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College educations creating plenty of debt but not much skill
Coach is Right ^ | 2/24/13 | Jerry Todd

Posted on 02/24/2013 8:41:12 AM PST by Oldpuppymax

Our children’s opportunities to learn based on technological advances has been more than offset by the loss of appreciation of literature and the humanities – including history, theology, philosophy and even economics. Our old friend Jon T. Barton, a classical violinist wrote an 800 page 2 volume work called “The Bible in Western Literature.” He co-authored with attorney John Whitehead a 1981 book, “Schools on Fire” – a prophetic work warning of the now deplorable and unnecessarily expensive condition of American education.

I met a young man recently with a degree in “Environmental Studies” from screwball UCal/Santa Cruz, home of the Banana Slugs. His student loan is $90,000 and he still can’t get a job. His girlfriend has a degree in Psychology and is...

(Excerpt) Read more at coachisright.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education; History; Society
KEYWORDS: collegeeducation; skills; studentloans; unemployment
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To: Oldpuppymax
I met a young man recently with a degree in “Environmental Studies” from screwball UCal/Santa Cruz, home of the Banana Slugs. His student loan is $90,000 and he still can’t get a job.

Well, it DOES qualify him for honest work...


21 posted on 02/24/2013 9:51:11 AM PST by freedumb2003 (I learned everything I needed to know about racism from Colin Powell)
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To: concerned about politics
Right to work legislation is slowly cleaning things up.

It is but now the "hero" of RTW in Michigan is back to pushing green tech.
22 posted on 02/24/2013 9:54:47 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Oldpuppymax

You are trained to do a job. You are educated to be a good citizen.


23 posted on 02/24/2013 9:57:47 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: freedumb2003

A garbageman makes good money for an honest job. Back in about 85 I was making $9 an hour and that was in the days of actually hefting garbage cans.


24 posted on 02/24/2013 10:04:38 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Oldpuppymax

Our neighbor kid with liberal Canadian parents is going to get a degree in Philosophy. “Would you like fries with that? And why do fries exist?”


25 posted on 02/24/2013 10:05:01 AM PST by DungeonMaster (How does God feel about gay marriage?)
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To: central_va

I believe that the areas of study originally intended for the land grant colleges is, with rare exceptions, what schools should be teaching:

Engineering, animal science, agronomy, hard sciences, military science.

The hard fact is that the US economy needs exactly zero “english” or “history” majors. We need less than zero “womyn’s studies” or “critical literature” graduates.

We could add two years onto most high school programs and teach everything about business that anyone would need to know and turn them loose into industry, where industry would have to put some specific knowledge into their heads... and the kids would be able to start life without a crushing debt load.


26 posted on 02/24/2013 10:10:24 AM PST by NVDave
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To: cripplecreek
College should be for those who can afford it without any state or federal help and the very best and brightest students.

Do you not realize that the best and brightest students can constitute a group who CANNOT afford college without state or federal help?

27 posted on 02/24/2013 10:11:54 AM PST by OldPossum
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To: OldPossum
Do you not realize that the best and brightest students can constitute a group who CANNOT afford college without state or federal help?

And that is where private and corporate scholarships come in. Those paying for the scholarships won't waste their money on anything less than the best and brightest.
28 posted on 02/24/2013 10:15:23 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: blueunicorn6
You are trained to do a job. You are educated to be a good citizen.

That's profound. The "good citizen" part was tossed into the trash back in the 1960s when "progressive reformers" in the Bill Ayers mold were allowed to gain a stranglehold on the American education system. I've watched helplessly for 40 years as the Marxist point of view has largely replaced traditional American values and loyalty in the name of "political/environmental activism."

Nikita Khrushchev was essentially right when he declared: "We will bury you." The Marxists did it in the classroom and via "popular culture," not the battlefield.

29 posted on 02/24/2013 10:28:56 AM PST by Bernard Marx
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To: concerned about politics

i think MIT has all their course online for free or maybe just all the lectures. no “piece of paper” but lots of learning. also THE GREAT COURSES series of dvds.


30 posted on 02/24/2013 10:32:17 AM PST by bravo whiskey (“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.”)
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To: cripplecreek

I knew you would bring up the subject of scholarships. I have no data but I would highly suspect that there are not nearly enough scholarships available to pay for the multitudes of very bright and ambitious students out there.

Since you have never darkened the door of a college classroom, you do not know that there are more expenses involved than just the tuition, which is what a scholarship typically covers.. It’s unusual for a scholarship to cover room and board. The cost of textbooks (which are very pricey) is a consideration. Also, there are daily living expenses (you know, clothing, health care, some entertainment—going on dates—etc.) involved, too.

On a personal note, I got a couple scholarships and I borrowed $2,200 for tuition, room and board, from the government in the years 1962-1966 to go to college. I was lucky—and it was extreme luck—to be able to cover my other costs, which I did with a great part-time job: being a disk jockey on radio stations in the area. But here’s the rub: how many great part-time work opportunities that I got are out there? I think: damn few.

You’re just hung up on this “get government out of education” meme.


31 posted on 02/24/2013 10:32:51 AM PST by OldPossum
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To: central_va

“Unless you study engineering, pre-med, math or sciences college is not really worth it. These are non PC majors and you actually use what you learn in your career. Most profs in these areas are non political..”

BINGO!

I read the first threads - about 25 or so, and you hit the nail on the head. I might add economics to the list of sensible courses, but that one is subject to PC profs too, although at least that topic has diversity of thought yet.


32 posted on 02/24/2013 10:33:58 AM PST by Gumdrop
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To: Bernard Marx
The Marxists did it in the classroom and via "popular culture," not the battlefield.

Watch the election results on those state level elected education races. Sadly less than half the republicans who voted for Mitt Romney even bothered to vote in those races and we handed every one of them to democrats in Michigan. That was the state board of education seats and all the top governing body seats at both UofM and MSU.

I've found that most FReepers don't even know that such races exist or don't understand that straight ticket votes leave many of those ballot slots empty if there are more than just 1 GOP or conservative candidate.
33 posted on 02/24/2013 10:40:08 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: OldPossum
You’re just hung up on this “get government out of education” meme.

And they're doing a bang up job at it too. LOL
34 posted on 02/24/2013 10:41:47 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Sgt_Schultze

“Permit student education debt to be discharged in bankruptcy and the bogus degrees will disappear. Eliminate federal tuition assistance or guarantees and college costs will plummet.”
Totally agree with this statement, but what about the football? The uneducated football yutes have to have a chance to play futboll!
The hi sculls are all set up for futboll to make the yutes happy. And every university is spending millions on the stupid football programs.
The education system is a scam. Taking money and placing young people in debt for useless degrees.
Sad, just sad I tell ya!


35 posted on 02/24/2013 10:48:42 AM PST by 9422WMR
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To: 9422WMR

Look at Hillsdale college. One of the best liberal arts schools in the country because it isn’t buried under the weight of federal regulations that come with taking federal money.

They recently stopped offering teaching degrees to students who didn’t already have a 4 year degree. They said its because America is producing too many teachers who don’t know how to do anything but teach.


36 posted on 02/24/2013 10:55:56 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: Bernard Marx

I could even grudgingly have a little respect for the Democrats if they truly were Marxists. Then, they would just be misguided. The Democrats aren’t Marxists. They throw out enough socialism to win the votes of the low information voters. Is Nancy Pelosi a Marxist? Is Harry Reid a Marxist? Is Max Baucus a Marxist? There is absolutely no evidence that the leaders of the Democrat party are Marxists. So, if it’s not ideology that motivates them to seek these elected jobs, then what is it? Look at the size of the government treasuries. That’s where the big money is. Who is going to miss a few billion off those budgets? The leaders of the Democrat party are Con Men.....Grifters........thieves. The leaders of the Democrat party are nothing more than loud-mouthed bullies out to enrich themselves from the taxpayers.


37 posted on 02/24/2013 10:59:36 AM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: DungeonMaster

“Our neighbor kid with liberal Canadian parents is going to get a degree in Philosophy.”

I too know a Canadian couple (living in the U.S.) who has a son who wants a degree in Philosophy! Must be something in the water up there.


38 posted on 02/24/2013 12:18:19 PM PST by vladimir998
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To: blueunicorn6

If you look at the leaders of communist/marxist nations, few if any have been willing to live under the very form of government they support (supports them). Actually the same can be said for a fairly wide cross segment of society in those nations to varying degrees.

I wouldn’t be so quick to give the democrat leadership a pass on being marxist because they’re no more or less marxist than any other self described marxist leader.

Marxism is for the little people.


39 posted on 02/24/2013 12:48:08 PM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: 9422WMR
College athletics is a bum deal. Both basketball and football use colleges as a minor league training grounds. Some players go on to lucrative careers. There are plenty more though who leave college uneducated and under employable. I've long advocated a system which strips away the facade of amateurism that permits athletes to attend the college and take limited courses during their eligibility. After the expiration of eligibility, those student-athlete role-players who cannot make the pros will be guaranteed the remainder of their time to complete their education. No extra charges. Their scholarship will include the degree.

Coaches derive profits from the student-athletes, the NCAA derives profits from the sale of student memorabilia, colleges derive profit from television revenue earned on the backs of the student athletes. Yet the student athlete is expected to accept any education he can squeeze into his full time job of conditioning, practice and games as payment in full for their services as athletic entertainers.

40 posted on 02/24/2013 1:08:48 PM PST by Sgt_Schultze (A half-truth is a complete lie)
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