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Effects of consumerism on children
Essay about consumerism in education
Essay about consumerism in education
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In contemporary society, the average person is coddled and raised to be sensitive about everything whether it be good or bad. This translates over to universities, which causes them to be less academic and more consumer- based. As the years progress, the trend is becoming more prevailing which poses the question, do universities truly care about the education that they are providing, or is it turning more into a business? Although some consumerism in education is good and is a driving force to better institutions, too much like we have in it now is beginning to deteriorate the quality of the education provided and in turn weakening American society. Consumerism is becoming more widespread in universities due to the rising number of prospective students to the large number of possible colleges. This large difference in the amount of students to the number of available universities is causing the students to be more selective in their choice of university. This selectiveness is beginning to sway from the academics to what amenities universities can offer. This is causing colleges to switch their focuses from academia to the products and services they could provide. Some of these aspects are addressed by Mark Edmundson’s article, “Over the past few years, the physical layout of my university has been changing[…] our funds go to construction, into new dorms, into renovating the student union[….]turning of his university into a sports-and-fitness emporium”(Edmundson 327-328). With the colleges switching their focuses so that they can retain the same number of students, they unintentionally detract from the education aspect of college. Because universities are undergoing massive amounts of construction to accommodate the growing numbe... ... middle of paper ... ...000 Grades." Web log post. The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 May 2010. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. Rojastaczer, Stuart. "Grade Inflation Gone Wild." From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. By Stuart Greene and April Lidinsky. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 68-69. Print. Tucker, Jan, and Bari Courts. "Grade Inflation in the College Classroom." Foresight : the Journal of Futures Studies, Strategic Thinking and Policy 12.1 (2010): 45-53. ProQuest. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. Zimmerman, Jonathan. "The Answer to College Binge drinking." New York Post The Answer to College Bingedrinking Comments. N.p., 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. Ziomek, Robert L., and Joesph C. Svec. "High School Grades and Achievement: Evidence of Grade Inflation." National Association of Secondary School Principals.NASSP Bulletin 81.587 (1997): 105-13. ProQuest. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.
In the essay, “College Consumerism Run Amok” authored by Kevin Carey describe how colleges are careless with their money. Throughout the essay, Kevin Carey explains why normal people think the average price of college tuition has risen across the United States. People believe college tuition is rising because students demand colleges to have “creature comforts”, such as luxury dorms, a fully operational gym, and a climbing wall. Also, that the creation for “creature comforts” in colleges has caused academic standards to decline. Yet, colleges market to students with these amenities instead of showing students comparable statistics: the quality of teaching, scholarships, and academic environment. Kevin Carey, in the end, sums up his idea with
For some universities, investing into items such as these are a successful method to get students buy into and attend their schools. This is an example of consumerism, the promotion of ideas of buyers, and it is possibly the main cause of the lack of interest in college students today. Items like new vending machines and gymnasiums seem to have a higher interest than a quality education to some. It is desired to attend a college that has activities that are for enjoyment, and this causes some colleges to focus mainly on upgrading their extracurricular programs, which then shifts the student’s attention away from their studies and leaves humanities majors fighting over students. This is a struggle that Edmundson finds himself
What stands out about American universities today? Is it the academic opportunities offered to students, experienced faculty, or strong sense of community? Or...perhaps they have lost their focus. It is not uncommon for universities to focus their efforts and budgets elsewhere; by building state of the art gyms, for example, remodeling luxury dorms, grooming campuses, or creating more management positions. College students and professors alike are subject to the nationally occurring changes in higher level education. Colleges are becoming commercialized and tuition is rising, but is the quality of education improving? In “Why We Should Fear University, Inc.”, Fredrik DeBoer is able to provide a personal take on the issue of corporate domination
Murray, Charles. “Are Too Many People Going to College?” They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter In Academic Writing. Ed. Gerald Graff. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 222-242. Print.
Going through college should not be as easy as going through a drive-thru at a fast food restaurant. Young adults should be interactive and critically thinking throughout their education, not disinterested of it. Author Simon Benlow, in his essay “Have It Your Way: Consumerism Invades Education,” believes that students are turning to consumerist ways, not thanks to the college’s culture (139). Since my return to community college, there has been a trend with the younger adults: Not caring.
With many opinions on why America 's education achievement level has dropped to its lowest point, many say school policies are the blame; some say that classrooms have a greater impact on educational achievement. The book, The classroom crucible. What really works, what doesn 't and why? written by Edward Pauly gives the reader an understanding on what causes student achievement and what the teachers feel is cause for some classroom to have greater test results than others. James S. Coleman, Eric Hanushek, Richard Murane and Edward Pauly have done intense research and started studies at different periods of time on what is causing for some schools and classrooms to have better results in test scores.
Former professor of geophysics, Stuart Rojstaczer, in his informative op-ed piece, “Grade Inflation Gone Wild,” featured in “Christian Science Monitior(2009),” investigates grade inflation among universities today. Rojstaczer’s purpose is to inform and educate universities on the inflation of grades, and how an A has become the average grade among those schools. He adopts a dismissive tone when generalizing and addressing the students on their behaviors and actions. Rojstaczer found over 80 universities with data on they’re grades, using this he was able to better understand the inflation and also analyze possible solutions. His logos based writing portrays a negative connotation on todays students and their ability to achieve within the classroom. There is no hiding that the standard for grades has been on the rise sense the 1960’s, and is now at an average GPA of a 3.0, but rojstaczer may have lost his audience with his arrogant approach.
We see a constant struggle between students and professors when it comes to the grading scale. These differences make learning a hassle. “I am placed in the position of having to figure out new ways to trick them into learning by designing ingenious new ways to grade,” says Vogel (339). The present grading system pushes students to take easy classes. Students on scholarships are afraid of taking hard classes because they run the risk of loosing financial aid if their grades don’t meet the average (Vogel 339). Farber agrees, “Getting graded turns people away from hard subjects,” (334). He offers his readers a utopia free of grades. This new...
The documentary Starving the Beast is about the current fight going on regarding public higher education in America. The film explains that there has been a shift in how higher education is viewed. It has gone from being viewed as investment in citizens and the future of America as a “public good” to something students themselves must buy into as consumer like any other good or service. It goes on to explore the decline in funding for public universities and the ideological divide that is causing it. One side believes that public universities are something worthwhile for states to invest in because makes it easier for students to attend school, therefore increasing their own worth and ability to contribute to their states' economies.
To begin with, there are valid points made. For starters universities need to stop considering themselves as businesses and stop putting business first, and
When students arrive at university, professors expect them to understand the material to an exceptional standard. The problem is that grade inflation is occurring more regularly in secondary schools and universities across the country and when these students’ marks are sent to universities or colleges, the student may be given multiple scholarships for something that he/she should not have earned. Grade inflation is conceived between both students and teachers, meaning that the students are given higher grades when they have inadequate learning, reading, and verbal skills, while the teachers do not have to grade as many papers as they should in the real curriculum. There have been multiple examinations that have confirmed that grade inflation is very real and still occurs today. Students seem to think that they do not need to put forth much effort in school to do well and grade inflation encourages this thought.
Graff, G., Birkenstein, C., & Durst, R. K. (2009). The Growing College Gap. "They say/I say": the moves that matter in academic writing : with readings (p. 379). New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
US education reform has centered on increasing accountability for student performance over the last 20 years. Despite these reforms, student achievement has stayed fairly static. The US primary and secondary school systems continue to produce an overwhelming number of sub-standard graduates, as well maintaining a significant percentage of dropouts.
When students work hard, they expect instant results and when they don’t get the results they expect, it causes a great upset. But there is hope says Mary Flannery, from the National Education Association, paying their kids for his or her high score in academics has been a tactic used by parents for a long time, now schools are catching on. Psychological studies prove that incentives, such as money for grades, have inspired the less engaged students since the 1970’s (Geewax). So the method has obviously been working for over forty years. Even the past mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, agrees. Bloomburg had a plan to pay seventh all the way through forth for outstanding grades on standardized tests (Bander). Stacey Priestly, a teacher in North Indiana, says that “My son gets money for his grades. We tell him going to school and getting good grades is his job; if he does his job well, he gets paid just like his job in the real world” (Flannery). This trend has spread from high school to college. A number of scholars are earning money by scoring high on their SAT and Advanced Placement tests in educational institutions from Massachusetts to Texas (Flannery). Marilyn Geewax, author of the article “Does Paying for Good Grades Cheapen E...
The structure and workings of the university are ever changing. The university of the past is not like the university of the present and the university of the present will not be like the university of the future. This “adaptation” to the times is what can make some universities great or make some universities among the worst in the nation.