President Obama: “In America, higher education cannot be a luxury.”
President Obama said for the first time Americans owe more debt on their student loans than they do on their credit cards.
I thought I would share President Obama’s weekly address as it deals with college education and student debt.
This week, I got the chance to sit down with some impressive students at Lorain County Community College in Ohio. One of them was a woman named Andrea Ashley. Two years ago, Andrea lost her job as an HR analyst. Today, she’s getting certified in the fast-growing field of electronic medical records. Before enrolling at Lorain, Andrea told me she was looking everywhere trying to find a new job. But without a degree, she said that nobody would hire her.
Andrea’s story isn’t unique. I’ve met so many Americans who are out there pounding the pavement looking for work only to discover that they need new skills. And I’ve met a lot of employers who are looking for workers, but can’t find ones with the skills they’re looking for.
So we should be doing everything we can to put higher education within reach for every American – because at a time when the unemployment rate for Americans with at least a college degree is about half the national average, it’s never been more important. But here’s the thing: it’s also never been more expensive. Students who take out loans to pay for college graduate owing an average of $25,000. For the first time, Americans owe more debt on their student loans than they do on their credit cards. And for many working families, the idea of owing that much money means that higher education is simply out of reach for their children.
In America, higher education cannot be a luxury. It’s an economic imperative that every family must be able to afford. That’s why next week I’ll be visiting colleges across the country, talking to students about how we can make higher education more affordable – and what’s at stake right now if Congress doesn’t do something about it. You see, if Congress doesn’t act, on July 1st interest rates on some student loans will double. Nearly seven and half million students will end up owing more on their loan payments. That would be a tremendous blow. And it’s completely preventable.
This issue didn’t come out of nowhere. For some time now, I’ve been calling on Congress to take steps to make higher education more affordable – to prevent these interest rates from doubling, to extend the tuition tax credit that has saved middle-class families millions of dollars, and to double the number of work-study jobs over the next five years.
Instead, over the past few years, Republicans in Congress have voted against new ways to make college more affordable for middle-class families, and voted for huge new tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires – tax cuts that would have to be paid for by cutting things like education and job-training programs that give students new opportunities to work and succeed.
We cannot just cut our way to prosperity. Making it harder for our young people to afford higher education and earn their degrees is nothing more than cutting our own future off at the knees. Congress needs to keep interest rates on student loans from doubling, and they need to do it now.
This is a question of values. We cannot let America become a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of people struggle to get by. We’ve got to build an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. That’s how the middle class gets stronger. That’s an economy that’s built to last. And I’m not only going to take that case to college campuses next week – I’m going to take it to every part of the country this year. Thanks, and have a great weekend.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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138 comments Add your comment
Rick in Grayson
April 22nd, 2012
3:12 am
Mary Elizabeth:
The White House blog is not the best source of information on ObamaCare.
The vast majority of doctors are against ObamaCare and many will not accept the increased number of patients that will find themselves on Medicare.
Don’t forget that the White House is counting revenues for ObamaCare over 8 years while only providing care for the last 6 years of this decade. That is if the Supreme Court finds ObamaCare constitutional. Funny that Obama, an “expert” on the Constitution (Constitutional law instructor), didn’t even think the Supreme Court had the power to decide the constitutionality of this law.
Mary Elizabeth
April 22nd, 2012
6:54 am
@Rick in Grayson, 3:12 am
“Funny that Obama, an ‘expert’ on the Constitution (Constitutional law instructor), didn’t even think the Supreme Court had the power to decide the constitutionality of this law.”
=======================================
I think that the publicity surrounding the President’s remarks, in this regard, were blown out of proportion, for political purposes. I am sure that the President knew that the final word regarding the ACA would be the Supreme Court, and I believe The White House confirmed that the President recognizes this fact. I believe that the President was simply urging the Supreme Court to consider precedence and to consider that a majority of Congressional members voted for the law. (Even though they were all Democrats, they still represented the people who voted them into office.) I think President Obama recognizes that the Supreme Court can be partisan, and that he was urging them, indirectly, not to indulge in partisan politics in making this very important Supreme Court decision that will effect the lives of millions of American people.
Without Obamacare, millions of people who are without jobs, for whatever reason, will not be able to secure health insurance because premiums will simply be too high for individual policies for most people. Obamacare protects citizens who have pre-existing conditions so that they will still receive health insurance. Obamacare will protect citizens from being discontinued from private “for profit” health insurance, especially when they incur life threatening illnesses. Obamacare will allow children to continue to have insurance coverage from their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26 years old. We are all paying now with higher health insurance premiums because of emergency hospital care given to those who have no health insurance. It is fitting that all Americans incur some small health insurance fee to cover those situations. Securing that insurance for all Americans would effect commerce across states. I believe the ACA is consitutional.
Moreover, I believe every American has the right to a good public education, adequate health care, and the security of Social Security in his or her old age. This is what FDR believed, also, and these are reasons why I remain an FDR Democrat. I, also, believe that by supporting and securing these human rights for all Americans, we insure that America will remain a humane nation in which to live and raise our young.
Chaos
April 22nd, 2012
7:25 am
@Mary Elizabeth: Your views are entirely socialist. I respect many of your posts regarding educational philosophy…not these. If EVERY american has the right to a good education (remember, this is about higher ed), adequate health care etc…who is going to pay for it? I’ll tell you who. It is the hard working middle class that will do so. And don’t tell me that the evil rich should pay more. I’m no where close to rich and even I can see through that junk. Who do you think provides many of the jobs in this country?
I am so tired of people wanting a “fair” world for everyone when many contribute nothing to the system. People who live off of public taxpayers are sitting in front of a 46 inch big screen tvs as I type this. Why should my hard earned money be forcefully taken from me to provide for those who choose to drop out of school, quit their job because it is too “hard”, or just won’t flat work?????
The lack of resources at your personal disposal is a heck of a motivator. It built this country. Now people like you want to just give it all away. But I ask you: What will be the motivation to those who have invested in their education and work ethic if their earnings keep being taken away to redistribute to those who didn’t make such wise choices? The answer: Nothing.
Our country is doomed because of your (and people like you) left over early 1970’s HIGHER educational training that put our county down the road of self-esteem-take-priority-over -everything-else crap.
People should do the work or pay the consequences…in the classroom or in the workforce.
ScienceTeacher671
April 22nd, 2012
7:54 am
@Zooteacher: I am currently teaching high school Physical Science (which should really be just a review of what they learned in 8th grade) and these kids can’t handle the simple math my class requires.
Yes, a number of our seniors recently took the ASSET test (required for admission to technical schools) and couldn’t pass that. One problem with the math apparently was that they weren’t allowed to use a calculator on certain parts.
Maybe memorizing at least some math facts is important after all? Someone better tell the people who are teaching elementary school teachers….
Mary Elizabeth
April 22nd, 2012
8:37 am
Chaos, 7:25 am
Chaos, I realize that your thoughts and feelings are genuinely expressed, but, in all due respect, I believe that you have been “sold a propaganda bill of goods” by ultraconservative ideologues. For example, your post, above, paints some Americans in negative stereotypical terms, and your post shows how this propaganda has been successful in dividing Americans and in pitting groups of Americans against one another.
Let me clarify for you. I am not a Socialist. I am an FDR Democrat. I believe in Capitalism as the economic engine for our nation. I, also, support some social programs within our capitalistic society, which I believe humanizes our nation. We do not have to be an all-or-nothing nation, in regard to social programs. We can combine capitalism with some limited social programs and have the “best of both worlds.” My husband, at one time, owned his own business. I am a retired public school teacher, so I have seen the value in both the public and private sectors of our nation. I support the common good and the general welfare of American citizens, as described in the Preamble to our Constitution. It takes both workers in private enterprise, as well as public servants, to balance our nation’s dynamics. However, some conservative ideologues within private enterprise have desired to dismantle most governmental programs by privatizing them, and that is not a healthy balance for America. Also, I believe that if the majority of Americans want to pool their common resources to be able to secure Medicare and Social Security in their old age, that they should be able to do so. That is a smart choice financially, also, because group benefits always are less in cost to individuals than if individuals pay for private policies. The “group” just happens to be the American people, relative to Social Security and Medicare.
I was addressing public education, primary in grades k – 12, although I support public colleges and universities, too,(which we have had for generations) because the higher education that citizens are able to achieve, the more elevated our nation becomes, overall, and the more citizens are able to secure productive jobs. As a teacher, I also believe that each person should be able to reach his or her full potential.
I urge you to read the post which I just posted on the latest thread on this blog, as well as the remarks of others on that thread. Perhaps reading others’ comments will point out to you how America (through that thread regarding changing education to a business) is in danger of leaning too far in the direction of business interests, alone. Moreover, I believe Americans must began to see ourselves as “one nation, indivisible,” once again, as we did during the Great Depression of the 1930s and during WWII. Just because one supports Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and public education does not mean that one is a Socialist. That public education should even be questioned, in that regard, tells one much about the negative propaganda that has been forced on our nation within the last 30 to 40 years. I urge you to look closely into what has been happening, regarding that propaganda, and how it has benefitted the very wealthy primarily, and how that propaganda has divided Americans. We can come together, again, as Americans who all love our nation, but we, first, must not continue to see limited social programs, that benefit us all, as socialism, but instead as part of our vibrant democratic Republic, which establishes programs based on the will of the people, for the people – a nation designed to be “of, for, and by” the people, themselves.
ChristieS.
April 22nd, 2012
9:16 am
Don H.
April 21st, 2012
11:46 am
@MaryEliz. Your Democrat majority leader in the Senate hasn’t brought up a federal budget proposal IN OVER THREE YEARS—even though it only takes 51 votes to pass one.
And when Pres. Obama’s most recent budget was voted on in the House this year it received not a single vote.
@DonH. Perhaps you’re not quite up on your Powers of Government instruction, but the US Senate, by design of the founding fathers, cannot initiate spending bills. Under Article I, Section 7 of the US Constitution, national spending bills MUST be initiated in the HoR. All the Senate can do is offer amendments to that bill once it has passed the House. So it’s a bit disingenuous of you to complain that the Senate hasn’t brought up a spending proposal in 3 years. Of course they haven’t. They’re not allowed to do so.
Homeschooler
April 22nd, 2012
10:18 am
My question for President Obama would be “Who is not getting an education just because he or she can not afford it?” The Pell Grant was designed specifically for kids of lower income families. The Hope Scholarship is available to everyone as long as they have good grades. (of course I know that is only in GA) Student loans are available. Low income people have been getting an education in this country for a very long time.
I was talking to a young lady the other day (25 or 26yrs old). She told me she has $80,000.00 in student loan debt. She incurred this getting an undergraduate degree and a Masters in Social Work. She CHOSE to go to private schools,CHOSE to go to school out of state and CHOSE to take out additional money in loans for living expenses. She makes 30 K a year and, with her lack of work ethic, will never make much more than that. She will be struggling her whole life because of these stupid decisions unless she finds some easy way out, which, it is apparent that that is what she is waiting for. She told me a few weeks ago. “Yeah, I heard Obama was trying to help people get out of student loan debt”. Seriously? IT’S YOUR DEBT!!!
The entitlement attitude runs much deeper than those collecting welfare and that is what concerns me.
Rick in Grayson
April 22nd, 2012
10:58 am
Mary Elizabeth: “I, also, support some social programs within our capitalistic society, which I believe humanizes our nation. We do not have to be an all-or-nothing nation, in regard to social programs.”
Consider that 47% of US taxpayers pay $0.00 in federal income tax! 15% receive “earned” income credits!
“All or nothing”? Half of this nation’s taxpayers are paying all of the federal tax responsibilities. How is this fair or equitable?
On this blog (this year) was a comment from a community college worker/professor who stated that many of these students attend school on government grants and make little or no effort to obtain an education. Those who must take remedial college courses did not take advantage of the opportunities they had in HS (made bad choices, see CHAOS above – he is right on the money with his observations).
We have established a welfare state that will die along with this county when someone else’s money (the producers) run’s out.
I’m feeling the warmth and fuzziness in your comments, but human nature has shown these lofty goals are not working. When you give someone something for FREE, they do not value it.
AlreadySheared
April 22nd, 2012
11:12 am
@Rick in Grayson,
I can tell from your comments that you are a selfish person who does not care about other people. All we want is for everyone to pay their fair share so that we can create a level playing field by spreading the wealth around.
To quote our president,
“This is a question of values. We cannot let America become a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of people struggle to get by. We’ve got to build an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”
So it’s very clear – you need to start doing your fair share (emphasis on SHARE). What we don’t need is a bunch of people running around, playing by different rules. I’m not exactly sure what those rules are, but you probably got to where you are by not following them. Either that or we’re going to make some new rules that you have to follow that are different from the rules you’re following now because it looks like with our current rules, some people do really well while a growing number have to struggle. That means our current rules are bad rules so we need new, fair rules so that people like you pay their fair share.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
April 22nd, 2012
11:45 am
@Already sheared “I did not anticipate your challenges in reading for understanding.”
So, you are the type of person who gets off on insulting people you know nothing about on a blog.
Sad really. All you end up doing is further convincing me that it is not even worth trying to discuss issues with folks like you. Perhaps if you had bothered trying to talk to me in a civil tone, I might have taken the time to consider your point of view.
But I guess you can just continue to tell yourself that the whole reason we can’t have a civil conversation has to do with my lack of intellect…
Whatever.
Mary Elizabeth
April 22nd, 2012
12:34 pm
Rick in Grayson,
“Those who must take remedial college courses did not take advantage of the opportunities they had in HS (made bad choices, see CHAOS above – he is right on the money with his observations.)”
============================================
In all due respect, both you and Chaos are incorrect in your stereotypical assumption of why students must take remedial college courses. I was a teacher and an educational leader for over 30 years. I was chair of the Reading Department of a high school with approximately 1800 students in the high school. Before that, I was an Instructional Lead Teacher in an elementary/middle school which served approximately 800 students. In both capacities, I worked with classroom teachers to help them better individualize their instruction to student need. Students will have varied instructional level needs in every grade level. If individualized instruction is not forthcoming, students will get further behind. This is not the result of “poor choices” by the students; it is the result of lack of understanding of the educational process by teachers and administrators – even up to the state and national levels.
See my post below, from my own blog, which will explain this educational phenomenon in more detail for you.
http://maryelizabethsings.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/about-education-essay-5-assessing-teachers-and-students/
Dekalbite@Rick in Grayson
April 22nd, 2012
1:55 pm
It’s not just Japan and Europe. With their one child policy, China is fast approaching a tsunami in their graying population as well:
http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/090422_gai_chinareport_en.pdf
We are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. On one hand, population control is an absolute environmental necessity for the planet with too many people chasing a finite amount of resources. On the other hand, an ever ready supply of young people is necessary to support the elderly which thanks to medical advances and a steadier food supply are living longer with more expensive chronic illnesses.
In Africa and other developing world areas, there is no Social Security or Medicare. So people have as many babies in hopes that 5 or 6 will survive and grow up to support them in their old age. That is their form of social security. Is that a desirable and sustainable model for the world?
The U.S. has a vibrant economy in part because we are still growing in population, and much of that is due to immigration. That may not solve the problems resulting from an overpopulated world, but that has allowed us to blunt the impact of caring for our fast growing elderly population. Most members of our species will take care of our parents because we love them and have strong bonds to these people who gave us life and nurtured us when we were young and helpless. We will divert resources from the family we form after we grow up to prolong the life and ensure the relative comfort of our parents.
Social Security and Medicare provide a safety net not only for the elderly but also for their children who are generally in their most productive years. Discontinuing either of these “wealth transfer” programs will not end the “wealth transfer”. The children of the elderly will simply attempt to “pick up the slack” with the additional negative impact to their household income of less predictability depending on what disease or infirmity their parents happen to face. Social Security has the word social in it because the benefits are really for society – the old who need care in their declining years and the young who love them and are responsible as the caring bond reverses itself when parents age. Everyone has parents and the child-parent bond is genetically programmed into us. How else would these people (our parents) be moved to go through what they go through to raise and sustain us during the peak of their lives? Low income jobs will make it much more difficult to support the elderly, but low income workers love their parents as much as more affluent workers. They will divert a larger percentage of their meager income to their elderly parents and that will leave less for their own children.
You are preaching to the choir when you talk about STEM degrees. Everyone in my family is a science or math major, and jobs are plentiful for them. How do we get students to major in the STEM subjects? Our children are not less intelligent or capable – mental ability is evenly distributed throughout the world. We need to be comparing the structure of our educational system to those educational systems in countries that produce a plethora of those STEM majors.
There are no “easy fixes”. Basic policy changes need to occur from changing our dependency on fossil fuels so we don’t compete with China for oil and fund middle east dictators who sponsor terrorists to placing an emphasis on a healthy lifestyle and preventive care via universal health care so we don’t have millions of chronically ill seniors to pay for. We need to steer students into practical majors that help them gain high level skills that form the basis for a globally competitive economy. Can the U.S. do this? It’s like steering the Titanic away from the iceberg. That’s difficult enough to do, but first we have to acknowledge that the massive iceberg is there even if we only see the tip of it.
S Lahey
April 22nd, 2012
2:04 pm
I work in public higher education. It does need to be restructured to become more completive in the new world economy. The part that is always left out of these arguments is the student who ends up living a richer life due to the experience of learning how to think and imagine beyond their own simple hunt and peak existence. I am now 60 and know that if I had not gotten a college degree my life would have been less rewarding. All those classes I had to take which I didn’t see the need for then have helped shape me in ways I could not have imagined. Higher education leads to a richer fuller life. That is its true value. The side benefit is that it leads to a better informed society who has little tolerance for myopic short sided bigoted decision making. Oh and yes, these skills are also reflected in the occupations these students move into. What employer doesn’t want smart employees with a bigger vision to help grow their companies? Like it or not we need visionaries to move the world forward. They are grown through education and not hatched out of a few wealthy families.
AlreadySheared
April 22nd, 2012
3:54 pm
@I love teaching:
I noticed in your note above that you did not bother trying to rebut my interpretation of the SAME SOURCE MATERIAL WHICH WE BOTH READ. Actually, with respect to your last post, I think you are wise to try to change the subject rather than defend the indefensible.
So
1) If the shoe fits..
and
2) Good luck with your feelings & stuff…
doug_eike
April 22nd, 2012
5:08 pm
Running around the country talking to students to get ideas about how to make higer education more affordable is a waste of time and taxpayers’ money. Professors spend too much time doing research, writing books, consulting for companies, and flying around reading worthless papers to other professors. We need professors who teach full loads and pay attention to students. If we force professors to teach, tuition will magically become reasonable. Thanks for the insights.
http://slingingthebull.com/category/education/
Anonmom
April 22nd, 2012
6:17 pm
A few thoughts. I am frustrated with both Ds and Rs…. I want to scratch much of what we’re doing and take a very hard look at exactly what the real core function of government should be… where do you really want the federal government in your life? In the lives of your grandchildren? The goverment does not make money (despite the fact that it does have the ability to print it) — it takes moeny,with force, from people who actually earn it, to pay for the things it does… so what, exactly, should it be doing? I think, protecting us for outsiders (e.g. 9/11), the court systems, certain environmental issues (but not all, I think at times this crowd goes a bit overboard as we should be energy independent as a nation and we’ve been on notice of this necessity since the gas lines of 1973). There’s no reason for the politicalization of much of what is going on today — people should be responsible for themselve and social agencies, with donations from private citizens should be filling in when necessary — not the government — that’s dangerous. Just things to think about. College, the topic of this article, should not be necessary for everyone. There has been no “check” on the “cost” of colllege as the availability of funds to attend college has increased (inelastic supply I believe from the government subsidies and parents and non-discharge in bankruptcy) — such that 10 years ago the best schools in the county were $25k a year and they are now $50k a year — inflation does not justify doubling. Emory went from $3k in 1961 to $8k in 1985 to $50k now… this is not inflation…. Who is checking on what they are charging and why? Who is protecting the student from excessive charges? Why is it that it can cost so much? Certain degrees may be worth it… maybe. Maybe not (we’re debating these things now in my house… what type of degree is worth the attendance at what type of school……does it matter? does it make a difference? is it worth it? Who is looking out for these things? Are the “full fare” students supplementing the “scholarship” students? Are they paying for construction? Are things happening at the college level like they are happening at DCSS and APS without any checks and balances? Who knows… there doesn’t seem to be anyone looking out for the consumer here becasue the governnment, and, therefore, the taxpayer, is covering too much of the costs of too many of the students. So the institutions don’t seem to care how much the annual tuition is going to be…..
Jack in Cumming
April 22nd, 2012
6:55 pm
Obama is in full campaign mode. Children, fairness and racism.
Dekalbite@Anonmom
April 22nd, 2012
8:22 pm
“Certain degrees may be worth it… maybe. Maybe not (we’re debating these things now in my house… what type of degree is worth the attendance at what type of school……does it matter? does it make a difference? is it worth it?”
IMHO – very few degrees are worth $50,000 a year. I would have had to see the ROI projected (after taxes), and it would have had to have been a very high degree of certainty before I would have even considered that outlay. I did not see it ten years ago, and the current and projected economic picture provides that degree of certainty much less today.
It’s all ROI to me. I sent my child to college (UGA) with specific goals – to get a job with decent pay, obtain adequate health insurance, and work manageable hours that leave her free to have a less stressful life outside of work. “Expanding her mind” and “living a richer life” is something she can do on her own time and dime.
Anonmom
April 22nd, 2012
8:28 pm
Wharton?
Chaos
April 23rd, 2012
8:11 am
Mary Elizabeth stated:
“I believe that you have been “sold a propaganda bill of goods” by ultraconservative ideologues.”
“In all due respect, both you and Chaos are incorrect in your stereotypical assumption of why students must take remedial college courses. I was a teacher…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
You are welcome to your thoughts and experiences. Just realize that there are those that don’t necessarily agree. To tell someone that their “ideology”, ultraconservative or not, is wrong is condescending.
And please don’t lecture me on why students aren’t prepared when they enter a college classroom. I’ve been teaching science at the higher ed level for almost as long as you taught high school.
Jack in Cumming
April 23rd, 2012
8:45 am
Chaos just owned Mary Elizabeth!
Jack in Cumming
April 23rd, 2012
8:45 am
Mary got schooled!
Jack in Cumming
April 23rd, 2012
8:47 am
Obama cannot run on the last three years of economy so he runs on fairness
AlreadySheared
April 23rd, 2012
11:04 am
And in today’s news:
“Half of new graduates are jobless or underemployed”
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-04-22/college-grads-jobless/54473426/1
Like most generals, our President wants to “prepare to fight the last war.” (as opposed to our current situation)
Ole Guy
April 23rd, 2012
4:13 pm
Say what you want about the man, the politics, and the general quagmire which passes for public education. The indisputable fact remains…higher education, once considered the domain of the few, simply cannot be considered an option. Be it a college degree, skills certification or, preferably, both, a high school diploma, in and of itself, simply will not do in an economy which is both demanding and highly constricted. For this very reason, I hold very little sympathy for those who choose to simply complain about issues over which they have little-to-no control.
Sure, it’s a known fact that a college education, and/or skills training/certification ain’t cheap…never was; never will be. Sure, salaries, at nearly all levels of secondary education are inflated (or, are they?). Does the current generation feel that they, and they alone, are the first to feel the weight of expensive education? The ole saying, back in the dark ages, was “you think education is expensive…try the cost of ignorance”.
Quite frankly, I’m a wee bit…shall we say, confused, over this “dilema” which kids face today. About 30 or so years ago, when technology became, more and more, a mainstream component in daily life, both economic and social, members of the younger gen seemed to adapt quite readily to this relatively new feature of contemporary life. Those of us, of the older gen, would marvel at how adept the younger folks were at such spooky tasks as programing VCRs and various entertainment vehicles. During those 30-or-so years, technology has been touted, rightfully so, as “the wave of the future”; apparently, that admonition…completely understood by those of us known as the Baby Boom, has been completely lost to those who would most-benefit from this little nugget of wisdom.
Unfortunately, everything/every major change in the contemporary living standards of the day, has come at a great price…prices which often came at extremely steep demands. As I’ve so often indicated, this younger gen has not really had to need to bear the burdens of mankinds’ march of “giant leaps”. Maybe, instead of looking at the details of inconvenience…like having to spend some money…we should be looking at the broader issues…WHY do young Soldiers have to look at multiple deployments, before reaching the age of mid-20s. ANSWER: Fewer and fewer of their peers have the spheroids to follow.
3schoolkids
April 23rd, 2012
4:27 pm
My college-age daughter went to her advisement meeting and her advisor was astounded that she would end her freshman year with 33 credits. She said she had very few students who would end the year with over 30 credits. When the advisor asked why she was taking so many classes, my daughter responded that she did not have HOPE scholarship and didn’t qualify for financial aid so her parents were paying for her college and she had a mandate that she complete her education in 4 years. The advisor told her that most of the kids she advised with HOPE were taking less than 15 hours to try to keep up their GPA (and 75% were still not going to make HOPE for next year). Want to make college more affordable? Get rid of some of the nonsense fees, drop some of the nonsense requirements (like FYE), don’t fund past the 4 year mark (but make it possible to graduate in 4 years without taking extra hours or going to summer school). And if you want better educated cience majors get rid of some of the liberal arts core requirements for those with science degrees, so those students can take more advanced courses within 4 years.
OTOH
April 24th, 2012
12:13 am
As campaign speeches go, this was not a newsworthy one. President Obama wants more people to go to college and more people to “get” training and wants college kids to tell him how to make college and training less expensive. Hmmm. The same college kids who took out loans they cannot pay back to attend schools they find cool or impressive rather than the ones they can afford. The same college kids who have little to no understanding of economics. The same college kids who 4 years ago put in massive efforts to get President Obama elected, but who seem this year uninterested in volunteering to register voters and get out the vote. Can you spell “pandering”?
TimeOut
April 24th, 2012
9:32 am
Many of these posts contain salient points. Many of our post-secondary institutions have blossomed into mini-cities with every possible luxury awaiting its temporary and permanent citizens (i.e. study body/faculty) The concept of ‘less is more’ seems to be losing ground once again. History has seen such excess more than once in cultures that are devolving under the weight of their own decadence. It’s also true that other nations both support and fund a more rigorous educational path to its completion, for their best and brightest. Such countries view such educational achievement as a community as well as an individual benefit. As successful approach will not fund campus environments that rival Club Med. It will not call for more degrees without wrapping the mandate in an insistence that these same degrees represent something more than “the great grade give-away.” We need to continue our push to gain more control over the excesses of government spending by Republican and Democrat party members who evade all efforts to limit their power and privileges. If we could “contain” the pathocrats, strip the luxury while upping the rigor of our academic programs, and equate individual with the greater society’s benefit, we could make some real progress for all levels of society. Alas, this reads like so much wishful thinking
Anonmom
April 24th, 2012
10:40 am
I keep thinking about the Rise & Fall of Rome… I see parallels .. am I alone in this or is it just my son’s recent project on Hadrian?
Anonmom
April 24th, 2012
10:42 am
fyi — Rome is the 5th unit for honors history in the nifty private school my younger sons attend for 9th grade for the history curriculum (the rest of the curriculum was Greece — also 2nd semester — 1st semester was Persia, Egypt, China & Babylon) — my oldest, stuck at a DCSS school got civics and geography…..
Ole Guy
April 24th, 2012
5:44 pm
Sheared, you are absolutely correct in that many new/recent college grads find themselves unemployed/underemployed in an economy which struggles for recovery. However, the unfortunate reality remains…new/recent grads are SUPPOSED to expect nothing much beyond “ground level” employment, particularly within their chosen field of endeavour. Therein lies, perhaps, a major stumbling block in these young folks’ efforts to get ahead…they may, just may be expecting more than they should reasonably expect. Sure, as recent grads, we all wanted to “hit the high notes” right out of the starting gates of professional employment. Some of us lucked out, while many/probably most of us had to contend with those low-skill/low wage jobs which seemed to serve as the “purgatory” of our working lives. It certainly isn’t easy…not for the professional ego; MOST certainly not for our fiscal health, but, with exception/with RARE exception, it’s an unfortunate fact of life.
For this very reason, many recent grads may hold self-defeating expectations with regard to not getting that perfect job while the ink on that diploma is still wet. Given the reality of student loans which must be paid off within a relatively short period of time, it’s easy to see where these kids…”have it tough”. However, let’s keep one thing in focus…all-too-many of these kids, having been treated as “children” right up to high school graduation, have never learned to think and to analyze the many variables which go with being an adult. While they may expect the best/ONLY the best, they may never come to realize that they just may have to serve time in the trenches of reality.
gabe
April 24th, 2012
10:52 pm
The student debt is overwhelming, now collectively more than we owe on credit cards. There is a good piece written by a former dean/provost about the real costs/pitfalls of higher education today. For those interested: http://goo.gl/iGxIJ
Chaos
April 25th, 2012
7:16 am
Ole Guy is exactly right. Most HS students have been coddled their entire academic lives. Most haven’t a clue when they get into the college classroom. Why would they?
Let’s take the notion of differentiated instruction: How much differentiated instruction do you think they get in college. These poor souls never are forced to sit still and take notes, learn vast amounts of material, spell correctly…let alone think.
Until our bleeding-heart society wakes up and figures out that there are some that aren’t going to be capable of a college degree and start holding students (and their parents) accountable, we aren’t ever going to get out of this educational mess.
Lastly, I don’t differentiate squat in my teaching techniques. I walk in with a cup of coffee and a marker board pen and a book. And then I teach…and my students get it. They can do it if you force them to…
Ole Guy
April 25th, 2012
10:33 am
That’s the key, Chaos…FORCE em to excell; to meet those standards. My experience…probably universal within the teaching profession…was one of resistance from the start. Rather than accept the challenge, the kid(s) would complain to parents who would, in turn, complain to principal (who, in more than a few instances, had a social relationship…golf, boating, etc…with those parents) who would then proceed to demonstrate the business adage that poo poo rolls down hill.
THIS serves as vivid reason to substantiate my continuing conviction that the teacher corps, within Georgia, MUST…come hell or high water…gain collective bargaining status. Many of the issues we “discuss” within these comments are relegated to nothing more than coffee house chats, simply because the powers that be insist on taking the path of least resistance/of “playing it safe”, both personally and politically. You teachers have no alternative…no alternative with which you should expect to sleep well with…but to organize so that you can do your jobs.
ScienceTeacher671
April 25th, 2012
11:01 am
Chaos, put away the book. Otherwise, they’ll think you don’t know the answers in your head.
Chaos
April 25th, 2012
11:34 am
Ah, I just use the book to keep me moving in the right direction and to reference figures and tables. I have so much science running around in my head that they know better.
Happy teaching!
Once Again
April 25th, 2012
3:44 pm
Higher education is also not a RIGHT. To consider it a right is to say that the rights of others must be violated to achieve this right. This should be a clear as a bell to everyone, but the concept of rights is so distorted in the US, let’s review.
If a higher education is a RIGHT, there must be money to pay for it. Government has NO money so if the government covers the cost it must first STEAL that money from someone else, thus violating their rights.
A higher education requires an instructor (actually dozens). These folks have a right to their liberty too. But what if they wish to work for a higher wage thus driving up costs? If the government restricts costs by capping salaries, then these folks rights are violated. If the government decides that certain people MUST become teachers because nobody wants to volunteer for the job then these folks rights are violated. If someone cannot quite because the system needs them then their rights are violated.
If there is a need to build a school somewhere to make higher education available for someone then property must be purchased. If the person who owns the only property available doesn’t want to sell but the government forces them, their rights are violated.
And what about all the services a school requires? What if nobody wants to sell certain items to the schools at the price the government can afford (now that it is bestowing this RIGHT on everyone)? Are they to be forced to sell thus violating their rights? And the list could go on forever.
And a similar list could be applied to healthcare, housing, food, etc.
There are no rights other than life, liberty, and the PERSUIT of happiness. These rights can be secured by government without generally violating other rights. No so with anything material as there is a finite supply of everything and government produces NOTHING.
ScienceTeacher671
April 25th, 2012
9:38 pm
@Chaos, happy teaching to you! The cup of coffee and marker pen are my favorite teaching tools as well!