Recently, many have begun to attack and degrade higher education in the United States. In the book How College Works, authors Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs claim, “As state support has eroded, and as more students attend college in an increasingly desperate attempt to find viable jobs, the price to students of attending an institution of higher education has gone up, especially at more selective institutions” (172). So is college even worth it? Caroline Bird’s excerpt from her book Case Against College “Where College Fails Us” is an adequately written article that agrees with those who question whether college is a good investment. Bird argues that although some students would benefit from college and succeed, many fall short, wasting
In 1905, a United States social reformer named Florence Kelley fought for child labor laws and improved working conditions for women. In July 1095, Kelley delivered a speech on child labor (and other topics) while in Philadelphia as a part of the National American Woman Suffrage Association convention. Within the speech, Kelley uses many notable rhetorical devices, which will be analyzed in this essay. Perhaps the most noticeable of Kelley’s rhetorical devices is the vast amount of facts and statistics contained within her speech.
In his argument for the establishment of a public school system, Benjamin Rush does not waste any time addressing the obvious issue of taxpayer burden. While acknowledging this would warrant an initial investment, he insists that by establishing a system of public education in America would overtime cut taxes, and taxpayers would see a return on their initial investment [JEH1] [Rush, pg.678]. Rush maintains a position that as we acknowledge the benefits of learning spoken languages of the world, our youth would benefit as much learning the languages of finance and markets. To properly defend our liberties against the throes of tyranny, we must be aware of defending ourselves from economic tyranny. He establishes the potential merits of educating the youth in the matters of economics, arguing it provides “the best security
In the articles, “Is College Worth It” written by David Leonhardt and “Why College Isn’t for Everyone” written by Chris Matthews, both writers build an argument to persuade readers that attending college is for everyone and is a time to emphasize one’s thoughts for the future. In the article, “Is College Worth It”, Leonhardt begins his argument by using statistics. Leonhardt states that, “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree” (Leonhardt, par. 3). This implies that individuals who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher are more likely to earn more money per hour compared to those who do not have a degree.
As a college student who is currently spending thousands of dollars to further my education and achieve a career goal, it was, at first, disheartening to read Caroline Bird ’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money”. However, after thoroughly examining her points, I now see that her essay is illogical. In her piece “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird argues against the idea that “college is the best place for all high-school graduates” (1); in other words, college isn’t for everyone. Throughout her writing, Bird supplies her readers with evidence that explains how, for some individuals, college is a waste of not only time and money, but of intellectual effort, as well.
The American Dream is Still Alive In the article, “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” by Brandon King, he defines the American dream today as “the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life, and save for the future” (611). The origin of the term, “American Dream” dates back to the time of the Great Depression when James Adams created the phrase. His description of the American Dream depicts the scenario were “… life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone… regardless of social class or circumstance of birth” (610-611).
In recent years, the economy and job outlook has become super competitive throughout the States. With so many people seeking and applying for the same job, employers can only afford to hire a very small amount of people. As a result, they choose the best qualified applicant, which most likely means the applicant with the highest education. With competition increasing exponentially, it is becoming more and more difficult to find, let alone keep a job. That is why college is a necessity in today’s society.
“On average, college graduates make significantly more money over their lifetime than those without a degree… What gets less attention is the fact that not all college degrees or college graduates are equal. ”(pg.208 para. 1) Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill are senior researchers at Brookings’ Center on Children and Families, Sawhill is also a senior fellow in economics study at Brookings’. Owen and Sawhill authored the essay, “Should everyone go to College?” The authors use a wide variety of rhetorical devices in the essay, including ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade their audience to take another look at whether college is the right choice for them.
If we made college free for everyone we would be funding the rich. Families that have the money to pay for some or all of the cost of a college education might choose instead to take advantage of free college at a public institution. Amelia Josephson said, “In effect, the government and taxpayers would be subsidizing the rich. Critics of free college who point to this drawback often argue that a more targeted reform subsidizing college for the poor and the middle class would make more sense. They also point to the example of Brazil, a country with free college where wealthy students reap a lot of the benefits of tuition-free education at public universities.”
Living where we live, you begin to comprehend that living off of $11.00 per hour including with your family will never suffice your needs. Getting a college degree can ensure the graduate a higher chance of being able to earn more financially. In the article “Why College Isn't And Shouldn't Have to be For Everyone” by Robert Reich, he states that “A degree from a prestigious university can open doors to elite business schools and law schools-and to jobs paying hundreds of thousands, if not millions. ”Even though Reich’s article is on the opposing side of the argument, he fails to overlook the fact that in the long run having a college degree will, and can open doors to many new opportunities. One of those opportunities is to be able get a well paying job that can earn more than the average non college graduate.
Jose Espinoza Ms.Robledo May 4, 2016 English 1A/ Revised Throughout the years, it has become common to hear cases of students going into debt, and the number of college dropouts has been astounding as well. High school students looking to graduate encounter difficult decisions, and when making those decisions they need to look forward to hypothesize the outcome. America generally believes that a college degree is basically a requirement just for entering the working middle class. According to the essay “Should Everyone Go to College?” by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, higher education is not a great investment for every student.
(Allen, 2011)However, some careers such as sports star, business person and movie star do not require college education. (Director, n.d.)These people are yet considered successful. As a matter of fact, achieving spiritual happiness and being surrounded by friends and family in a successful relationship has nothing to do with college education. (Berger, 2013) Acquiring a college degree is a milestone a lot of people only dream
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.”
It has taken many years for people in society to break out of the norms and expectations of how to grow up and live in the world. A huge factor in this “revolution”: attending college. Whether it is taking a gap year to discover the world and the waiting opportunities, or simply running with it all after high school to work, attending college isn’t considered a given anymore. Now not all cases are the same for every person, therefore they can only decide what is the best path for them after high school. Still, the benefits of a being a college graduate will never be diminished.
Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech Analysis One of the greatest stories about hard work and success came from the genius mind of a college dropout. Steve Jobs gave the commencement speech “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” in 2011 at Stanford University.
