“You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something – there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.” (Obama, 2012) How does this quotation relate to the increase of capitalism in the education institution? It has to do with the mentality of what people believe they are entitled to which is for the most part, a libertarian perspective. Libertarianism promotes equality of rights and a free market economy; however, there is a bias in favour for people who happen to have the benefits of arbitrary factors such as a good education or the benefit of coming from an affluent family. Philosopher John Rawls argues, “The natural distribution is neither just nor unjust; nor is it unjust that persons are born into society at some particular position. These are simply natural facts. What is just and unjust is the way that institutions deal with these facts.” (Rawls, 1999: 87) This is contingent on how society decides who gets a higher education as “family income, parental education, and factors such as aspirations and preparation for a post-secondary education are all significant determinants of who goes to post-secondary education.”(Finnie, Mueller, Sweetman, Usher, 2010) This creates a hierarchy of the academic elite. The rise of tuition fees along with credential inflation, contributes to the need to obtain some form of post-secondary schooling, which results in the massification of higher education. Consequently, the switch from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy requires a shift in the political economy from public to private ed...
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... and extensions. Sage, 1998.
Pappano, Laura. 2011. “The Master's as the New Bachelor's. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/education/edlife/edl-24masters-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Dobson, Roy. 2013. University Council Academic Programs Committee Requests For Decision. http://www.usask.ca/university_secretary/council/committees/academic_programs/2012-13termtwo/APC_Decision_Medicine_admission_March_2013.pdf October 21, 2013
Fisher, Donald. 2008. The exchange university corporatization of academic culture. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Rhoads, Robert A., and Carlos Alberto Torres. 2006. The university, state, and market: the political economy of globalization in the Americas. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.
Rhoades, Gary and Sheila Slaughter. 2004. “Academic Capitalism in the New Economy: Challenges and Choices.�The John Hopkins University Press. 38-60.
Mexican Lives is a rare piece of literature that accounts for the human struggle of an underdeveloped nation, which is kept impoverished in order to create wealth for that of another nation, the United States. The reader is shown that the act of globalization and inclusion in the world’s economies, more directly the United States, is not always beneficial to all parties involved. The data and interviews, which Hellman has put forth for her readers, contain some aspect of negativity that has impacted their lives by their nation’s choice to intertwine their economy with that of the United States. Therefore it can only be concluded that the entering into world markets, that of Mexico into the United States, does not always bring on positive outcomes. Thus, one sees that Mexico has become this wasteland of economic excrement; as a result it has become inherently reliant on the United States.
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
In society, independent learners are those who seek to further their education to the next level. In the article, “Why We Are Looking at the ‘Value’ of College All Wrong” by Valerie Strauss, Christopher B. Nelson argues that people can’t compare economics with receiving a higher education. Individuals who look at college from an economic lens view education the wrong way. Instead, individuals should look at the bigger picture, which is gaining an education and taking in the knowledge.
In the early 1600s, America was given the opportunity of higher education. As decades flew by universities grew and flourished to a point where it’s no longer a struggle to be admitted into a university, and it’s also more accessible to pay for, such as student loans, federal loans, scholarships and grants (Kirszner). Since attending university has become an essential to most high school graduates, universities have welcomed larger classes. A common argumentative debate when it comes to college is whether every American should attend. An example of someone who believes college is only for a handful of individuals is Charles Murray. Murray wrote, “What’s Wrong with Vocational School?” an article published in 2007 for the Wall Street
Mignolo, W. D. (2005). The Idea of Latin America (pp. 1-94). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
In the article “College is Not a Commodity. Stop treating it like one,” Hunter Rawlings explains how people today believe that college is a commodity, but he argues that it’s the student’s efforts; which gives value to their education. Rawlings states that in recent years college has been looked at in economic terms, lowering its worth to something people must have instead of earn. As a professor Rawlings has learned that the quality of education has nothing to do with the school or the curriculum, but rather the student’s efforts and work ethic. Rawlings explains the idea that the student is in charge of the success of his or her own education, and the professor or school isn’t the main reason why a student performs poorly in a class. Rawlings
Our experiences with social class help define and shape our expectations for education, it’s potential and its power. How is it fair that education is provided for all different economic backgrounds and financial circumstances, but yet not everyone is able to use the education system to its full advantage? For instance, in Mike Rose’s “Blue Collar Brilliance”, his mother to quit school to provide for her family, due to their financial circumstance. Most students choose to go off to the military or workforce because they understand that continuing their education is extremely expensive. Gerald Graff, author of “Hidden Intellectualism”, discusses the difference between “book smarts” and “street smarts”. Graff focuses on how smarts can take countless forms and even be hidden. Take the case of, the gap between the upper-class, and the middle and working class. There are far more obstacles facing the lower classes, such as financial worry, compared to the upper-class.
It should not be a surprise that many people believe that a college degree is a necessity in today’s world. We are taught to believe this at a young age. The average citizen will not question this statement due to how competitive the job market has become, yet does graduating college guarantee more success down the road? Peter Brooks is a scholar at Princeton University and publisher of an essay that questions the value of college. He obviously agrees that college can help securing a job for the future, but questions the humanities about the education. He uses other published works, the pursuit of freedom, and draws on universal arguments that pull in the reader to assume the rest of his essay has valid reasons.
It’s considered a rarity now days to walk down a major city street and not come across a single person who is fighting to survive poverty. The constant question is why don’t they go get help, or what did they do to become like this? The question that should be asked is how will America fix this? Over the past year, Americans who completed high school earned fifteen point five percent more per hour than that of dropouts (Bernstein, Is Education the Cure to Poverty). According to Jared Bernstein, in his article “Is Education the Cure to Poverty”, he argues that not only do the poor need to receive a higher education, but to also maximize their skill levels to fill in where work is needed (Is Education the Cure to Poverty). Counter to Bernstein’s argument Robert Reich expresses that instead of attempting to achieve a higher education, high school seniors need to find another way into the American middle class. Reich goes on to say “the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories” (Reich, Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone). Danielle Paquette, though, offers an alternative view on higher education. Paquette gives view that it doesn’t matter on the person, rather it’s the type of school and amount of time in school that will determine a person’s
Krugman 's even go about saying that this is why there is such a huge economic gap between social class. According to Krugman “Instead the rise in debt mainly reflected increased spending on housing, largely driven by the competition to get into good school districts. Middle- class Americans have been caught up in a rat race, not because they’re greedy or foolish but because they’re trying to give their children a chance in an increasingly unequal society”(564-565). All in all Krugman is saying that the only way for children in this day in age to receive a good education is by either being from an upper class family or making the public believe that your upper class, even though you can not afford that lifestyle. Which is not necessarily true because if you are willing to work hard enough you can go as far as you want in education.
Throughout the years, America has always debated whether education is needed- if it helps people succeed or not. The argument in the past was always over high school education, which is now mandatory. That decision has helped the US rise economically and industrially. Today, the US is in the middle of the same debate- this time, over college. Some, like David Leonhardt, a columnist for the business section of The New York Times, think a college education creates success in any job. Others, such as Christopher Beha, an author and assistant editor of Harper’s Magazine, believe that some college “education” (like that of for-profit schools) is a waste of time, and can even be harmful to students. Each stance on this argument has truth to it, and there is no simple answer to this rising issue in an ever changing nation full of unique people. Any final decision would affect the United States in all factions- especially economically and socially. However, despite the many arguments against college, there is overwhelming proof that college is good for all students, academically or not.
...rked fears of the return of the university system geared toward the wealthy. Society needs the higher educated, because the educated do serve a purpose. Not everyone is as blessed as the fortunate few to have obtained a higher education. Society needs professionals (doctors, lawyers, and engineers). It also needs artiest, essay writing professors, philosophers and politicians. In certain ways the educated owe it to the society they came from to make it a better, more diverse living environment, for everyone including themselves.
In every school around this country hanging on the walls are posters of great inspiration. They express the significance of what hard work, courage, determination, potential, and rising above and beyond can give a person who has a good education behind them. History books tell of a not so long ago point in time when America had an economy focused on physical labor that produced goods and then turned into a knowledge-centered one geared toward offering services. Looking at American now, one would never be able to guess that for a while education was important. Times changed and it was found that advanced knowledge and creativity was a thing to aspire too. Women fought hard just to be able to have the right to an education. “American politicians and pundits have regularly stressed that education holds the key to the country's future. Everyone seems to agree that good schools are prerequisites for broad economic prosperity, individual social mobility, and a healthy civil society in which informed voters engage in the public issues of the day.” (Mehta)
And in a post modern world like the one we are now living in where the world is not only powered by wealth but also the need to attain wealth, the influence of money have far outweighed that of education. Money is used in the funding of these educational institutions, Money is also a necessity to attend and most people, if not all, seek education to get better jobs, that will pay well, resulting in wealth. Believe it or not most entrepreneurs only have high school education.
Brinkman, June E., and Richard L. Brinkman. "Corporate Power and the Globalization Process." International journal of social economics 29.9/10 (2002): 730-52. Print.