The Case Against college
Many scholars debate on whether or not education is important to a person’s success. In an article titled, “The Case Against College,” Dale Stephens argues that people don’t need college to be successful in life. He believes that college kills creativity, puts people in debt, and one does not need a college degree to find a job in today’s age. He states that he believes colleges today are built upon a system that kills the creative thinking in people’s minds. He also explains the problem of student debt and how it forces students to simply find jobs after they get out of college just to pay off their debt rather than looking for ways to create or develop their dreams for their future. Stephens does explain in his manifesto, however, that he isn’t totally against college but simply believes a college degree is not worth the large amounts of money students have to pay to get them. Above all, he emphasizes his theory that people can use self-improvement tactics and today’s technology, like the Internet, to put their creative talents on display, making a formal degree unnecessary when obtaining a job. In conclusion, Stephen’s belief is that college is not necessary and it can hurt people’s future rather than help it.
In my view, Stephens is right about the large percent of students that go into debt after college. However, he is wrong because in society today, many employers look for people with at least a 4-year degree from a college. Otherwise, it would be very hard to find any sort of well-paying job. Also, if Stephens’s claim about the restrictive structure of the college schooling system were true, than the public schooling system before college would also have to apply. This being the case, those who have already been through the normal schooling would have had their creativity “killed” before they get into college, which would mean college would not be to blame in his theory. More specifically, I believe that dropping out of or not going to college is not the answer. Instead, reinventing the system would be more beneficial rather than not being a part of it entirely. Although Stephens might object that college is, in fact, important to someone’s future, I maintain that college is necessary for a large percent of the population to succeed in life. Therefore, I conclude, that college is not the source of the problem that kills creativity and students need to stand up to work through the financial problems that are present in today’s system to make college accessible because college is very important to people’s futures.
Despite Stephens’s claims that the structure in which college is based upon is the same system that was used to train factory workers back in the 18th and 19th century in America, he fails to realize that college is not the source of that problem and people who have already been part of the school system would have, according to Stephens, had their creativity killed before college. The school system does, in some way, command a certain type of learning on kids; however, the experiment Stephens refers to in his article was done to kids who did not go to college. This means the effects of the school system start to occur well before any form of higher education. If any change were to be brought in attempts to fix the problem of schools killing creativity, it would have to involve changing the school systems that comes before college rather than completely rejecting the idea all together. Implementing more art and other programs outside the STEM subjects could be an example that would help fix the problem of the creatively challenged school system. If more opportunities for inventive thinking were offered to students at a younger age, creativity can be preserved and college would be an extension to someone’s goals rather than just another step in someone’s life that is forced upon them based on society’s norms. Stephens may not agree that college is not the problem, but he would agree with me that schools need more outlets for students of all ages to satisfy their creative needs. By changing the school system, prior to college, people’s creativity can be secured and it would allow college to fulfill its purpose: to give people the tools to succeed in life.
In his article, Stephens urges people that college puts so much financial pressure on students after college, but instead of simply skipping out on college all together, why not look for ways to decrease the cost of college to begin with? It is a fact that a large number of students in the United States suffer from being in debt after college. Debt can cause financial problems for people in the future if not taken care of. Stephens does not shy away when talking about the financial problems that college can cause for a person who needs student loans to pay for their education; however, not going to college is just running away from the issue and does not create a solution for that issue. In 2009, the US government spent around 7 times the amount spent on education on the military. Much of that tax money can be put into education to help students manage their expenses better. In today’s age, there are so many outlets that allow people to voice their opinions. With modern media availability, students should look to tell their government that their education is more important than bombs and missiles. The role of America’s government is to serve its people and nothing would serve people better than aiding the next generation who will one day run the country in their own respects. With the government’s help, college could be something people look forward to rather than just another obstacle they have to overcome.
Although Stephens claims that a college degree is not worth the time and money people invest into it, over 700,000 international students in 2010 and growing disagreed with him in thinking that a college education is not worth such a dedication. He illustrates steps in his manifesto that people can take to become successful without going to college. He thinks college is unnecessary and firmly believes a degree is not worth $40,000, but thousands of people all over the world travel to America to take part in this “unnecessary” education. The financial help students can get from the government can give them a chance to be part of what people travel half way around the world to be part of. Higher education in American is seen as one of the world’s best and the large number of international enrollments demonstrates it. If students from all around the world attend one of America’s colleges, why shouldn’t American students? Stephens may believe college is useless, but over 700,000 people in 2010 did not.
In Stephens’s manifesto, he suggests that self-directed learning and the use of the Internet is enough to become successful, but there is a big imbalance in the ratio of the relatively small number of people who have been successful and those who are still struggling. The Internet gives people the ability to connect with virtually anyone and anything in the world and Stephens even gives examples of different sites that allow people to show off their talents online and to put their work on display. He suggests that the Internet paired with his twelve steps in self-directed learning is sufficient enough for someone to find a job or career. There is no doubt that the Internet can be the beginning of people’s careers and people like Justin Beiber and Colbie Callet are fine examples of this. However, out of the number of those who have succeeded through similar tactics as Stephens suggests, what is the number of people who have tried and failed to start their careers up? Of those people who do inspire to be artists, the likely hood of becoming successful are very slim. A survey that was taken about artists in Australia are stuck and having difficulty supporting themselves financially just by survival means, let alone find time to dedicate to their creative work. Money is required to sponsor their creative dreams and people who abandon the idea of college are forced to work low paying jobs to keep their artistic dreams alive. Stephens may not think college is needed to get a job, but in today’s conditions, it is extremely difficult to get jobs, regardless in what field, without some sort of formal schooling or training in the particular field.
Stephens is right that the informational stream of the Internet gives artists and innovative creators a way to show off their work, but what about the people who inspire to become something that cannot be put on a computer screen? What is the situation was reverse someone wanted to leave the more creative life-style they have now and get proper? The young performers in Alegria stated in the documentary called “A Journey to Alegria: A Special,” that they would like to finish school and one day, become a doctor or lawyer. This is an example of how someone who lives in a world of creativity and innovation want to be part of the system that Stephens claims to be so wrong. Would college still be so wrong if someone knowingly wants to revert their lifestyle from a creative one to a more “boring” one? In all fairness to Stephens, he does state that he doesn’t believe everyone should not go to college but simply that college is not the only way to be successful. If he were to be asked this question, he would probably explain all the downsides of college before simply saying go to college, but I am confident that Stephens is not totally against college. In his manifesto, however, he states that a “piece of paper”, referring to a degree, is worth $40,000 dollars. Kids, like the young performers, inspire to become doctors or lawyers and if there was no college, how would they be able to achieve their dreams? Without the right schooling or degree, it would be impossible in today’s age to get a job as prestigious as a doctor or lawyer. If he believes that people achieving their innermost desired goals is the most important thing in the world, how can there be a price put on someone’s happiness and fulfillment in life when what separates them from their dreams is that very same “piece of paper”?
College is an institution that gives people the tools to succeed in life. Dale Stephens says that college hurts the chances of people having a fulfilling life because it kills a person’s creativity, puts a person in debt, and there are other ways of succeeding that are better than college. Although many of the general statements are true, Stephens fails to mention alternatives or other problems. First, if his claims that the school system kills creativity were true, college would not be the problem but rather the overall public school system. Changes should be made to overall school structure instead of neglecting college completely. Second, although college does put people in debt, the solution should not be to avoid college. The solution would be having students appeal to the government to give more help to students financially, which would benefit both parties in the future. Lastly, although people have found success through the Internet and other means other than college, the practicality of it is in put into serious question. Looking for a job, in today’s economy, without a college degree is very difficult. Skipping out on what people from countries all over the world highly value is not the best life move someone can make. College can be a very useful asset to a person and missing the opportunity to gain what millions of people before have used to become successful can be the most damaging decision to someone’s future.
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