Posted on 05/24/2009 12:42:08 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
As Nicole Marshall posed for photos on the eve of her commencement, someone joked, "Smile -- think of all the loans you took out for this!" She says she chose St. Michael's, a Catholic liberal arts college near Lake Champlain in Colchester, Vt., because it offered the biggest aid package, "but I'm still leaving with quite a bit of loans" -- about $20,000.
Her debt is a little lighter than the national average for graduates of private, four-year schools who borrow: nearly $23,800 as of 2007, according to the College Board in New York.
But if there's any time that students and parents can take such costs in stride, it's during the heady rush of commencement, when the campus is fragrant with fresh blossoms and abundant hope. For added inspiration to help them focus on the value of learning, these families heard a commencement speech from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Standing head and shoulders above the others on stage, clad in academic regalia, the former basketball player and superintendent of Chicago's public schools acknowledged the costs:
"With those college loans to pay back, you're probably wondering, 'Just how much is a liberal arts education really worth?' Albert Einstein said the value of a liberal arts education is not to learn facts, but to train your mind to think about things that cannot be learned from textbooks. So now you're probably wondering why you spent all that money on textbooks. The point is not that the facts are useless; it's just that the facts alone don't make you educated. It's how you put those facts together and what you do with them that matters. The real value of a liberal arts education is that it teaches you ... how to analyze a situation and make a choice."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Conservative or liberal, if all your son is doing is hooking up or doing drugs, you'd be an idiot to support him in any capacity. We are fortunate that our daughter is getting a very good education in a high demand field and will earn far more than her education has cost.
we are a homeschooling family... i am planning on my children doing some double dipping during high school... taking classes at the local community college while doing high school at home... my friend's daughter graduated from her homeschool with two years of college completed... she started at a university as a junior last fall... i would like my boys to do the same thing...
i've been following this exchange between the two of you with interest... "education" does not have to mean "university/college." in fact, many--not all--but many colleges today will serve your child garbage for a lot of money... talk with any conservative professor... he will likely tell you the same... as a homeschooling parent, i plan on my oldest son taking some online course through "Escondido Tutorials" in the upcoming years... it's classic education at its finest... a homeschool friend of mine had her daughter take these courses... the gal is now in college... the college work is drivel compared to what she's received before college...
education to us is important... no matter what our children become... doctor, lawyer, preacher, mechanic, farmer... and we are hoping for some further formal studies after high school... likely college... however, we will not get into debt for it... we do not see the value in that...
i agree... and our plan all along has been that our children receive this type of educatoin before they begin college...
They are still out there, but I would guess that is it mostly smaller colleges that don’t feel any need to bow down to political correctness. Here is TAC’s curriculum:
http://www.thomasaquinas.edu/curriculum/
Of course I do. However the context of this discussion is economic in nature (eg. "does it pay"). And my thesis is that it does not; that parents are better serving their children by teaching them how to create their own wealth, and use education for self-fulfillment and intellectual exploration.
The curriculum looks fantastic. Is there a fee?
“In his brief speech, Secretary Duncan noted how privileged these graduates are, given how many young people in the US don’t get as far in their education. Almost half who start college don’t finish within six years, he said.”
You said that like it is bad thing.
Fine. That’s not at all the sense I got from your earlier posts, but if we’re just talking economics then you’re entitled to your opinion.
Oddly enough I had discussion with my mom this evening about education.
I come from a large family, 6 bothers and sisters. I am the only one that did not attend University. Went Junior College route. Learned a trade that I no longer practice
I was telling my mom that I regretted not attending University, in that I missed the networking that comes with that particular route.
However since there is no do overs, I have done the next best thing.
I have continued my education outside of classroom.
I read, under rated activity in todays society. I tend towards history, economics,biographies.
Education is out there for anyone who wishes to learn.
So do you think you get the same level and type of knowledge out of independent reading as you would in a classroom?
yes--they run at approximately $250 per semester... so $500 for one class for the year... they really are top-notch... i have attended seminars and webinars where some of the teachers from Escondido Tutorials were the presenters... i wish this were the type of education i had received during my pre-college years...
Chances are that the person doing the “fun” stuff at a company has a Masters or Doctorate.
The reality is when the company's go out of business, merge, or when the product changes, the certification goes down in value. They are also devalued when non-practioners get the cetification. Consder the case with "paper MCSEs" which refers to people who hold the certification, but cannot apply any useful working knowledge to systems.
I agree with John Will - advanced degrees open doors for the business world.
I couldn’t agree more.
You might check into dual credit at your local university or junior college. For junior and senior level courses for high school, our local community college offers free tuition for dual credit - so basically our homeschoolers not only earn college credits but it eliminates the costs of purchasing home school curriculum for two years.
I never understood why one would spend so much money on a liberal arts degree.
For what? Exposure to life?
How about specializing in anything?
Yeah but reading your about line, you are a stubborn son of a gun that just grabs hold and won’t let go.
Unfortunately, in most Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities these days, they teach not how to think critically but how to reactively respond as a Liberal.
They don't want to graduate thinkers, they want leftist soldiers.
Even as a mid-1980's Mechanical Engineering student at a large University, we had to take some of these "mush" classes. But it wasn't that bad, I was able to take Psychology, Philosophy, Western Civilization (A very good course), Theater, Art History, etc. Womens and Black Studies were available, but I didn't need that many credits to force me to take them. These days, they require so many electives of the "mush" variety that students end up having to take Womens and Black Studies, where the leftism is thick. I suspect there are even worse classes these days.
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