It is true that the US mandates education to a certain level and no one questions that.Why do American citizens have a right to some education, but not all of it?
The author points out that education is mandated for children, while never once acknowledging that adults have a choice about whether to further their education. And a responsibility to make a sensible decision of cost/value.And, yet, we all know that while a high school diploma marks an important milestone, a high school education is not enough.
Most high-paying and/or enjoyable jobs require some kind of formal education. So people go to college so they can get those jobs. At some point, we’re all going to have to sit around the table and talk about how this was not the original purpose of the university. Higher education was meant to make you a better thinker, a better citizen, a better human being. We’re going to have to talk about how no one really cares about those things when they can’t pay rent, when they can’t afford car repairs, when they have to eat dinner at a gas station. I imagine if most people could get a job that paid $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week, if they could start a job after high school that allowed them to be financially independent or to take care of their families, there would be a lot fewer people pursuing higher education.
Has she never heard of Mike Rowe?
People are taught that school is important, but they don’t go to college because they care about school. They go to college because it’s the only way to survive now.
And everyone has a right to that.
She comes off as another person living in a ivory tower with a graduate education and no concept of what really constitutes a right. I read over there to get other points of view, but frequently find myself seeking the ibuprofen after doing so because of the massive headaches caused by doing so. And so far there is not one comment on that post. It's like an echo chamber over there, no dissension. Which I fund just as frustrating.
I'd say that the quality of our public school system is showing just fine that you get what you pay for.
ReplyDeleteI think that in the world of the original poster that is a good thing.
DeleteI think the poster doesn't understand the difference between a right and an mandate.
ReplyDeleteIt is mandated by law that children be educated to a certain level. Whether or not I believe that to be Constitutional is besides the point at this moment. The important aspect is that we, through our legislators, require parents send and children actually attend schooling.
That is completely different from having the right to speak in public; note that no education is required --and that lack is often demonstrated - to speak public. A right requires no action on the part of others, a mandate does.
I have the right to free speech, you don't have to listen.
And everyone has a right to that.
I don't think that everyone has a right to go to college. I think that everyone has a right to learn; how they do that is up to them. Some people can afford to attend college, some can't. Some people are suited through temperament or mindset to learn in a class room setting; others learn better on the job.
We shouldn't stand in the way of people's right to learn but we also shouldn't require others to support that person ability to go to college.
Bob S.
Great rebuttal, Bob. Can I copy it to her comments, too?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely you can share it
ReplyDelete