Muslims, Trump, Abortion… oh College! Especially this week where the lickspittle fascist antifas have shown their courage and bravery by spilling people’s coffees and lighting trash cans on fire.
Current events aside, my problem with the American college system is that we, as a society, have pushed the notion that a college degree trumps all other means of self-improvement and education in spite of the obvious evidence that millions, if not the majority of college graduates have their heads so far up their asses that they’re looking out of their throats.
Colleges expanded to supply the baby boomers with easy, frivolous majors that satisfied their blue collar parents (“I broke my back to send my kid to college!”). High schools fed this by steering students onto college tracks and governments primed the pump with inexpensive state universities and community colleges. Never mind that liberal arts and unemployable majors became more popular than difficult STEM disciplines, America cranked out the grads in record numbers.
Marketing college education has been so successful that many parents begin saving for their child’s college in Utero. And they should because college tuition and expenses have risen 5% per year for decades. Please do not notice that these increases follow the rise of readily available student loans and taxpayer-funded financial aid. Gotta keep the proles saving and borrowing so they can spend their adult lives in debt to the Federal government (and be nice and compliant). The current student debt is $1.2 trillion, mostly held by the Feds and second only to home mortgages in obligations.
Also please ignore that that college professors uniformly profess profoundly Marxist ideologies to the sons and daughters of patriotic capitalists. It’s indoctrination paid for by the people it opposes (it’d be called exploitation if they were honest). This Marxist-inspired oppressor/victim mentality has percolated through our professional ranks and infiltrated our teachers, journalists, and popular media to create our current politically correct culture. This would be the PC culture that censors free speech and doesn’t know which bathroom to use. The kind of culture that devalues hard work and decides who to admit or hire based on racist and sexist quotas.
If I had voice and power I’d set out to break the American system of higher education. I’d do this by promoting a meritocracy where people can challenge test for universally transferable college credits and professional certifications. Allow people to educate themselves as they see fit without the prejudice of going to the “right” school so long as they are able to do the work effectively.
Would we really care if our professionals went to an Ivy League school if we can go online and see how their test scores rank against the rest of the field? I know I’d pay a higher rate for an accountant in the 90th percentile than the 10th ~ why not? And certain fields need supervised hands-on training – medicine obviously – but if my doctor knocked off their perfunctory undergrad courses by testing out would it matter one iota?
Cancel all the loan and aid programs, deprive colleges of federal money and allow the market to take hold. When bright students realize that they can get a self-determined education by cracking books and watching YouTube, the college monopolies will subside. And the dream of free lifetime education for all to the betterment of society will be realized.
While many college will be forced to close (and convert themselves into prisons and mental institutions) people who value the college experience will still be able to find colleges at a more affordable price. But please spare me the argument that kids need the socialization that comes from dormitory living and “coming of age” experiences. That’s what two years of mandatory military and civil service is for, to be completed after High School ;-p
Current events aside, my problem with the American college system is that we, as a society, have pushed the notion that a college degree trumps all other means of self-improvement and education in spite of the obvious evidence that millions, if not the majority of college graduates have their heads so far up their asses that they’re looking out of their throats.
Colleges expanded to supply the baby boomers with easy, frivolous majors that satisfied their blue collar parents (“I broke my back to send my kid to college!”). High schools fed this by steering students onto college tracks and governments primed the pump with inexpensive state universities and community colleges. Never mind that liberal arts and unemployable majors became more popular than difficult STEM disciplines, America cranked out the grads in record numbers.
Marketing college education has been so successful that many parents begin saving for their child’s college in Utero. And they should because college tuition and expenses have risen 5% per year for decades. Please do not notice that these increases follow the rise of readily available student loans and taxpayer-funded financial aid. Gotta keep the proles saving and borrowing so they can spend their adult lives in debt to the Federal government (and be nice and compliant). The current student debt is $1.2 trillion, mostly held by the Feds and second only to home mortgages in obligations.
Also please ignore that that college professors uniformly profess profoundly Marxist ideologies to the sons and daughters of patriotic capitalists. It’s indoctrination paid for by the people it opposes (it’d be called exploitation if they were honest). This Marxist-inspired oppressor/victim mentality has percolated through our professional ranks and infiltrated our teachers, journalists, and popular media to create our current politically correct culture. This would be the PC culture that censors free speech and doesn’t know which bathroom to use. The kind of culture that devalues hard work and decides who to admit or hire based on racist and sexist quotas.
If I had voice and power I’d set out to break the American system of higher education. I’d do this by promoting a meritocracy where people can challenge test for universally transferable college credits and professional certifications. Allow people to educate themselves as they see fit without the prejudice of going to the “right” school so long as they are able to do the work effectively.
Would we really care if our professionals went to an Ivy League school if we can go online and see how their test scores rank against the rest of the field? I know I’d pay a higher rate for an accountant in the 90th percentile than the 10th ~ why not? And certain fields need supervised hands-on training – medicine obviously – but if my doctor knocked off their perfunctory undergrad courses by testing out would it matter one iota?
Cancel all the loan and aid programs, deprive colleges of federal money and allow the market to take hold. When bright students realize that they can get a self-determined education by cracking books and watching YouTube, the college monopolies will subside. And the dream of free lifetime education for all to the betterment of society will be realized.
While many college will be forced to close (and convert themselves into prisons and mental institutions) people who value the college experience will still be able to find colleges at a more affordable price. But please spare me the argument that kids need the socialization that comes from dormitory living and “coming of age” experiences. That’s what two years of mandatory military and civil service is for, to be completed after High School ;-p
