Dear Honorable Titian: I understand the House of Representatives of the United States has just passed a bill which would do away with federal grants to college students. I am currently enrolled in college and depend greatly on the grants I receive. These grants allow great opportunity, for not just me, but for many other students as well. Taking them away would cause problems in several areas. The passage of the “Pick the Public’s Pocket No More” bill would lower college application rates, lower college graduation rates, and lower our country’s number of new college graduates for open positions in the work force.
Murray and Ungar Synthesis In the many recent debates about how to approach higher education, one issue that has constantly appears is the question of students benefiting from a liberal arts based education. Some argue that a liberal arts education is helpful in teaching students the basic life skills, others claim that a more specific field of study is necessary in order to b successful in life. In Ungar’s essay “the New Liberal Arts”, he claims that with a liberal arts education, students can benefit tremendously when they receive their jobs. In Murray’s essay “Are Too Many People Going to College”, he proclaims that a liberal arts degree is not highly recommended because the more difficult careers want students to take classes that are more specific to a job. Sanford J. Ungar and Charles Murray both conduct and display their own opinion towards the facts they learned through their own strenuous research.
Although most people go to college to earn a degree, going to college is not necessarily the best choice for everyone. He says that if some students are not getting their money’s worth in college, they should go to vocational school to be better prepared rather than going to college that’s not worth it for them. Some people could argue that it is unnecessary to make everyone go to college, high school graduates will be better prepared by continuing their education to get theoretical and practical knowledge for their careers. I decided to be a freshman in college this year because I wanted to prepare myself for a good career in the future by learning knowledge in the specific field I want to be. I also like to learn, my second reason to continue my education.
He goes on to say in the second misperception, “college graduates are finding it harder to get good jobs with liberal arts degrees”, but “the recession has no differentiated among major fields of study in its impact” (192). Ungar believes students who focus on one particular field of study do not learn necessities such as writing and literary texts, and this puts them at a disadvantage when compared to a liberal arts graduate. While long-standing jobs, such as doctors and lawyers, will not become extinct soon, liberal arts graduates have a better chance of employment in most areas. 95% of employers surveyed would give hiring preference to graduates with skills to contribute in the workplace. 74% would recommend a liberal arts education to a young person they know today, so they will be prepared for success in today’s global economy.
College provides us with the knowledge and credibility that employers seek in this demanding world today. However a huge debate has to be brought to attention if going to college and receiving a bachelor’s degree should be a requirement to even get your foot in the door or be considered for a job. An interesting point of view on the bachelor’s degree being a job requirement is in the essay “Should The Obama Generation Drop Out?” by Charles Murray. Murray is a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, has written on social issues and published a book in 2008 regarding real education. I think Murray’s point of views will change a lot of people and the way they see education as a primary resource to qualify to get a good job.
We were all somehow exposed to different backgrounds, as well as lifestyles. Therefore, it’s safe to say that the statement “Is College for Everyone” doesn’t imply to certain people who were raised to think otherwise. However, Pharinet seems to think that most kids should consider not going to college at all. Pharinet went on to explain how most students will find themselves working full-time jobs to help pay the expenses of college, in result their grades begins to drop. Then the student decides to drop to a part-time worker, register for less class hours to find more time to work on improving their grades.
Our political leaders and Delbanco can both concur that a liberal education is important, but can both see eye to eye that it is what the future economy will be built off of. In our nation it has become more and more difficult for our citizens to attain this college degree, because it is becoming less and less affordable. Alongside both parties, most American’s can agree that a liberal education is important, but neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party have made any significant change to better the liberal education system. According to the Obama Administration, President Obama has “proposed incentives for states to maintain their commitments to higher education through a new $1 billion investment” (“Keeping Costs Down”), and Obama has failed to accomplish his proposal. Obama needs to manage the budget a bit more wisely, because the more funding put towards the liberal education system, the more our economy will flourish.
I’ve noticed that that a college degree is now starting to be looked at as a regular accomplishment not. High school use to be the one big thing but I feel you have to make it through college in order to find a good job in today’s economy. I’ve had many friends graduate from college and not find a use of their bachelor’s degree. I believe you can still make it with a college degree but if you want to be successful for sure you may have to further your education with a PHD or a Master’s degree. I feel like there isn’t many jobs out there for people and if there is you’re on the same list with about ten others and it all comes down to who has a better resumay.
In the past, one could support their family without a college education and still have the means to live comfortably. However that is not the case anymore. In today’s society all of the high paying jobs require and demand college experience. These jobs that are at the high paying end of the spectrum have changed their basic requirements because of technology rapidly increasing day by day, getting more complicated and difficult-which makes them want to make sure that their employees are properly trained. This however, does not sit well with people who are becoming unemployed or who have seniority at their current jobs.
There are thousands of jobs that provide family sustaining wages and better in every state that go unfilled due to a lack of skilled labor. Longer term, higher education is necessary for training individuals to create an intellectual culture, allowing more widespread collective problem solving and global thought. Also discussed are potential divides that educational tracks may create. The research is based on a books, articles blogs and a TED talk written from varying viewpoints, and from knowledge gained during my own undergraduate liberal arts education and professional experiences. Conclusions are that this balance is necessary for economic progress and national trust.