Today in America many people question whether or not college is truly worth the stress, time, and cost it throws on an individual. With these “burdens” comes alienation from the outside world with little fun and fulfilling experiences. Some people even say that many college students have zero creativity, and are proud of it. This idea of self-growth and freedom along with a diverting experience, while going through college, is something that Rick Perlstein himself has had the opportunity to do. Unfortunately, Perlstein experienced this in his days, and has come to realization that, “College as America used to understand it, is coming to an end” (Perlstein). With this article being published in the liberal magazine, New York Times, many people, mostly ones who have gone through college, completely disagreed with his opinion. One of those insulted people being Liz Addison. Addison’s claim argues that college is yes, much different, but in a positive way, especially in the community colleges. All together in her one sided- argument, she includes several rhetorical devices to persuade, inform, and emotionally prove her claim. These devices being ethos, and pathos, gives her a strong foundation and effective argument to the liberal audience she is writing her article to.…
While it is true that some college students would rather specialize in certain criteria that only relates to their career path, I believe that college should educate and enlighten students in various ways to make for well-rounded intellectuals. Menand’s second theory is a democratic perspective, which gives students the opportunity to be exposed to numerous topics, which will broaden one’s knowledge. Attaining basic information will stifle student’s developmental and personal growth. College provides students with a broader experience compared to vocational or trade schools. Even though taking a Humanities class may seem like a complete waste of time, I can prove that it has its advantages. Taking these classes will provide a greater understanding of society and how we fit in it. It will also teach students how to think critically, and allows one to explore opportunities before settling in a field that may not be suitable. Expanding the mind and learning…
Nemko's article offers multiple contrasting arguments which emphasize his point of view about college education. Throughout the article, Nemko includes many anecdotes describing his opinion towards that subject. Not only that, but he uses many sources that strengthen his credibility to appeal logos which make his statements more reliable. For example, he quotes “Only 23 percent of the 1.3 million students who took the ACT college-entrance examinations in 2007 were ready for college-level work in the core subjects of mathematics, English, and science!” with that the audience can perceive how Nemko is persuading the reader to acknowledge his statement is reliable. Since Nemko is stating only his opinion, he was being biased to the subject. In…
Our society is under a severe threat, and if we do not fix it immediately, then our future as a country is a very grim one. In author Bronwyn T. Williams’ Why Johnny can never, ever read: The perpetual literacy crisis and student identity, Bronwyn explains how each generation seems to claim that the upcoming generation is illiterate and how this assumption is indeed a product of changing times and standards. Throughout the years each generation has looked down upon their upcoming peers and declared that there is a literacy crisis in the making, and something must be done immediately. Bronwyn explains how and why this assumption is false, and what we can do as a society to encourage, not scare, the next generation “to write in any context , [and] make their language choices with knowledge and power” (Bronwyn par. 17). Essentially, Bronwyn uses a cause, effect, and solution method to get the idea that this crisis is all in our heads and what we as a society can do to end this perpetual literacy crisis across to the reader.…
In the article by Charles Murray, “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Murray raises interesting and controversial topics. Murray is suggesting that maybe school counselors should not encourage every student to attend a four year university for their B.A.. Instead that they should only encourage those students that are in the correct percentile in linguistics and that their career goals require them to do so. Murray also, believes that a student should not try to acquire a B.A. based on economic grounds, but that they should go with what they really want to do instead. He also believes that children should receive all their core knowledge in their K-8th grade years. Although I agree with Charles Murray up to a point, I cannot accept his overriding assumption that all college students are 18 year olds fresh out of high school. And even more so I disagree with Murray’s suggestion for high school guidance counselors and his thoughts on maturity.…
David Foster Wallace was a novelist and essayist. He delivered a commencement speech to liberal arts graduates at the Kenyon College in May of 2005. In the speech Wallace implores listeners to hear his words from a non-biased perspective for what they are; his words are not a reprimand to the selfish, but an offer to those seeking knowledge to broaden their perspective. Wallace warns against closed mindedness by using examples of his own experiences along with clichés, and the repeated idea that “…a liberal arts education is not so much about filling you up with knowledge as it is teaching you how to think.”-(Wallace, 2005 Kenyon Commencement Speech). Wallace expands on that cliché, showing the audience that the need to be taught is not an insult to their intelligence, but a tool that can be used to broaden the mind and experience life to the fullest.…
Michael Moore recognizes that while several Americans attend school and move on to higher education, the systems current programs in place leave much to be desired. Moore works to convince the reader on American ignorance when he says that “70 percent of those who graduate from America’s colleges are not required to learn a foreign language” (132). He also relates that several top universities do not require a course in American history to fulfill graduation requirements. Additionally, only a few of the prestigious universities who have students majoring in English Literature require that they attend a Shakespeare course. Moore gives examples that have the potential to sway readers into believing the current educational system in place for both public schools and higher education is failing to meet simplistic prerequisites for learning standards that benefit…
Whether college matters to people or not, the purpose of college is to prepare students of their career and in all areas of life. Liz Addison is known for her essay published on “New York Times” in two thousand and seven called, “Two Years Are Better Than Four”, which it became a runner up for an essay contest. “Two Years Are Better Than Four” is a response to Rick Perlstein’s essay “What’s the Matter with College?”. Perlstein’s argument in “What’s the Matter with College?” is that college don’t matter and that it ends in America, but Addison opposed the statements elaborating on how college isn’t going anywhere and that it matters for the future. Addison is a writer who graduated in community college of Southern Maine and Piedmont Virginia…
Charles Murray’s “Are Too Many People Going to College?” essay is adapted from his book published in 2008: Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing America’s Schools Back to Reality. In this essay, Charles Murray aims to convince his readers that too many people are going to college, too many people whom do not have the proper core knowledge that is needed to succeed. Instead, many students get ahead of themselves and plan for an unforeseeable future, when they do not know if they are going to succeed in this higher level of education without that proper core knowledge or the proper linguistic ability. Charles Murray states his opinions in this persuasive essay by incorporating ideas of other works of writing by other people and by drawing the audiences’ attention through realistic situations. I will not be doing a critique, I will be analyzing his essay to see whether he used deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning.…
I agree with this article. People dismiss the skills and knowledge that can be gained through first-hand experience when they focus too much on education being solely about going to school and getting good grades. Liz Addison agrees with this thinking in her article “Two Years Are Better Than Four” by saying that the opportunity for self-discovery is far more important than “prov[ing] yourself worldly, insightful, cultured,[and] mature” to attend a university (Addison 213). This is furthered by Sir Ken Robinson in his speech called “Changing Education Paradigms” when he emphasizes that the current education system needs to change their priorities. If they were concerned about pure learning, they wouldn’t place so much significance on classroom…
Although students believe that the more education they get, the more beneficial it will be for them, what they don’t realize, according to Wooldridge is…
As a former Ivy League professor, Menand was never questioned about what he was teaching his students. But while teaching at a public university, he was shocked after a number of students continued to ask him questions such as “Why did we have to read this book?” The interesting question allowed him to create three theories that explain different views of the modern college education.…
Both Freeman Hrabowski and David Leonhardt are brilliant writers, however, Leonhardt used his word choice to his advantage, creating a more convincing article. In his article, Hrabowski expressed his point of view about how college is worth it, but Leonhardt uses words to persuade the reader that it is not Leonhardt option but simply what "new data say". Hrabowski includes in his article that those opposed to his point of view, believing that going to college causes students to fall into "on unmanageable debt" (259) and that graduates are "unprepared for the world of work" (259). This view shows concern for students as they move on to the real world and is a tremendous issue in modern-day America, but in his article, Hrabowski never completely refutes the opposing side. However, Leonhardt says that going to college is becoming a "universal goal" (4) and therefore "a no-brainer" (4), meaning that everyone should attend college because it is an obvious choice. Leonhardt convinces the reader that college is a necessity to succeed in life, while Hrabowski fails to truly drive the idea like Leonhardt…
Bibliography: Allen, D. H. (2007, December 12). Why is Higher Education Important. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from…
Wendy Brown in the sixth chapter of Undoing the Demos talks about the misuse of higher education in todays society. She makes the point that we humans no longer seek higher learning for its traditional values. Instead we obsess over what the knowledge we obtain can do to further increase our "value". Brown states that, "It is not sought for developing the capacities of citizens, sustaining culture, knowing the world, or envisioning and crafting different ways of life in common. Rather, it is sought for positive return on investment." (Brown 177) This underlying truth has become an epidemic in todays education system.…