the only option. These same students and their parents strongly believe that an Ivy League education is the principal to the finest opportunities in life. William Deresiewicz claims they do not give a remarkable social experience nor do they allow room for students to think themselves. In his article, “ Don’t Send Your Kids to the Ivy Leagues”, he uses his status and personal anecdotes to persuade the reader of just that.

The book ‘My Freshman Year; What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student’ has become a bestseller and is has become a source of policy inspiration for college administrator. The book details the findings of a professor who goes back to college and lives as a freshman. She registers at Northern Arizona University and conducts her study as a part of the student body. She lives in a dorm and takes a whole course load. The result is that she is able to attenuate student issues in a way no other anthropologist can or has done. The author’s exposure as Professor Cathy Small adds to the intrigue of the book. As with any other, she has a distinctive method, and there are several ways in which she establishes her position and power. The paper shall interrogate those methods using readings by Barbara Johnstone and Charles Murray.

Students Known as Customers In this article “Have It Your Way: Consumerism Invades Education,” the author, Simon Benlow, writes about how students’ start to think of themselves as customers. He thinks this because of how companies are buying students’ brains when they go shopping. Likewise, students who go to college start to think they can buy their grade as well. Benlow, he is concerned about how a teacher and a student do not share the relationship that stores have with their customers.