Another FReeper whose name I can’t remember explained this succinctly by pointing out that two more years of education are needed just to get kids close to having a minimal “High School” education.
Hopefully the CCs will be teaching algebra and not gender studies.
Ah, yes. More ‘Money for Nothing and Chicks for Free.’
I don’t care what benefits the government hands out to buy votes, as long as they continue to give me a COLA in my federal retirement check. This year it’s 1.7 %. A few years ago after Obama was first elected, he stopped the COLA for two years and made us suffer, that with the minimal interest rates on CDs and bank accounts makes me think he’s pandering to the youngest generation to redistribute the older generation’s savings. So if the youngest citizens vote to burden our nation with huge debt for free college, let them suffer in the long run, it’s their doing and won’t be here to see it.
Part of $hitface’s legacy. He will be able to say that he proposed this and that the Republicans squashed it.
I was a university professor for over 30 years and I'm not so sure about this anymore. Look at the want ads. A person who can weld, fix a car, or many other trade skills is more in demand now than most college graduates. How many poor-choice college majors are working parttime jobs and living at home? Today, which would be better: Invest in yourself via a trade school or go to college?
I think Obozo knows this idea is just a money pit and his goal is to make this country broke. From his point of view, so far, so good.
There are zillions of free MOOCs on the Internet, many of which provide certificates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course
If a student also needs lab courses or fieldwork, he/she might take individual courses at a CC, hopefully with industry participation.
If CCs get creative and help students combine MOOCs with labs/fieldwork, that would GREATLY cut the cost of an associate’s degree or of job training for post college adults, and would be superior to obama’s unworkable “free CC” proposal.
MOOCs could also shorten the time for a student to complete a four-year degree, also cutting costs. (Some MOOCs are even given by the Harvards, MITs, Stanfords of the world, so are high-qulaity.)
This of course, will fail for a few reasons. One is that, the government is not in control of community colleges. Free tuition is nothing more than a block grant to state and local governments to hire teachers. Government unions love this.
Second, teachers who are so happy with this now, will not be when they see their classes filled with people who don’t care and don’t show up after the first class.
And the reason its so stupid in the first place, is that Khan Academy and others are already providing high quality college courses for free or very little money.
Colleges are not worth the money. The one thing that colleges provide, is a 4 year hiatus from growing up. And an admissions IQ test that verifies that you are not stupid. Zuckerberg, Gates, and Jobs all got into great schools but, left them because they did not need to learn anything the schools could teach. The real world teaches everything better.
This is why the program will fail after wasting billions and will never be shut down.
Obama’s dysfunctional logic never ends and I bet he thinks people will name bridges after him when he’s out of office.
Yeah.
We need more of those.
Right, throwing MORE tax payer money at kids who WILL NOT apply themselves, EVER!
The community college system is working. I don't want to see Obama mess it up. If anyone thinks it's expensive now, wait until it's free.
It’s a brilliant idea! Here is the curriculum for the first semester:
Yo, white people, it’s all your fault 101.
Christianity: The most destructive force in the world. 101
Why you need gender reassignmenet surgery 101
You didn’t build that 101
It’s not your money anyway 101.
How to pass bills so we can find out what’s in it. 101