tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post6612309692487212895..comments2024-03-27T14:50:47.345-04:00Comments on <center>Sandwalk</center>: Higher education for all?Larry Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-77577883581183055182022-11-20T23:49:56.832-05:002022-11-20T23:49:56.832-05:00I think you would first have to show that the requ...I think you would first have to show that the requirements of university degrees are unnecessary. The alternative, which I think is more likely, is that jobs simply are more complicated than they were in the past and require skills unable to be taught in high school. Jonathan Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04921990886076027719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-70795273514297573242022-11-19T16:08:52.511-05:002022-11-19T16:08:52.511-05:00I too am concerned that too many young people are ...I too am concerned that too many young people are being funneled into four-year universities to earn degrees that they don't need and don't want, and may simply not be intellectually ready for this level of education. There is no reason for warehouse or factory jobs to need a bachelor's degree. The result is frustrated young people saddled with extensive debt (at least here in the US), and universities full of students that don't want to be there and don't contribute to the intellectual culture of the school. The instructors get to have the choice of either letting the students flunk out (at which time the students still owe a lot in loans, without a degree) or lower their standards to the point where the degrees no longer mean anything.<br /><br />What <i>would</i> be useful is if more resources were put into strengthening community colleges, trade schools, and continuing education. There are still many well-paying high-demand jobs that require post-secondary education, but for which a four-year degree is inappropriate. Associates' and certificate programs, and even apprenticeships, are excellent fits for these jobs, and allow students to start their careers much faster than spending four (or five, or six, or seven…) years at a university.Lucas Harrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14754544932981856512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-141128955601755062022-11-18T15:52:30.492-05:002022-11-18T15:52:30.492-05:00@Jonathan Badger
Please give me your estimate of ...@Jonathan Badger<br /><br />Please give me your estimate of the percentage of the population that should be given a college/university degree. <br /><br />Are you saying that just because employers are demanding unnecessary university degrees we should respond by passing more students in our courses? Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-694596946698093172022-11-18T13:11:37.626-05:002022-11-18T13:11:37.626-05:00The same arguments of what percentage of the popul...The same arguments of what percentage of the population can benefit from university education were applied to high school education in the 19th and early 20th century when many people left school after the sixth or eighth grade when they had learned how to read and do basic mathematics. While this made sense in an era when the majority of people lived in an an agrarian society, as the country urbanized and industrialized this wasn't enough and high school became the minimum. And as society has become more technologically advanced even this isn't enough for most jobs and university has become required for all but the most menial jobs. While it is nice to talk about the purpose of education is to develop "critical thinking" and other lofty goals, most people don't have the luxury of education for education's sake because they actually need a job in the end. Plus the funny thing about "critical thinking" is that every field thinks their field is better at that than other fields. Perhaps one needs to use critical thinking about the concept of critical thinking itself because different fields seem to disagree on what this nebulous concept exactly is.Jonathan Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04921990886076027719noreply@blogger.com