Zook
Perpetual Lazy Bum
Link to original post: [drupal=4482]Propaganda, Education, and You[/drupal]
Every time I get into my car, I hear a commercial for iamcollegebound.org. From what I've seen, it's a New Hampshire based website that helps kids feel more comfortable about the choosing a college process, talking about student aid, scholarships, and suggesting that kids take a pledge to go to college (not sure exactly what that's about). Now, these commercials annoy me for two reasons: one, they're more overplayed than Don't Stop Believing, and two, they're trying to drill the whole "You must go to college!!!!" mentality into kids.
Unfortunately, this mentality is pretty widespread nowadays. Basically the entire American public education system is trying to scare students into believing that, if they don't go to college, they'll be poor, unable to have a good job, and be generally miserable for their life. On the other hand, they make college appear to be this magical place where you go to for a few years and leave with a certain magical knowledge that grants you a great life. After all, college graduates make on average one million more dollars in their lifetime than noncollege grads do, right? I heard that statistic thrown around a lot back in high school.
I'd argue that that is all, for the most part, bull****. I would say that it is not the level of education one receives that determines how their life will turn out, but is dependent more so on one's own spirit, motivation, and intelligence.
Let's say we have two people: Girl A and Guy B. Girl A was a great student throughout her first 12 years, participated in many extracurricular activities, graduated with honors, went on to go to a good 4 year university, and she now lives in a nice house with a decent job. Guy B was a rather average student, who rarely partook in any extracurricular activities, and generally floated through school. He manages to graduates, and is barely managing to make a living with his minimum wage job.
It's safe to say that most people would say that Girl A is living a better life than Guy B. But why? Is it because Girl A went to college? I would argue that, if neither of them went to college, Girl A would still be living a largely superior life than Guy B because of her mindset. She is probably a person with ambition, with goals, motivation, and a positive outlook on life. Guy B probably does not share those traits.
College does not guarantee a better life for you, or more money, or even a job. To get any of those, you need to be positive. You need to be willing to work. I work with plenty of people who have their bachelors degrees, and they make just as much money as me, a kid fresh out of high school with literally no prior work experience. It upsets me that students are being basically brainwashed that this won't happen to them, that if they do drop tens of thousands of dollars on college they'll get rainbows and gold in return. It's a propaganda act. There aren't a ton jobs out there, even for those with college degrees. It's tough to find work. It's a lot like the Grapes of Wrath, where they led the Oakies to believe that there were a ton of jobs in California, but when they got there they found out there was 10 workers for every one job.
Also, that 'million more in a lifetime' thing is a terribly skewed statistic if you think about it. The rare super success stories bloats the average earning for a college graduate, and all of the really dumb people of the world are mostly people who will never attend a college.
I'm not saying that college is a bad thing, it isn't. If you know what you want and how you'll achieve it, go ahead, go for it. If you get to go for free, you'd be dumb not to. If you're passionate about a single job that you absolutely need secondary education, go nuts. Just remember that nothing is guaranteed, and colleges have no obligation to get you a job once you graduate. Money is important, like it or not. If you just want a job that pays well, consider trade school. It'll cost a lot less than traditional college, and the demand for skilled trades is growing rapidly.
Be your own person. Listen to what your teachers and counselors and whomever else say is good for you, and think about who is really winning in that situation: you, or the schools. Don't think that you have to take a pledge to go to college in order to succeed in life; determine what success is yourself. Many people find success in being able to raise and sustain a healthy family, which you need a good job to do. Others find meaning in a job or area they care passionately about. Few people are happy with themselves if they let themselves get sucked into a system that ends up leaving them with a poor job a buried in debt that will take them decades to pay off, if they ever do.
Be smart. Know yourself.
Every time I get into my car, I hear a commercial for iamcollegebound.org. From what I've seen, it's a New Hampshire based website that helps kids feel more comfortable about the choosing a college process, talking about student aid, scholarships, and suggesting that kids take a pledge to go to college (not sure exactly what that's about). Now, these commercials annoy me for two reasons: one, they're more overplayed than Don't Stop Believing, and two, they're trying to drill the whole "You must go to college!!!!" mentality into kids.
Unfortunately, this mentality is pretty widespread nowadays. Basically the entire American public education system is trying to scare students into believing that, if they don't go to college, they'll be poor, unable to have a good job, and be generally miserable for their life. On the other hand, they make college appear to be this magical place where you go to for a few years and leave with a certain magical knowledge that grants you a great life. After all, college graduates make on average one million more dollars in their lifetime than noncollege grads do, right? I heard that statistic thrown around a lot back in high school.
I'd argue that that is all, for the most part, bull****. I would say that it is not the level of education one receives that determines how their life will turn out, but is dependent more so on one's own spirit, motivation, and intelligence.
Let's say we have two people: Girl A and Guy B. Girl A was a great student throughout her first 12 years, participated in many extracurricular activities, graduated with honors, went on to go to a good 4 year university, and she now lives in a nice house with a decent job. Guy B was a rather average student, who rarely partook in any extracurricular activities, and generally floated through school. He manages to graduates, and is barely managing to make a living with his minimum wage job.
It's safe to say that most people would say that Girl A is living a better life than Guy B. But why? Is it because Girl A went to college? I would argue that, if neither of them went to college, Girl A would still be living a largely superior life than Guy B because of her mindset. She is probably a person with ambition, with goals, motivation, and a positive outlook on life. Guy B probably does not share those traits.
College does not guarantee a better life for you, or more money, or even a job. To get any of those, you need to be positive. You need to be willing to work. I work with plenty of people who have their bachelors degrees, and they make just as much money as me, a kid fresh out of high school with literally no prior work experience. It upsets me that students are being basically brainwashed that this won't happen to them, that if they do drop tens of thousands of dollars on college they'll get rainbows and gold in return. It's a propaganda act. There aren't a ton jobs out there, even for those with college degrees. It's tough to find work. It's a lot like the Grapes of Wrath, where they led the Oakies to believe that there were a ton of jobs in California, but when they got there they found out there was 10 workers for every one job.
Also, that 'million more in a lifetime' thing is a terribly skewed statistic if you think about it. The rare super success stories bloats the average earning for a college graduate, and all of the really dumb people of the world are mostly people who will never attend a college.
I'm not saying that college is a bad thing, it isn't. If you know what you want and how you'll achieve it, go ahead, go for it. If you get to go for free, you'd be dumb not to. If you're passionate about a single job that you absolutely need secondary education, go nuts. Just remember that nothing is guaranteed, and colleges have no obligation to get you a job once you graduate. Money is important, like it or not. If you just want a job that pays well, consider trade school. It'll cost a lot less than traditional college, and the demand for skilled trades is growing rapidly.
Be your own person. Listen to what your teachers and counselors and whomever else say is good for you, and think about who is really winning in that situation: you, or the schools. Don't think that you have to take a pledge to go to college in order to succeed in life; determine what success is yourself. Many people find success in being able to raise and sustain a healthy family, which you need a good job to do. Others find meaning in a job or area they care passionately about. Few people are happy with themselves if they let themselves get sucked into a system that ends up leaving them with a poor job a buried in debt that will take them decades to pay off, if they ever do.
Be smart. Know yourself.
