Comments on: College for all? http://willbrownsberger.com/index.php/archives/271 State Senator -- 2nd Suffolk and Middlesex -- Democrat Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:18:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Will Brownsberger http://willbrownsberger.com/index.php/archives/271#comment-801 Will Brownsberger Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:08:57 +0000 http://willbrownsberger.com/wordpress/?page_id=271#comment-801 Hey Mary, You say: "I think that all students who have the ABILITY and DESIRE to pursue a degree in higher education should be able to do so. " I said: " Most would agree with the principle that no child who achieves adequately in secondary school should face insurmountable financial barriers to a post-secondary education. " I think we agree! I completely agree that education is about more than job training. My point is that the current argument for college for all is entirely based on the false assumption that college is necessary job training for all. Again, I think we may also agree on this! What do we disagree on? Hey Mary,

You say: “I think that all students who have the ABILITY and DESIRE to pursue a degree in higher education should be able to do so. ”

I said: ” Most would agree with the principle that no child who achieves adequately in secondary school should face insurmountable financial barriers to a post-secondary education. ”

I think we agree! I completely agree that education is about more than job training. My point is that the current argument for college for all is entirely based on the false assumption that college is necessary job training for all. Again, I think we may also agree on this!

What do we disagree on?

]]> By: MaryCaffrey http://willbrownsberger.com/index.php/archives/271#comment-800 MaryCaffrey Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:55:10 +0000 http://willbrownsberger.com/wordpress/?page_id=271#comment-800 I appreciate that you have supplied so much statistical information to back up your viewpoint. However, I think the basis of your argument - that Higher Education's primary function is job training - is flawed. I think that all students who have the ABILITY and DESIRE to pursue a degree in higher education should be able to do so. Unfortunately, the way our society is currently structured, that is not possible. Individuals who are poor face many barriers to obtaining even a mediocre elementary education. No matter how good the teachers and administrators are in a particular school system, many of the children in poorer communities will not be able to succeed because of the social pressures that they face. Economic and social stability must be attained for these children in order for them succeed as students. (See Maslow's Hierarchy of needs) Once some parity is achieved, those students who have the intellectual ability and desire to pursue a degree in higher education, should be afforded the resources that they need to succeed. A degree in higher education should provide individuals with much more than job training. It should foster the ability to seek out new ideas and ways of thinking and to think critically. In light of the recent elections, I'm sure that you must understand how important these skills are! If the majority of our electorate were EDUCATED (presently only 30% of our electorate have even attended college - not graduated, but attended) campaigns that play solely on emotions and are devoid of any fact might not be as successful. Perhaps if a larger percentage of the electorate obtained a better and more complete education - one that taught them how to think critically, to understand history and the errors of the past - we would stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Education should not be viewed solely as job training. If we stick with that definition of education, we will lose the brilliant new ideas that are lurking in the minds of our children and young adults. New inventions and discoveries are not unleashed through "job training." They are fostered by expanding the mind and pushing individuals to look at the world in new and different ways. Our current education "reform" that is focused on testing and giving the "right answers" in the elementary system is already robbing our young students of a good deal of time that could be better spent in discovery. Is it arrogance or ignorance that makes us believe we have the answers? Education is not about answers, it is about questions. There is much of life that we still have not tapped into. It would be sad to think that our education system might become so entrenched in job training and testing that we missed the opportunities that might be unleashed by a more complete education. I appreciate that you have supplied so much statistical information to back up your viewpoint. However, I think the basis of your argument – that Higher Education’s primary function is job training – is flawed. I think that all students who have the ABILITY and DESIRE to pursue a degree in higher education should be able to do so. Unfortunately, the way our society is currently structured, that is not possible. Individuals who are poor face many barriers to obtaining even a mediocre elementary education. No matter how good the teachers and administrators are in a particular school system, many of the children in poorer communities will not be able to succeed because of the social pressures that they face. Economic and social stability must be attained for these children in order for them succeed as students. (See Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs)

Once some parity is achieved, those students who have the intellectual ability and desire to pursue a degree in higher education, should be afforded the resources that they need to succeed.

A degree in higher education should provide individuals with much more than job training. It should foster the ability to seek out new ideas and ways of thinking and to think critically. In light of the recent elections, I’m sure that you must understand how important these skills are! If the majority of our electorate were EDUCATED (presently only 30% of our electorate have even attended college – not graduated, but attended) campaigns that play solely on emotions and are devoid of any fact might not be as successful. Perhaps if a larger percentage of the electorate obtained a better and more complete education – one that taught them how to think critically, to understand history and the errors of the past – we would stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again.

Education should not be viewed solely as job training. If we stick with that definition of education, we will lose the brilliant new ideas that are lurking in the minds of our children and young adults. New inventions and discoveries are not unleashed through “job training.” They are fostered by expanding the mind and pushing individuals to look at the world in new and different ways. Our current education “reform” that is focused on testing and giving the “right answers” in the elementary system is already robbing our young students of a good deal of time that could be better spent in discovery. Is it arrogance or ignorance that makes us believe we have the answers? Education is not about answers, it is about questions. There is much of life that we still have not tapped into. It would be sad to think that our education system might become so entrenched in job training and testing that we missed the opportunities that might be unleashed by a more complete education.

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