Posted on Nov 6, 2017
Chomsky: High College Tuition Is a Blunt Instrument to Keep the Middle Class Down
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Education
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Posted 7 y ago
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From the article: "The underfunding of public education, from K-12 through colleges and universities, has no plausible economic rationale, and in fact is harmful to the economy because of the losses that ensue. In other countries, rich and poor, education remains substantially free, with educational standards that rank high in global comparisons."
The countries that occur to me that have "substantially free" education through college or university ... also impose gates that a student must negotiate to get to the next level. Failure to meet the academic requirements to negotiate a gate shunts one on to a different track - be it lower level academic, technical, or vocational. I wouldn't have a problem with a similar system in our country ... though how one imposes that on states from the federal level escapes me. Were such a system sufficiently rigorous, perhaps with "gates" at the end of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade, then achievement becomes an incentive ... and lack of achievement has meaningful consequences. With that in place, I would support "substantially free" public school education through college or university. What I can't and won't support is unconditionally extending free public education to all through college. Seems to me that one has to earn one's place at the table ... and the sooner our young start learning that, the better.
The countries that occur to me that have "substantially free" education through college or university ... also impose gates that a student must negotiate to get to the next level. Failure to meet the academic requirements to negotiate a gate shunts one on to a different track - be it lower level academic, technical, or vocational. I wouldn't have a problem with a similar system in our country ... though how one imposes that on states from the federal level escapes me. Were such a system sufficiently rigorous, perhaps with "gates" at the end of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade, then achievement becomes an incentive ... and lack of achievement has meaningful consequences. With that in place, I would support "substantially free" public school education through college or university. What I can't and won't support is unconditionally extending free public education to all through college. Seems to me that one has to earn one's place at the table ... and the sooner our young start learning that, the better.
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SCPO Jason McLaughlin
"with educational standards that rank high in global comparisons"
A key statement, as there is no educational standards in the U.S. Often ones zip code will dictate the quality of free K-12 education. This is because we fund our education system with property taxes. Areas with high property taxes often have better K-12 education as they can afford to pay higher salaries, have better facilities, and of course better nutrition standards. All these are key for students to reach their potential. The ham-handed attempts (read common core, no child left behind) to standardize education has resulted in a lack of critical thinking skills development that has impeded academic development in the U.S.
Free education would only be as successful as the quality of the education provided, and then only if the playing field was an even one for every student.
A key statement, as there is no educational standards in the U.S. Often ones zip code will dictate the quality of free K-12 education. This is because we fund our education system with property taxes. Areas with high property taxes often have better K-12 education as they can afford to pay higher salaries, have better facilities, and of course better nutrition standards. All these are key for students to reach their potential. The ham-handed attempts (read common core, no child left behind) to standardize education has resulted in a lack of critical thinking skills development that has impeded academic development in the U.S.
Free education would only be as successful as the quality of the education provided, and then only if the playing field was an even one for every student.
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Or perhaps these two academicians are overthinking the problem. Plenty has been done to increase demand. What has been done in the last 40 years to increase supply?
My Dad was solidly in the middle class and had three kids. He didn't go into debt to send my sister through the University of Arizona for two Bachelor's degrees and a Masters Degree. He didn't go into debt to send my brother through the University of Arizona for a Bachelor's degree; and despite what my brother says, I am smarter than my brother, so Dad didn't have to pay for my college at all.
My Dad was solidly in the middle class and had three kids. He didn't go into debt to send my sister through the University of Arizona for two Bachelor's degrees and a Masters Degree. He didn't go into debt to send my brother through the University of Arizona for a Bachelor's degree; and despite what my brother says, I am smarter than my brother, so Dad didn't have to pay for my college at all.
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LTC (Join to see)
As another aside, I found the information in this National Center for Education Statistics summary of graduation rates of interest. A less than 60% graduation rate (in 6 years or less of school) is not particularly good. What was more interesting was the disparity between selective enrollment schools ... and open enrollment schools. "For example, at 4-year institutions with open admissions policies, 32 percent of students completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years. At 4-year institutions where the acceptance rate was less than 25 percent of applicants, the 6-year graduation rate was 88 percent." I used the NCES source for these numbers because there is no analysis with it. The numbers are what they are for whatever reason. You can find the numbers echoed elsewhere on the web with social and political commentary and "explanations" that vary based on the commentators' positioning on a scale between far left and far right, confirming that figures lie and liars figure ... in short, you can construe the numbers to support what you want them to support. Regardless, 60% sucks ... and 32% sucks even worse.
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=40
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=40
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SCPO Jason McLaughlin
LTC (Join to see) - I would attribute those numbers simply to the fact that having a high school diploma is not the measure of readiness for university or college level performance simply because not all High Schools are created equal or have the same standards.
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SCPO Jason McLaughlin
LTC (Join to see) - I also agree that without fixing the disparity at the K-12 education level, free college is not the answer.
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LTC (Join to see)
SCPO Jason McLaughlin - There is variety, for sure, in the possible explanations for the numbers ... ranging from yours (failure of schools) to the other extreme (students incapable of performing at the college level who never should have been admitted in the first place). I'm not sufficiently knowledgeable to determine where truth is. Perhaps a combination of both. At any rate, that's why I simply posted the numbers from the government agency that collects them rather than attempting to rationalize them.
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