Is Higher Education Worth the Cost?
Is college worth its high price tag? This question is extremely prevalent in our society considering it is hard to find a higher education for less than $40,000-$60,000 or more per year. At the same time, the college has been stressed as an utmost importance for my whole life. I know I am not the only one, but my parents always said that I would go to college to study something. My parents are very open people so I am now studying dance, but it was never a secret to me that I would go to college to get a good job. I know that in the early 2000s the price of college was significantly less, making this expectation easier to obtain. But now with the job market and the price of schools, we are questioning whether it is a smart choice to spend so much on education if your after-school prospects are not that much better.
In the readings and documentary, nobody was saying that college is a waste, or that secondary education is a bad thing or unworthy or price. Instead, the sources reinforced the idea of secondary education, and how good it is for students to move away, and gain knowledge and understanding outside of their family units. Instead, the articles and documentary presented ideas of alternative secondary education. The New Liberal Arts article presents ideas of smaller class sizes and a lot of student interaction. This article talks about how a more useful education comes from critical thinking and deep interpersonal skills. This article claims that you can learn almost anything online, however, you can't learn conversation and critical thinking without thoughtful conversations with other people from all walks of life. The Ivory Tower documentary discusses how students helping each other and discussing class work is way more beneficial than traditional lecture-style teachings. They also suggest looking into schools that teach farming, sewing, cooking, and life skills outside of basic school work. The article, Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admissions? Sugesets something similar. They give examples of schools that are doing things differently. Things like having students do work instead of paying tuition, offering student research opportunities, and not having grad students teach.
Overall no source is claiming that college is a waste of money or time. Instead, everyone is saying that there is a better way to learn than a traditional college. All the sources say something similar, that small class size is better, and deep interpersonal skills and critical thinking are very useful to learn in college. Everyone knows that college has a lot of value and that moving away and learning about something or from others is very beneficial to students.
My parents are supportive and well off financially so I am very lucky to be able to study what I love every day without much worry about money. In my program, we utilize small class sizes and conversations as well. I find this extremely helpful as I learn so much from my classmates, and am able to actually talk to my teachers. I know that I would not be learning so much every day if my classes were bigger. Overall I have had a great experience with secondary education and I would recommend it. I know that it's not for everyone and that it's expensive. I would encourage students to question their college decisions heavily and truly try to realize what they want before committing to college.
Comments
Post a Comment