Is College Still Important In The 21st Century?

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Is college still relevant in the 21st century? Many believe college is more than relevant, that college is the most crucial part of a person’s life. Michelle Obama’s “Bowie State University Commencement Speech” encourages her listeners to pursue a college education and make sure their friends and family members do too; she says, “Today, getting an education is as important if not more important than it was back when this university was founded” (291). Other people, like Charles Murray, believe college is not relevant to all students. In “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Murray points out many students do not have the mental capability for college and instead should look into other job opportunities. Then there are people who see both …show more content…

Charles Murray agrees with this in “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, he makes a list of jobs he believes do not require a degree and says, “Actually becoming good in those occupations will take longer than four years, but most of the competence is acquired on the job” (242). Murrays point is that a school can only teach so much; physically doing a job will teach a person more about that job than a school ever will. Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill also endorse the idea of some students not attending college in their article “Should Everyone Go to College?”, this article weighs the pros and cons of college, they start out by saying, “By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice” (209). If all students are told they should pursue college regardless of their chosen occupation and mental capabilities they will only be wasting their time and

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