For undergrad I went to a large public university. Fortunately, it is one of the most conservative universities in the United States. Oddly enough, I entered as a seventeen year old Democrat and left a conservative Republican.
Unlike the standard tale of the children of conservatives attending colleges and universities dominated by left wing radicals and becoming leftists themselves, I entered as a Democrat and was (thankfully) shown the light by a conservative faculty in my major (yes, economics).
Anyways, I’ve been able to support myself since undergrad without having to work for tips, so I feel good about how things have turned out.
The wonder of these United States is that we have some of the best colleges and universities in the world, while we also have one of the worst K-12 educational systems in the industrialized world.
Might, just might, it have to do something with the fact that there is a robust (yet infected) number of private colleges and universities, as well as profound private donations to public universities?
One of the biggest values of going to college is the business and social network you build while there.
It’s a larger “fraud” than the mortage crises. At least there are 2x4’s and foundations left from the housing disaster, vs, brain dead illiterate zombies with the right to vote.
Colleges exist to make jobs for men who can’t make a living with their hands or their heads.
It seems Mr. Prelutsky’s main complaint is the cost of college, not necessarily the hard work or the 4 years involved in learning a subject..This is just the usual blarney about the uselessness of a college education from someone who probably never attended college, or maybe had 1 or 2 years of college...
He fails to appreciate the good jobs these millions of college grads do in our society even though they may have low to medium salaries and yet still do an excellent job..Without these intelligent skilled workers our economy would come to a stop...
As for trade skills, fine..But not everybody is cut out for a trade job either...
As diverse as our society is there will always be a need for workers at all levels of education...the more diversified the education is, the better society is....
He is right about one thing: the level of learning at the pre-college level is appalling, the result of young people lacking the discipline to put in the proper study time, the lack of good teaching materials and accurate textbooks, the poor incentives students have to excel, and the quest for instant gratification by the young, instead of delaying that while they get their education, military, or trade school out of the way, to be a properly prepared citizen...
Well said and true. Outside of very few professions, I consider most college degrees to be less that worthless because they inflate in the mind of the graduate a sense of educational achievement and enlightenment. In most cases, this is entirely unfounded.
Amen. Glad someone else shares my opinion. Maybe college is headed in that direction, anyway, with "certificate programs" offered at so many community colleges.
Love it, love it. I have two college over-educated older kids (38 & 40), between the two about four degrees and then some “minors”, but the third kid is the stand-up man, Eagle Scout, 10yrs Infantry, combat veteran of two long deployments, uses his hands, can do with very little, keeps on keeping on. Meanwhile the older two whine and moan about minor bumps in the road that don’t amount to a hill of beans and have to “discuss” every stupid point. But the youngest says very little, justs gets going and gets-r-done.
Guess which one I want around and depend on when the chips are down?? Besides, he knows his weapons...
Im making a good living using my degree. But then again I studies Science, which is both real and useful. Many things studied at University these days are neither.
Aside from learning how to drink themselves into a stupor and smooth-talk members of the opposite sex, those first four years have no other purpose than to drain off thousands of dollars from mom and dad in order to pay exorbitant salaries to administrators, professors, and a gaggle of athletic coaches.