David Brooks’ “Support Our Students” is an essay on the problem of low retention rates in higher education that I really wanted to support. As a community college student, it has been easy to see first-hand many of the problems Brooks has mentioned, from the need for childcare to the exhorbitant cost of textbooks. However, the essay, and idea, have two fatal flaws that lend it to reading more like a timed in-class essay for a community college final than as a legitimate critique of President Obama’s proposal to make community college tuition free. The critique ignores the very real problem of enrollment; that’s flaw one. Flaw two, Brooks’ own solutions are vague, unsupported, and lacking any kind of concrete evidence or sources. Combined, both …show more content…
While other parts of this critique may be legitimate, it completely writes off the very real problem of declining enrollment at community colleges. In his closing statements Brooks compares two versions of human capitol policies, one designed to help give people access to education, and one designed to help people thrive in education. In writing off the former version, he completely ignores the problem of access. Community members do not have, or more importantly, do not feel that they have the most basic access to higher education. The president’s community college tuition proposal is aimed at making this access available to all. Those without access cannot even consider thriving.
Brooks’ himself alludes to how effective the label of “free” is, (P5) but underestimates how important the psychological effect can be on downtrodden students who were raised in the midst of a recession.
Ignoring the problem of access, Brooks outlines some very important problems within the community college system; Remedial education, childcare, and living expenses are all
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In discussing remedial education, he provides an uncited statistic on students, followed by a vague claim on efficacy, and no solution on how to fix remediation at all. (P 12) It is difficult to support his assertions when they are made in this manner. It is a shame that all these assertions are made so terribly, because they had the potential to highlight a necessary concern. Aside from these other problems, tuition, really is only a fraction of the cost. Brooks discusses living expenses briefly (P 10), but doesn’t give this issue the gravity it deserves. In my experience, fee waivers and textbook subsidies are already available to many students. The costs are in housing, food, and transportation. Most students taking on jobs aren’t doing so just to cover tuition, they are doing so to provide themselves with basic necessities like food, water, and shelter. Then there is the opportunity cost of attending college. Units can be completely free, but it doesn’t change the fact that they hours spent in class could be spent making money to provide for themselves. Yes, college is a great investment
The newspaper editorial “Someone has to stand up for the gifted students” Heather Mallick’s October 2017 article for the Toronto Star, takes a stance on the topic on gifted programs for students. The author seeks to convince readers that gifted programs should be implemented in schools. Based on ideas and key writing concepts from the reading “Mind Wide Open” by Jean Prinsen, it is clear that Mallick words the article in a way that is easy for the average person to understand. However, it ultimately lacks sufficient evidence, and uses threatening condescending language to make up for her lack of sufficient evidence.
The conclusion by the committee fails because of the many assumptions that it fails to back with data. Because the conclusion fails to account for assumptions regarding the evidence of reduced education budget, the increased adult population, or the reduced influx of students it fails to make a cohesive case and fails under close scrutiny. The argument assumes that because of the dwindling population birthrate, the education funds can be cut for the next decade. While the trends might indicate that the population has reduced in the past 5 years, it is not a foregone conclusion that it would continue to do so. If the population of the Calatrava increased in the near future, the funds allocated towards the future education of the students might hugely fall of the mark.
In Should The Obama Generation Drop Out Charles Murray talks about the flaws found in the Obama education plan . He brings to the attention of the public the fact that many student in America graduate lacking the skills necessary for the proper college education. Murray goes on to argue that in today 's society students who graduate from High-school go on to technical college to pursue a vocational education in their field of study; whereas, older generations have pursued an all around education, enrolling in classes that were irrelevant to the career they were pursuing. Murray claims that if you test the vast majority of Americans (including himself) in the more rigorous subjects, they would most likely fail. Murray mentions that he does
Outliers Speech In Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, he states on page 19, “People don’t rise from nothing. They are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities.” The book Outliers is a collection of chapters discussing the minorities, or in this books, the outliers within a specific group of people. Throughout the book, he speaks of the high rate of success with KIPP students, why hockey players born in January are more successful, and why the smartest man did not graduate college.
An essay’s purpose is to persuade and/or inform readers of a topic that a writer is passionate about. In an essay such as Pass, Fail by Ron Srigley the purpose is to persuade readers with a convincing argument and is an excellent example of an effective argument. Srigley is a university professor at UPEI who writes with passion and a slightly sarcastic tone throughout his article to prove his thesis. The purpose of his inductive essay is to persuade his audience (which are parents of future/current students in postsecondary institutions as well as students themselves) that the education system has gone down hill over the years and is therefore a waste of an educational experience. His thesis of the essay comes in the last paragraph: Not just
The purpose of her essay is to prove to her audience, mainly soon-to-be college students or parents of future students, that college is still a vital part of planning your future. She effectively advertises community college as a cheaper alternative to four-year universities and their skyrocketing tuition prices; and tries to persuade her readers that attending Community College can be just as important as going to a traditional four-year university because they allow you to begin your college education at
However, it is still an issue for students to cough up that money. The idea of making community college free to any student in America has been a dream for low income students for a while. President Obama’s desire to make the tuition of community college to everyone in the nation would only make it difficult for students to get a free education, limit them to essential resources, and discourage students from applying to four year universities. Granting free community college tuition to incoming freshmen will draw “more students to already crowded community colleges”. Along with the overcrowded campuses, a very long waiting list will soon form making it just as competitive to get into a four year university.
The small problems. In Guided Pathways, some small problems are money, class, education, and the last can go on. The big problem are students not completing their education. For example, the passage for Guided Pathways stated "Nationally, only about half of full-time students pursuing a four-year degree graduate — in six years.” This will cause full time students still take an extra 2 years to graduate.
College is one of the most important and life changing times in the life of an American. Leaving high school behind and venturing out to the adult world is an amazing experience that every individual should experience. However, young adults from every corner of the country leave college with crippling debt or do not go to their preferred college of choice. College education should be cheaper as it will help families and students financially and give them the satisfaction with having the opportunity to go to their first choice for college.
Many people dream of a life filled with riches, but that dream is hard to obtain without a college degree. It is somewhat ironic how people dream of being a successful student and going to college but the cost of tuition turns that dream into a horrible nightmare. It is not a shock to most people when they that college tuition is expensive, but in the past few years it has increased to an all-time high. Lower and middle class students have now begun to realize that college tuition is holding them away from their dreams. Even though college tuition could provide opportunities for job creation and economic growth, tuition is not affordable for the average American household which in effect, prohibits students from taking opportunities like going to college in the first place.
There is an ample amount of information that leads people to believe that college is a great choice. In Source F, it is shown that, “Adults who graduated from a four-year college believe that, on average, they are earning $20,000 more a year as a result of having gotten that degree. Adults who did not attend college believe that, on average they are earning $20,000 a year less as a result.” Also, provided in Source F, “...55% say it [college] was very useful in helping them prepare for a job or career.” While these statistics are true, the negatives still outweigh the positives.
More often than the public likes to believe, “social promotion” has become a fairly large part of education, specifically early and high school education. Every year, many children throughout the nation are being moved on to the next grade level without passing the previous education level. Over all, “social promotion” is doing more harm than good for various reasons. One of the main arguments of “social promotion” is pride against ability. A large group of people believe that retention hurts children’s self-esteem and makes them more likely to drop out of high school.
Presenting a Thesis through Research [Writer Name] [Institute Name] Topic: I am studying higher education systems and success. Question: because I want to find out what students seek from higher education in order to achieve success and become a productive worker. Significance: in order to help my reader understand the implications of the factors of failure and success for students of higher education.
With college tuition costs exploding, and job placement rates lowering, modern college students are being set up for failure. Many people are blaming the government for this problem, but the fault is at the ignorance and stupidity of these college students themselves. Looking into colleges myself, I am realizing how expensive things really are. Tuitions at both private and public schools are extremely high, and living costs have to be taken into consideration too. People around me are planning on going to schools that frankly, they just shouldn’t be going to.
Student’s name: Professor’s name: Date: Reflection Essay One of the most important element and aspect of any organisation is the leader that keeps all the members together and help in the formation of a team that works towards the production and manufacturing of remarkable projects, buildings and institutions. There has always been need for innovation and betterment in the design, architecture and construction in several form however, the one presented by Aileen Strickland McGee states the active agencies that built the certain type of environment with their specific focus on their impact on both education as well as education spaces. Education is pivotal for any human being to progress and prosper however, there is also certain pre-requisites