Ask Not How You Can Educate the System; Ask How the System Can Educate You
The military is for a warrior and college is for the worker! For many generations that ethos has been the traditional mindset marketed to the youth of the United States. But today’s up and comers are unsure of whether they should go into the armed forces or join what Paulo Freire describes as a “misguided system” of education (Freire 1). Some students have been citing the need for educational reform in response to the age old question “should I go to college?” Too distracted by the weight of the reform problems, many haven’t realized that there’s a reasonable solution. While 1960’s Paulo Freire and 1990’s Mark Edmundson both agree that they wanted students to revolt
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Evidence collected in the "The Cost of Access: Racial Disparities in Student Loan Burdens of Young Adults” tells us that “In 2012, 71% of graduates from all four-year institutions in the United States had federal loans, and the average loan amount was $25,500” (Kim et al. 99). That journal, written by students of the university of Maryland and the university of Georgia, also recommends that “In order to create greater access to college for young adults from Black and other racial/ethnic minority families there appears to be a greater necessity for some form of financial counseling that explains the true cost of attending college, the availability of various sources of financial aid, and the importance of planning ahead to start saving for college early” (Kim et al. 112). The upside of government assisted tuition is that it is free and blind to the color of a student’s skin. As long as they can handle the Air Force culture, their education is on the Government. Now that the student has the means to get a proper education, they must identify the method of attaining it.
The great thing about an enlisted military education is its employment of both traditional and nontraditional methods. One new method the USAF is implementing is the credentialing of their Airman’s On-the-Job-Training (OJT) experience. This is the skill that a member will gain from doing
In “The Argument for Tuition-Free College,” Keith Ellison addresses the matter of free-tuition for colleges and universities in America. The high cost of tuition increasing inequality and the largest personal debt in the country, student loans, are the main two problems Ellison discussed. Claiming that minorities are less likely to succeed in the community is one of Ellison’s ways to support the issue. He promotes his argument with two solutions. In the first one he explains how to eliminate student loan debt. Ellison uses free primary and secondary schooling as an example to explain his second solution.
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).
College tuition has skyrocketed over the past decades making the pathway to college less accessible to low-income families. According to the
With the ever-increasing tuition and ever-tighten federal student aid, the number of students relying on student loan to fund a college education hits a historical peak. According to a survey conducted by an independent and nonprofit organization, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with loans in 2010, and each of them carried an average of $25,250 in debt. (Reed et. al., par. 2). My research question will focus on the profound effect of education debt on American college graduates’ lives, and my thesis statement will concentrate on the view that the education policymakers should improve financial aid programs and minimize the risks and adverse consequences of student loan borrowing.
The increasing cost of higher education in the United States has been a continuing topic for debate in recent decades. American society emphasizes the importance of education after high school, yet the cost of higher education and advanced degrees continually rises at a greater rate than inflation in the 1970’s. According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, cost factors prevent 48% of college-qualified high school graduates from pursuing further education (McKeon, 2004, p. 45). The current system requires the majority of students to accumulate extensive debt with the expectation that they gain rewarding post-graduate employment to repay their loans.
Colleges are noticing a drop in students’ interest in a higher education, because it forces them to fall into poverty. Obtaining a higher education is a dream of many working class citizens, but the price to go to a choice college is not available economically. The majority of students use some type of student loan, they have become the norm for attending college (Johnston, Roten 24). College is becoming unaffordable to many lower class students. With tuition prices this high, students are backing out of school and looking for jobs that only require a high school diploma. Student loans should help people, but it is only hurting them because they feel like they can never repay it. Especially since student debt continues to rise. “Student loan debt rose by 328 percent from $241 million in 2003 to $1.08 trillion in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York” (Johnston, Roten 25).
Families are now aiming low when it comes to college- or are simply not going at all. Money could play a huge part in this decision- after all, the cost of college has skyrocketed over the years, and so has the amount of student loan debt. This is something even Leonhardt admits, stating that, because of this, only about 33 percent of young adults get a four-year college degree today, while another 10 percent receive a two-year degree (Leonhardt). And even though many colleges offer financial aid packages, that money may soon be cut and the cost of college will continue to grow. It is true that, in my personal experience, just because a student is awarded financial aid does not mean they have a golden ticket to University. This leaves many desperate students the only option of taking out as many loans as they think they can handle- often more than they should. Debt is not a new issue for America, but it is still a problem. Although David Autor, an M.I.T. economist, laments: “not sending [young adults] to college would be a disaster”, no one can ignore the rising rates of loan defaults, and some think it
It’s hard to think that at one point in a America college was but only a myth for the working class. It wasn’t needed. After high it was either the army or you get a job. But this AMerica is a very different one. Women can work, the draft is no longer and college is considered a necessity for survival. But with that said, controversy surrounds it. As the price of college increase and the “need” for it does the same people find more ways and reasons to avoid it. In the article, “Even for Cashiers College Pays Off” from The New York Times, it displays the media’s backlash on the ideology of college. Leonhardt writes, “ Television, newspapers, and blogs are filled with the case that
Presently, the availability of educational opportunities at the college and university level is a critical state and personal interest given the needs of the state for a well-educated workforce which has never been greater. Too many, the focal point of attending college is receiving a high paying job in the future. Unfortunately, in most states, tuition is on the rise and students who come from low-income families find themselves struggling to fund their education. According to legislatures, “The cost of college in New Jersey, as in the nation, continues to grow faster than the rate of inflation.” (State of New Jersey 1). In the national financial aid policy resources that are typically given to the neediest families are shifting towards
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.
As many young millennials rally behind Bernie Sanders and his outlandish claims of free public college for all, others sigh and shake their heads in disapproval. Are these college students really entitled to free higher education? Is it every American’s unalienable right to have a college education? Despite the recent push for free college in the United States, the economic burden and drop in personal responsibility it would create proves that colleges should maintain their current tuitions.
According to a study by a team of researchers at the University of Albany, 19% to 21% of white students with student loans defaulted (failed to pay on time), whereas, 33% to 56% of African Americans defaulted (Volwein et al. 1998: 216). The report cites loans and especially loan defaults as a source of extreme stress and pressure to succeed that often detract from academic achievement instead of aiding it (Volkwein et al. 1998). This is evident in the data provided by the United States Board of Education that showed black students GPA (2.47 average) to be .41 points lower than the white student average of 2.88 (2009). Interestingly, even those who do perform similarly to their white counterparts are less likely to reap the benefits of their success. A research team at Georgetown University found, “Among African-American and Hispanic college students who score more than 1200 out of the possible 1600 points on the SAT/ACT, 57% eventually get a certificate, an Associate’s degree, or a Bachelor’s degree or better; for white students the percentage rises to 77%” (VerBruggen 2013: 1). This statistic, along with all others from the quantitative side of literature on this issue, blatantly point out the disparity in access to academic resources, academic performance before and during college, stress caused by student loans, and opportunities following college between white and minority
The increasing cost of higher education in the United States has been a continuing topic for debate in recent decades. American society emphasizes the importance of education after high school, yet the cost of undergraduate and advanced degrees continually rises at a greater rate than inflation. According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, cost factors prevent 48% of college-qualified high school graduates from pursuing further education (McKeon, 2004, p. 45). The current system requires the majority of students to accumulate extensive debt with the expectation that they gain lucrative post-graduate employment to repay their loans.
“Unlike other subjects that may require work and effort to understand, people tend to think they know what education is. It is familiar topic: a word in the daily use. It’s all around us. We go to college or university to get educated. We entrust our children to schools in the belief that they will become knowledgeable and skilled” (Wood 11). Evidently, education is a long-term process, which almost all people must experience in life. So that, the choices associated with major, future job or kind of programs are controversial problems in general public, especially the issue of whether or not Co-operative (Co-op) education is better than traditional (Non Co-op) programs. Additionally, it is also implied that Co-operative program is known as
Nowadays, education is becoming one of the fundamental things in a human lifetime; most people are trying to achieve a higher education. As technology develops considerably, it has bearings on every area of our life, even in the way of education. The development of technology has a large impact on education. Before this progression of technology, the education system was only traditional. Currently, the education system has been changed. The development of technology has allowed the education system online along with traditionally. Traditional and online instructions are both great ways to learn. While both types of instructions have the same purpose of educating students having good skills about everything, but there are some significant differences between them such as flexibility, learning the course content, communication, and the cost.