My Thoughts on Education

Sir Ken Robinson in the following video put into words a lot of the feelings I have about higher education. I often say to people that not everybody needs to go to college, which people often register as pompous, but it is extremely true, and he articulates this much better than I ever could.

Everyone has some talent whether it be math, writing, singing, playing rugby, programming computers, or taking care of animals. Like our planet, there are so many different professional niches for people to fill. Forcing everyone into just one or two is simply snuffing out the potential of those who have a calling for something different. (This is a regurgitation of Robinson's lecture)

Sir Ken Robinson uses the term "academic inflation" to describe the current situation where those with a bachelor's degrees are not guaranteed jobs following graduation like they were thirty years ago. As a student of the Millennial Generation, I felt immense pressure in High School to go to the best college that I could get into, no matter what the cost. As a result, I find myself with plenty of student loans and a job that is as demanding as the ones I held prior to graduating. Do I regret going to Syracuse University? No, after much self- reflection I have realized that I am built for academia, as I lack the artistic, athletic, and mechanical abilities many of my peers possess.

What is alarming is the difference in tuition over the last 3 decades. In 1979, my mother graduated from a public four- year university and was able to work while she was attending school in order to have no loans following graduation. Although I graduated from a private four- year university, I did one year at my mother's Alma Mater and was unable to pay for all of the costs with a white- collar, part- time position. When they told you in High School that public colleges were affordable, what they forget to mention was that if your parents made a decent amount of money, you would get no financial aid, even if they refused to contribute a dime towards educational costs. I found my self looking at taking out $7,000 more a year in loans to attend Syracuse University rather than the University at Albany and at the time it seemed like a better deal. I will not know if I was right for quite some time, but heres hoping that I was.

The purpose of this blog was to express hope for the future. Just a couple of years ago, we felt the economic effects of the mortgage crisis, whether or not we owned a home. While I do not believe the cost of college will decrease, I hope that employers in the future will recognize the capabilities and value of those who do not hold a college degree and shrink the current educational inflation.

As I see it, obtaining a diploma in today's world is like France's Old Regime practice of selling seats of nobility. Those that could afford to pay large sums could buy aristocratic titles and therefore raise their position in society. While much of the unrest in Old Regime France was due to the objection of the Nobility of the Sword (or nobles who held their positions for generations), what I feel will lead to our eventual downfall in this situation will be the loans that people like me have accumulated in order to hold this piece of paper that supposedly sets me apart from my peers and the effects it will have on the entire community. The Nobility of the Robe did not buy their positions on credit, but they also really did obtain some influence.

Since there are so many people who are needlessly going to college and there are increasing numbers of students paying for college on credit, I foresee troublesome financial times in the future. Although I am only a humanities scholar, I can still see the disaster waiting to happen.

With so many qualified applicants and not enough jobs out there, I see why Suze Orman has been telling people not to go to college unless they can afford it. Educational costs hamper those with natural academic abilities. (If I didn't have to work through college I probably would have had a stellar GPA and been involved in tons of activities)

Although I have come off as both hypocritical and self-serving, what I am unarticulately trying to convey is my position on higher education. I am not quite certain how to fix this problem for future generations, but my hope is that our society will realize that there are very talented people out there who don't necessarily need a four year degree to follow their dreams and there are other people who would thrive in an academic environment but simply can't afford it. I believe that educating our citizens is extremely important in our developed society, but there should be options other than buying a degree on credit.