Posted on 06/23/2009 3:24:03 PM PDT by jazusamo
Even if the "stimulus" package doesn't seem to be doing much to stimulate the economy, it is certainly stimulating many potential recipients of government money to start lining up at the trough. All you need is something that sounds like a "good thing" and the ability to sell the idea.
A perennial "good thing" is education. So it is not surprising that leaders of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities have come out with an assertion that "the U.S. should set a goal of college degrees for at least 55 percent of its young adults by 2025."
Nothing is easier in politics than setting some arbitrary goal— preferably based on numbers— and go after it, in utter disregard of the costs or the repercussions. That is how we got into the housing boom and bust, by mindlessly pursuing ever-higher statistics of home ownership. The same political game can be played by making ever higher miles per gallon the goal for automobiles, ever more "open space," ever more— you name it.
Sometimes these open-ended political crusades can be given some semblance of rationality by referring to other countries that have bigger numbers in whatever is the goal du jour.
The representatives of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities point to the fact that, in countries like Canada, Korea and Japan, "more than 50 percent of young adults hold college degrees" while only 41 percent do in the United States.
No reason is given why one of these numbers is better than another. Apparently the implicit assumption is that education is a "good thing" that it is always better to have more of. But, if that is the case, why 55 percent rather than 75 percent, 95 percent or 100 percent?
Even food is not a "good thing" categorically, without limit. We can't live without it but, beyond some point, it causes obesity and shortens our lives.
A certain amount of education is undoubtedly very beneficial for some people but, at some point, enough is enough, even for geniuses. For each individual, depending on that individual's interests and dedication as well as ability, the time comes to leave the classroom and go out into the real world.
It is not just dummies who reach the point when it makes sense for them to "drop out" of education. Michael Dell of Dell computers and Bill Gates of Microsoft both dropped out of college, and neither of them seems to be doing badly.
Given the composition of the population as it is— which is always what we have to start with— what evidence is there that too few or too many are going to college?
As someone who spent years teaching at colleges and universities for students who ranked in the country's top 10 percent, I nevertheless encountered many students whose interest in intellectual matters was less than overwhelming, to put it charitably.
Many were bright enough but often gave the impression that they would rather be somewhere else, doing something else. Some of their teachers also thought that they should be somewhere else, doing something else.
During my first semester of teaching, my grading standards caused most students like that to transfer out by the second semester. Teaching the other students during the second semester was a sheer joy and I continued to get letters from them over the years, even after I had moved on to other institutions. In other words, the departure of the dead wood made the class better.
Far weightier evidence than anecdotal personal experiences, however, are the statistics on how many students actually graduate.
The American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think-tank, has recently published statistics on what percent of a given college's students manage to graduate in the course of six years.
There are colleges where at least four-fifths of the students graduate in that time and other colleges where at least four-fifths of the students fail to graduate in that time.
Considering the enormous costs of maintaining a student in college— whether that cost is paid by parents, the taxpayers, or the students themselves— an open-ended call for "more" seems like too many other open-ended commitments that have run up record national debts without any corresponding benefits.
Why not set the goal at 100%? The government could just hand out a college degree to every kid when they turn 21. These degrees would mean just about as much as most of the degrees being handed out by "institutions of higher learning" right now.
I love this guy. I also agree that the premise that everyone needs a degree is accepted far too readily in the US. People go $200K in debt to get a job that initially pays $30K so they can learn the profession for real. Also, I think apprenticeship should make a comeback in the trades. A lot of people would get an education more in line with their interests and abilities at far less monetary and social cost to them and to society.
The bad thing is these losers who are lining up to get welfare are burning fossil fuels to get there. If we could just figure out a way to pay people to do nothing with them having a smaller carbon footprint...
Absolutely, and to include many professions. More emphasis should also be put on good trade schools.
In my town, there's a man (50ish) who runs a shoe repair store. He actually sells a variety of high quality leather goods. Some are his own work, and some are resold from others. He has far more work than he can handle, and his business is very successful.
He told me that he has been looking for an apprentice for years. He thinks he could teach almost any motivated youngster to become an expert like himself. With an apprentice, he could take on more work, and take more time off. He would have a ready made buyer, when it came time to sell his business.
Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to find anyone. There are probably dozens (maybe even hundreds) of kids in our town, who would probably do better as his apprentice, than by going to college.
I believe I just saw that only 53% of those attending college actually graduate....after 6 years
And then there are some with too much education and not enough common sense:
You nailed that, Zer0 is overeducated by 10.
Thomas Sowell for Global Dictator!
And the real kicker is that as an apprentice instead of a college student they’re getting indoctrinated in the values that lead to conservatism instead of kneejerk liberal moonbattery. Come to think of it, that’s probably why they want to make sure 55% have degrees.
I am a college teacher. Sowell is right on. A college degree is not evidence of intellectual accomplishment or much else. It is more akin to a very expensive driver’s license that has no capacity to guarantee the skill or competence of a driver.
To the point of having forgotten basic arithmetic.
He may know a bit about the Frankfurt School or Alinskyite social theory and the postmodernism of Critical Legal Studies they taught him at Harvard but common sense and basic arithmetic seem to have fallen out the window some time ago.
Like Mao Tse Tung’s “Five Year Plans”.
Absolutely. I know several guys who got degrees and then discovered that they were far happier as electricians, plumbers, in construction, or some such trade.
We don't steer young people to a career anymore. We steer them to college and only then to decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives. The only ones who benefit are the professors.
the departure of the dead wood made the class better.
And the leftists who are turning our kids against America and American values on OUR freakin nickel.
Love it! He tells it like it is. :)
Thanks for the ping.
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