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Higher education

The educated students: global consumer or global citizen by Barber Benjamin

Barber Benjamin explains how significant education has been especially public schooling amongst every potential American. He begins by highlighting how serious John Adams and Thomas Jefferson took the issue of education. Barber asserts that America’s first 200 years showed a good relationship democracy, citizenship and education, an idea that changed after the Civil War. Barber argues that higher education has however been professionalized, bureaucratized, privatized, commercialized, and individualized thus making education informed with popular opinion, advertising, as well as merchandising. He blames commercialization and internet on the poor quality and general distortion of education. Barber believes that America’s experiences including Declaration of Independence 200 years ago and declaration of interdependence should prompt educators to free education from commercialization and privatization and take it back for civic education. He further posits that integrating democracy, independence, self-sufficiency, internationalization and multilateral may help students understand the relationship between education and democracy and further restore liberty and democracy in the world.

Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission? By Andrew Hacker and Claudia DreifusHacker and Dreifus argue that tuition charges have soared in the recent past for both public and private colleges. They believe that funding education puts a heavy burden on parents thus making students to struggle with loans and graduating with huge debts. However, the authors claim that the colleges do not seem to give the value of the money invested. The article makes several recommendations that may make colleges offer quality education to their students. Hacker and Dreifus propose that colleges should employ high quality teachers who can deliver to their clients. They believe that students need to stretch their intellects without worrying of the payoffs that are currently evident amongst many students. They argue that introducing multiyear contracts may make professors more serious than the current tenure that that sees even non-performing professors remaining in the institutions. They also recommended techno teaching, spread of donation amongst students and invest in productive institutions’ leadership.

A Lifetime of Student Debt? Not Likely By Robin Wilson

Robin Wilson addresses the issue of rising students’ debt by highlighting the high pitched campaign that exposes challenges students undergo in their financial future because of the high cost of students’ loans. Students feel that they should be freed of loan repayment obligation although studies show that the issue is not as serious as it is put especially to students who borrow reasonable amount.

However, there are students who borrow more than double the national average because they are from low income families. There are also students who are driven by desire to go to best schools or school of their dreams and do their dream courses. Wilson argues by giving various examples of students who have undergone serious debt challenges including previous studies. The author argues that so many students are suffering because of the higher loans and the majority of students are those coming from poor backgrounds.

Why do you think they’re Called For-Profit Colleges? By Kevin Carey

Carey explains how colleges have been turned to business because they charge a lot of money as fees. The non-profit nature of colleges has faded in the recent past. The author argues that the government’s subsidy and grants are very huge yet colleges only enroll 10% of students. However, many students fail to repay the loans especially students in for-profit colleges. There has been carrying out scrutiny of the colleges that impose unimaginable loan. The proponents of the for-profit institutions have been unable to justify how they consume the cash. He also explains the relationship between amount borrowed by students and the amount charged in college.

Two Years Are Better Than Four by Liz Addison

Liz Addison talks about days when schools really mattered because it transformed people from one level to the other. She provides a number of incidences where she believed college experience of self-discovery greatly mattered. She seems to wonder why goal of education has extremely changed. She argues that the philosophy of community college where people understood that everything is possible. She highlights Jefferson’s belief that life is proportional to education and believes that education is very essential to every individual.

Addison talks about the community college system as an America’s public service gem and the only way to win people was by taking them to college. Going to college was a great community responsibility. She says that college education greatly helps people. Addison thinks that college has since lost meaning to both the individuals and the society. She thinks that community college is still vital to the growth of American as a nation. Community college provides an experience that is better than the four years taken in the university. The college system of education provides the necessary skills required in succeeding in life.

Are Too Many People Going to College? By Charles Murray

Murray talks about the number of people going to college and the fact that America’s university system creates a class driven nation. He feels that college does not provide the necessary skills and knowledge that it should impart the students. Universities no longer make skillful individuals who are capable and cultivated human beings. He believes that acquiring basics of liberal education and the idea that full participation in any culture needs familiarity with a body of core knowledge. Murray thinks that liberal kind of education will transform individuals and impart them with basic knowledge that will let them know everything important. Murray further explains that the core knowledge provided in education tends to glue cultures together thus removing obstacles such as ethnicity. Murray says that the fact that many people go to college is not true and that it does not mean that the students have gained liberal education. The importance of college tends to lose meaning and as long as college education is intellectually significant, it creates unrealistic expectation in the next generation. Education is no longer about money but job satisfaction.

The New Liberal Arts by Sanford UngarSanford Ungar explains about the fact that hard economic times have prompted scrutiny of educational institutions especially liberal education. Liberal education has been very critical in the education system. Misperceptions seem to mislead the critiques who do not understand the significance of education. Critiques believe that liberal arts are too expensive and are regarded as luxurious. Many families are using a lot of money in paying for their children fees. Parents are convinced that liberal arts may help their children acquire great jobs. However, critiques think that liberal arts make it hard for students to acquire good jobs. Many students who have done courses in liberal arts have flooded the market because there is less opportunity available for students.

Another misconception is that liberal arts are irrelevant for low income and first generation college students and that student should focus on more marketable and practical courses that can make them acquire jobs and stay relevant. The author also says that because of the current world, people need to focus on technological disciplines that are relevant instead of arts that do not seem important in the current generation. Other critiques argue that liberal democrats had previously put America into trouble and therefore it is not good to teach the young people doctrines of failures. There is also a notion that America is the only country that has continued with its old fashioned style of education. Moreover, there is notion that the cost of education is escalating yet liberal art colleges do not have effective way of compensating the higher education cost. The higher cost of education needs to be confronted by introducing innovative ways but this is not possible in liberal art colleges.