“Too Many Americans Are Going to College”
Again we quote social scientist Charles Murray.
According to Murray, of those students with IQ’s exceeding 100, “far too many of them are going to four-year colleges.”
We will skip all of his arguments regarding those with IQ’s less than 115 versus those with IQ’s above, those who he deems simply not qualified for college level rigor versus those that are able to handle such demands, and move directly to one valid point within his argument: the stigma that is attached to vocational education/training.
Unfortunately, for far too many people, such training is thought of as second class. College, on the other hand, is thought of as first class. And there in lies one major problem.
Murray states that if the goal is to be able to make a good living, then more students should examine the option of vocational education/training. He goes on to make yet another relevant point in that many of the students who have the capacity for college level work are not actually interested in yet another four years of study. This is yet another group that could be well-served by the vocational option.
Murray indicates that far too many people place a premium on a college degree. Yes, many careers/jobs demand such a degree as its qualification. But many more careers are available with two years of specific training.
Murray completes his arguments with a valid truism in this part of the country. Finding a lawyer or physician is relatively easy but finding a plumber, carpenter or other qualified tradesman tends to be far more difficult.
I cannot say I agree with his arguments about IQ and the delineation of who should be college material. But I believe he is right on with his vocational training thoughts.
Here in Maine we continue along the opposite path. Our education promos feature slogans such as “College for ME” and “Everyone College Ready”.
The goal is noble, trying to ensure that kids have options after high school is a great premise. But those slogans in my home state further foster that negative viewpoint of vocational education/training.
If we continue to state that going to college is the best answer then there is no option for our kids but to see vocational education/training as second class.
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[...] noted previously the writings of Charles Murray in an earlier post, Too Many Americans Are Going to College, that far too many people see such training as second class while college is thought of as first [...]
America’s educational emphasis on going to college is a multisided problem.
One the one hand, while college is necessary for a number of professions fully 80% of graduates end up in jobs unrelated to their majors. Expending time and money in a way that might be considered unproductive.
On the other hand there is a darker side to the tilt toward college education. Our high schools stress college preparation to such a degree that important subjects that should be covered before a student leaves compulsory education are either skimmed over or eliminated all together.
Some people might want to argue that a college education is worthwhile whether it prepares you for employment or not because it broadens you and gives you an opportunity to be exposed to a variety of possible interests.
That argument is fine but consider that high schools are cutting some of these very same classes in there move toward college prep (not to mention the teach to the test imperative of ‘No Child Left Behind’.
To me he gravest result of all this is that students completing their compulsory education do not have the most basic tools necessary to function as adults in our consumer driven society. More specifically our high schools fail to provide a basic understanding of Personal Finance, credit, budgeting, saving & investment.
To make matters worse, these very same necessary life skills are also absent from our colleges.
I can’t help but feel that it only makes sense to order a curriculum so that the more important concepts are assured of being covered.
Let me leave my rant (my apologies) with these questions.
For what percentage of the adult population is quadratic equations more useful/important than money management?
For what percentage of the adult population is an understanding of literary criticism more important than the ability to put together a meal for yourself or your family?
Yours Truly
Jeff Bellamy
http://123MoneyBasics.com
http://TimeTravelUniversity
http://jeffbellamy.com
“For what percentage of the adult population is quadratic equations more useful/important than money management?
For what percentage of the adult population is an understanding of literary criticism more important than the ability to put together a meal for yourself or your family?”
Very good points. Unfortunately our education system has abandoned the philosophy of an educational heirarchy. It used to be assumed that one learned basic life skills before esoteric knowledge, facts before theory, reading before science, etc. Today’s philosophy tends to abandon this method after about 3rd grade. The core subjects of math and reading are taught with structure, but that’s about it.
I am working on my Ph.D. in education, and it is amazing how little research goes into the basic curriculum we teach our children. 99% of research is specific to a pre-defined content area, with no thought to that area’s relative importance in today’s world.
Personally speaking, the reason for how come there are too many Americans are going to college is because of the social fashion, it’s happened in many countries. As most companies demand degree as a ticket to have an interview, which means without a proper degree, you’ll be unfortunately out of the game, in addition, people haven’t gained a degree will be considered as a non-upper class.
I think in some area indeed that need to require some certain degree holders, like college professor, doctor, etc. but there are quite a number of fields are not necessary demanding degrees, which seems slightly use or useless for the jobs themselves. For instance, a librarian whose duty is in borrow-return in a college library require a bachelor degree which a high school graduate can also do the work as well as the bachelor degree holder.
I mean degree is neutral thing, but this society drives numerous population to seek it. Hopefully, there will be more employer would be more clear what kind of employees they want most, degree or profit?
in the past i have worked in industry, and i am now a chemistry professor at a small private university. but i come from blue-collar/farming roots, and was raised on hard work. 75 yrs ago, less than 5% of high school grads went on to get a BA/BS, and the country enjoyed its greatest period of prosperity and growth. now it is well over two-thirds, and we are in a profound economic crisis that goes far beyond what the TV tells us. from my years of observation, i’d say approximately the same 5% of students are actually competent to be in higher education, and do reasonably well (in spite of the total lack of preparation provide by public schools). the real problem is greed. colleges and universities will do anything to keep enrollment up, including dumbing down the curriculum and standards, however far they need to go. the immediate losers are the 5% who deserve to be challenged, but who have to spend the first three years waiting for the rest or their college classmates to get to where they should have been if public schools were actually doing their job. in long run, everyone loses. i routinely see college graduates who would have barely squeaked through high-school in my day, who can’t perform fourth grade arithmetic in their heads, and who, to put it bluntly, don’t know snot from shinola. public education is so screwed up, i believe the only way to fix it would be to scrap it entirely, and start from scratch. first of all, three-quarters of the teachers are whole incompetent, and should be fired. they themselves are the product of our dysfunctional educational system. then the entire administation should be fired as well, and replaced with people who have the courage to stand up to the whiny, bitchy, politically correct parents who are largely responsible for destroying the american public educational system. the first thing that needs to change is that discipline and accountably need to be brought back into the classroom. and some children must be allowed to fail. competition is engine that drives excellence. everyone is NOT special. unfortunately this is not going to happen. so the outlook is bleak, to put it politely. combine this accelerating downward spiral of public education with the greed of public and private higher education institutions, and throw in a large dose of stupidity from TV brainwashed parents who think that a college degree magically confers respectability and increased earning power, and you have a fool-proof recipe for disaster. according to the US dept of education, over 83% of college grads will end up in a job unrelated to their degree, and not only that, but a job that shouldn’t require a college degree. at the same time, union bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, factory workers, etc, will ALL earn double to triple what the average college grad with a BA/BS will earn. americans need to be cured of the popular delusion that going to college makes you respectable (refer to bernie madoff, and the litany of corporate pigs recently paraded on the news if you need evidence to the contrary), and likewise that there is somehow dishonor in having a job where you get their hands dirty. this is actually completely reversed from the truth. there is no dishonor in honest work. never has been. never will be. i have more respect for the guy who shovels out the horse barn than the average politician, lawyer, banker, doctor, etc. SO SHOULD YOU!
At my very last semester of college this year, a very brillant yet humble professor told me this,”Only 20% of professions out there require any college level education. We’re [referring to professionals in academia] telling 100% of kids to get degrees, and only 20% of them really need degrees.” I was very shocked he told me this in private, and I asked him what was the point of going to college. His reply in a hearty chuckle, “For me to keep my job and keep the college in business.”
I can remember being in middle school and high school and going to college was pressed on all of us CONSTANTLY; the over achievers (myself), the average students, and students that should have dropped out a long time ago and gone into a trade school or to a juvie detention center. I remember being told by a high school teacher senior year, “Just get a degree in anything, and you’ll get a good job soon after you graduate. You’ll be making around 50K for starters.” Now that I think about it, it sounded like a sells pinch.
Before I went to a four year college to finish my education, I did attend vocational training for two years to become a medical assistant and nursing aid. That was in 2006. Even volunteering in hospitals, clinics, and social services centers, I was still unable to find work as a nursing aid or as a medical assistant. Many employers had told me,”You don’t have enough education.” Here’s the irony: a person doesn’t need to go to college to become a nurse aid or a MA. High school or job corp can be used to obtained the training and certifications.
I remember back in ’06, several hospitals, clinics, and hospices in my city and the surrounding towns were looking for four year college graduates to become medical clerks, patient transports, nursing aids, and various other positions. Jobs that shouldn’t require much education that pay min. wage to barely above min. wage. Bascially, a person with a four year degree in medical administration to make 7.25/hour.
Okay, I know I’m babbling, but I now have a human and health services degree with honors, took numerous internships, have a steady work history and good references, and I am a certified medical assistant, and I just been laid off from a min. wage, part time job in social services that I had for a few weeks.
The woman that hired me admitted that she barely finished high school. No college education or training in her top level position. She is just horrible at what she does and doesn’t know how to write (she has trouble reading as well; yes, my writing on here isn’t the best, but her writing like this; “Im gald to be apart of this organesation”-I wish I was kidding) and managing people and resources wisely. Just by looking at the organization and its staff, anyone would see it going downhill fast. With my business administration, accounting, and marketing college education and experience with people, I’m more qualified to work as a manager than her.
I have been working for since I was 16, and I’m still unable to find a job in my field that pays the same or above min. wage. I’m making the same wage as I was 10 years ago. I guess my point is this: what is the true point of going to college? I learned more reading materials and researching on my own (through work experience and volunteering) than I even did from the textbooks and lectures. College did help direct me in what I wanted to do in my life, but doing my own research and working was more of use to me (about 99% more useful).
My professor told the entire class one phrase that still stuck in my head to this day , “College is the new high school diploma, and employers are looking for the bare minimum qualifications.”
Nevermind, I think just my question is answered then…
I’m afraid of the day that vocational school is not enough and a person must obtain a an undergraduate or master’s degree to flip a burger at McDonald’s or Burger King or to be a stock clerk at WalMart or Sears because degrees are so overhyped these days.
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