Why college shouldn’t take 4 years The article “Why College Shouldn’t take 4 Years” published by Newsweek, Lamar Alexander begins by comparing college to the big four in the auto industry. Alexander compares college and an industry as a business that needs to be reformed before something bigger and better takes its place. He says that college is stuck in the past with the fall and spring semester model and can be reformed to a more intensive year around schooling for more efficient use of the school buildings. Other problems he brings up are tenure, which destroys new ideas, and tuition expenses, which is due to the decrease of governmental funding to colleges. Alexander then brings up the idea of three year degrees and how they save money for students. This could be done by increasing the workload per year or having students to start acquiring credits earlier like in high school. The down sides he brings up are the students have less time to grow up and try new things but it still something that should be offered …show more content…
Newsweek gives questions to debate over that centers around the three year degree. The beginning they talk about the brokenness of higher education which led to debating over three years of college. Hansen presents that three year degrees have always been an option so if anyone wanted one then it is right there. Cost is brought up which is a plus for three year degrees but some people in the debate don’t see it as an issue. They then debate the readiness of the student and ask what high schools can do to improve upon it. Zemsky brings up that high school seniors should be given college courses and Ravitch says that high schools should ditch the “no child left behind” idea. Later they debate of online college as well but state that it does not change
Is college still important and relevant? The question is answered and confirmed when Liz Addison, author of “Two Years Are Better than Four”, wrote a counter argument in order to disprove the opposing views of Rick Perlstein, the author of, “What’s the Matter with College”. The topic that is being brought to light is the subject of whether or not college still matters. Perlstein that college is no longer what it used to be. It was after reading Perlstein’s article that Addison masterfully wrote her counter argument which successfully contradicted the opinionated, inaccurate views of Rick Perlstein.
In Charles Murray’s article, “Down With the Four-Year College Degree”, he discusses how he believes the four year degree is ruining college education. Murray exemplifies the ludicrousness of the four year degree when he says: Imagine that you have been made a member of a task force to design America’s post-secondary education system from scratch. One of your colleagues submits this proposal: First, we will set up a single goal to represent educational success, which will take four years to achieve no matter what is being taught. We will attach an economic reward to it that often has nothing to do with what has been learned.
In Should The Obama Generation Drop Out Charles Murray talks about the flaws found in the Obama education plan . He brings to the attention of the public the fact that many student in America graduate lacking the skills necessary for the proper college education. Murray goes on to argue that in today 's society students who graduate from High-school go on to technical college to pursue a vocational education in their field of study; whereas, older generations have pursued an all around education, enrolling in classes that were irrelevant to the career they were pursuing. Murray claims that if you test the vast majority of Americans (including himself) in the more rigorous subjects, they would most likely fail. Murray mentions that he does
Granted, she may not have had access to the proper resources and information in 1975 compared to the numerous recent studies that exist today. Nevertheless, the evidence she used in “College is a Waste of Time and Money” did not adequately persuade her readers in the right direction. In fact, she began influencing me to believe the opposite due to her unsupported notions, questionable word choice, and inconclusive data. Overall, I do not believe that Bird’s evidence was strong enough to convince her audience that college is a waste of anything at
She claims the “No Child Left Behind” system is to blame for the problems with the American School System and that many of the problems will be solved if it is stopped. She believes this systems’ “simpleminded and singular focus on test scores distorts and degrades the meaning and practice of education.” (Ravitch) All students have different learning styles and needs. Because of this the school system only needs to be modified so it fits the individual needs of students.
Liz Addison’s essay, “Two Years Better Than Four,” was first published in the New York Times Magazine back in September of 2007. Addison went to two community colleges and majored in biology; earning her degree in 2008. In her essay, she is responding to Rick Perlstein's article “What’s the Matter with College?” in which he claims, “College as America used to understand it is coming to an end” (211). Addison refutes Perlstein’s claims by saying, “My guess, reading between the lines, is that Mr. Perlstein has never set foot in an American community college” (212).
You must understand that most people that go to college do not get the degree they want in the timespan they are hoping to get it “only 21% of first-time, full-time students earn an associate’s degree within three years” (Weise). many people don 't finish college even when paying all the expensive costs ,“The 2013 6-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time undergraduate students who began their
In Charles Murray’s essay “Are Too Many People Going to College,” he believes that the concept of college has changed over the years. According to him, a four-year college is no longer as necessary as it was when it was first created because most jobs requires more on job training. He also adds to his reasoning by mentioning that because of the advancement of internet, physical libraries and the physical proximity of student and teachers is less important. Because of the changes he noticed he believes that people should go to college but not for liberal education. He makes the claim that the basic core knowledge of liberal education should be learned in elementary and middle school and that only people with high academic abilities should be encouraged to go to college.
The general argument made by author Charles Murray in his article, “Are too many people go to college,” is that the college is not necessary for everyone. More specifically, the Murray argues that students who went to school should have learned the core knowledge they will learn in the college. He writes, “ K-8 are the right years to teach the core knowledge, and the effort should get off to a running start in elementary school” (236). In this passage, Murray is suggesting that start teaching the core knowledge in elementary school until high school is better than to spend money and more time to the college. It is not important to go to college.
“3 Reasons College Still Matters” by Andrew Delbanco 3) “Surely, every American college ought to defend this waning possibility, whatever we call it. And an American college is only true to itself when it opens its doors to all - the rich, the middle, and the poor - who have the capacity to embrace the precious chance to think and reflect before life engulfs them. If we are all serious about democracy, that means everyone.” 4) In this part of the writing Andrew Delbanco tries to persuade his audience by using the pattern of logic that agrees with the overall argument but also considers another striking point of view to strengthen the argument (While these arguments are convincing, they must also consider…).
In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.
In “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray offers his opinion on the number of students that pursue a B.A. He believes that two year or four year colleges are not needed for a majority of students who could instead pursue other life paths. He discusses the ability for the general knowledge needed to be learned in primary and secondary school, and for a lessened need for a “brick-and-mortar” institution the problems with the current secondary and higher educational issues including the lessened need to acquire a B.A. All members of society need certain skills in order to be productive members of society. They need to know general facts about the country they live in, general history, and general geography.
During the same period, I know of my friends that decide to continue their education by enrolling in a university and work to complete a Bachelor’s Degree to obtain a job in their specific field. From my experience and perspective, attending a two year college surpass to a university due to tuition and class size.
A rising issue in today’s society is deciding whether or not college is worth the cost. There is an extreme amount of pressure that is forced upon high school students by parents, teachers, and peers to further their education and attend college. However, there is research that challenges the thought that college is the best possible path for a person to take. College may be a great investment for some people, but it is not meant for everyone. This is supported by the arguments that colleges are expensive, jobs do not always require a college degree, and students are forced to choose a lifestyle before being exposed to the real world.
If a person’s parent or guardian drilled the idea of college into your head, or if they told you ‘do what you want’ or ‘I don 't care’, or ‘You’re not going’. While college is great, there are other means of education. The value of college is a low because there are people who do not qualify for a college education, and also because there are other ways of post-secondary education other than college. College is not valuable because many people will not make it into a 2 or 4-year college, much less graduate from one. To support this, in the article Why College Isn 't For Everyone, it says, “As a general rule, I would use graduates in the top quarter of their class at a high-quality high school should go on to a four-year degree program, while those in the bottom quarter of their classes at a high school with a mediocre educational reputation should not.”