Posted on 11/29/2011 8:06:19 AM PST by UltraConservative
Young people spend their time in college getting high, getting drunk, and getting off. So why shouldn’t they major in it? This seems to be the philosophy of Yale University, where a doctoral candidate is leading a course titled “Dance Music and Nightlife Culture in New York City.” The class includes DJ speakers, trips to chic clubs Le Bain and the Boom Boom Room, and a seminar on “Looks, Doors and Guest Lists: Getting Past the Velvet Rope.” The teacher, Madison Moore, says he’s worried “about whether people will think this is serious. But it’s not just about getting drunk. It’s about the history of it, the Harlem cabarets, understanding race, gender, sex, Prohibition and the law.” For just the bargain basement price of $53,070per annum, you can attend Yale and partake in such glorious and insightful learning.
With a $200,000+ degree in Clubbing, no wonder so many college students are joining Occupy Wall Street, where they are calling for jobs commensurate with their educational achievements. The problem is this: they already have jobs commensurate with their educational achievements. They are sitting in a park doing nothing for no pay. Sounds fair when all you know how to do is bat your eyelashes at bouncers.
I agree - great post!
My oldest has been self-supporting since she was 18, but the next one ... well, he's not 18 yet, but I still feel rather grateful that he doesn't go on the carpet ...
Agree with your statement!
I have 2 boys in college now! Oldest received his Associate in Science - Computer Programming (magma cume laude) and will receive his Bachelors Degree in May. He knows his education is expensive and important.
My next son just finished his first term at WPI with all A’s working towards a degree in Interactive Media and Game design. Again, it’s all in what you put into your own self worth.
I think parents have a lot to do with how their children look at their education. Anything you receive in life requires working hard to receive. It’s a struggle every day, hopefully they will do better in life than I was afforded. They know this and they respect this!
High schools do not award or confer degrees. The proper expression is “high school diploma”. The diploma merely will state that the student has completed the program.
Colleges and universities award degrees. You are right, however, the college **diploma** will plainly state what **degree** has been conferred.
We require a BS degree for a lab position paying $40k a year.
Most of the people have $65K in debt.
You can make more with less debt on the plant floor after four years of seniority.
I’m a stay at home mom, and I’m glad I have a college degree. First, I worked for 10 years as a software engineer, and that is where I met my husband (a fellow engineer). That right there makes my degree worth it.
However as a mom, it’s great toe able to help my kids with all their homework or have discussions with my kids about what they are learning.
One of my daughters has a brain injury and my husband has cancer, I’m the one that researches health issues. It’s helped to have my degree.
I need to go back to work, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find something even though I haven’t worked in years.
In my office, I would **not** interview anyone with a high school diploma. The reason is that I had wasted far too much time with illiterates and innumerates with high school diplomas. I required some community college just to assure that the applicant could read. (Even with some community college most of my employees were incapable of doing fractions or decimals.) This was for a job that any eight grade graduate of my mother's era could have **easily** done!
If someone could have shown that they pasted the AP exam in history, English, calculus, chemistry, or other similar exams, I absolutely would have given them an interview without having a high school diploma or community college courses.
The point is, that there are likely many employers who are in similar situations. They really don't care about the degree awarded. They merely want smart and motivated employees. Most work done in the U.S. is exactly that type of work.
IMHO, it's a great investment for a mother. BTW, my wife is home with the kids, and I met her in college, so maybe I'm biased. I see the value anyway.
Verizon requires a college degree for new sales associates. Not that the degree conveys any special skills, but in this economy they can pick and it’s a simple filter to weed out the numbest of the numbskulls.
Given current societal trends - you are spot on.
Which will be more in demand - club director for insanely stupid trendy crap - or tool and die manufacturer/mfg engineer?
Easy one.
The first is a growth industry.
Fine. However gratuitous it may be, if someone is willing to shell out that kind of money for it, more power to Harvard for providing the very best education therein money can buy. Yes, supply and demand. There’s a whole lotta high quality useless stuff out there, and I don’t begrudge anyone doing a good job creating it and charging what willing buyers will spend.
OWS demanding the rest of us pay for it, well, that’s a different story. Don’t conflate the issues.
Indeed. If nothing else, a degree proves you can tackle a multi-year full-time project and complete it to the satisfaction of multiple experts. ...even if it’s a Harvard BS in Clubbing - I bet a remarkable number drop out.
Now we have match.com and google.com. Given enough time and an internet connection anyone can now get a perfect score on an IQ test. Given a teleprompter anyone can now be President, born in the USA or not apparently.
Like any job, basic tools & skills are easy. Doing it WELL takes practice & talent. For DJs, that’s being able to research thousands of current & classic & emerging songs, keep them all straight & categorized, understand the subjective juxtaposition of various factors, understand an audience’s desires & expectations, mix & modify & transition songs in creative ways, “work the crowd”, and generally do it all in a way which pumps you up as a brand name people will pay a lot for. Tiesto is among the best; trust me, some are a lot better than others.
Unlike, say, just spinning records. That’s boring.
Takes a certain level of skill & intelligence to abuse tools to their fullest.
Almost no one drops out of Harvard or flunks out. They are selective in admissions, but they also are not particularly challenging as an undergraduate institution.
He would derail the age-driven track of staying in school a certain number of years even if you didn't have to, or even if no amount of education was going to sink in.
If reading Faulkner puts you to sleep, no worries, go learn a trade. Hey, we need good mechanics a helluva lot more than we need more Faulkner experts. If you can pass all your courses by 14, great, take your diploma and go on to college. No waiting around to complete your gym class and health class requirements.
What I call a world class DJ is one who is world renown in dance music circles. An exceptional DJ not only spins records but incorporated original music, drum loops, effects and mixes records. They also know how to work a crowd, i.e. not playing too many big records in a row and making their set more than simply a succession of the records that they play. I don’t move in those circles any more but it is similar to the difference between a bunch of musicians playing together and a band that is at the top of their game.
I never heard of the guy till now and checked out Youtube.
Is that what's called "Techno music"? I like it but it's so mesmerizing and the concerts with the lights......whew!
I could see anyone in attendance to one of those concerts spending an entire night until they either collapsed or the music stopped........
That kinda creeps me out........
What’s next, a Doctorate in Purse Snatching?
Maybe one can not go to college at all, but quitting after the fact is the worst thing one can do. There’s already the student loan to pay off.
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