Lad! If you think this is your last year of school, Stop thinking because do you think High School diploma is going to fulfill your dreams? How far would a high school diploma take you in life? Especially during times of recession, how worthwhile a high school diploma will prove to be? College is imperative for a long and prosperous life and can make your dreams come true in the long.
In an essay “Three reasons college still matters” written by Andrew Delbanco explains the importance of higher education on three fundamental reasons. Delbanco believes college is beneficial economically, politically, and also for liberalism. With ridiculously high tuition, you may argue college is less of an institution and more of a money making factory. However, the skills acquired and knowledge instilled outweighs any price tag. You may also think that whatever you learned in four years may be obsolete by the time of graduation, but you would still have fundamental prior knowledge which will help you catch up to the updated ways. Besides the three main causes of attending college, college can significantly influence one’s style of parenting. 20 years down the road, education of mother or father will influence the upbringing of a child.
A college degree has always been crucial to one’s economic prosperity unless you are blessed with enough talent to be on par with Lebron James, Roger Federer or Cristiano Ronaldo. With growing business, economy, healthcare market and research, there will always be a space open for an aspiring engineer, doctor, scientist, journalist, analyst, and various positions. These jobs require fine skills and in-depth understanding. A bachelor’s degree is a concrete validation of your skills. A degree is needed as employers don’t care about what you think you know or can do, they need proof. According to the U.S news and world report, on average, an undergraduate will earn about $30,000 more than a high school diploma holder per year. As it is stated in the essay “It’s clear that a college degree long ago supplanted the high school diploma as the minimum qualification for entry into the skilled labor market, and there is abundant evidence that people with a college degree earn more money over the course of their lives than people without one.”
Delbanco makes it clear that a high school diploma is not enough qualification to even get into “skilled labor market.” The essay of Delbanco argues that higher education is beneficial from a political standpoint. A nation with educated citizens leads to a flourishing and enduring republic. Delbanco writes “All of us are bombarded every day with pleadings and persuasions – advertisements, political appeals, punditry of all sorts – designed to capture our loyalty, money, or, more narrowly, our vote. Some say health care reform will bankrupt the country, others that it is an overdue act of justice; some believe that abortion is the work of Satan, others think that to deny a woman the right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is a form of abuse. The best chance we have to maintain a functioning democracy is a citizenry that can tell the difference between demagoguery and responsible arguments.”
Any politician can gain votes by exploiting prejudices and ignorance of the public and by making false claims. However, it is only the ignorance of the public that falls for demagoguery; education will help you seek rationality when there would be sheer absurdness everywhere. Therefore, following the rules of democracy, an educated citizenry means better mayors, governors, and presidents put into power. You, my friend, are a valuable citizen and your vote is very valuable, and your mind must be “evolved” enough for your vote to go to the right candidate. Education can make that “evolving” happen. Our perception of the world changes with age and brain development and thus, also our behavior. A person without any post-high school graduation is by no means inadequate in society. It’s just that level of education is directly proportional to person integrity and sense of responsibility.
Today, by definition, liberal education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. After high school, attending college will create opportunities to meet new people of diverse backgrounds. From acceptance of differences, religious tolerance to racism, you get to see complexities of society and intricacies of human behavior. Each new person you meet will bring their respective culture into conversation and events, making you practice acceptance and tolerance. The college will allow you to be a part of a wider world that exist, the world of ever-changing science and technology, poetry, music, trends, and more important cultures, subcultures and values that gives every culture its importance.
Delbanco quotes another author and explains that education has become more like rehearsed plays where one cannot pursue their own creative thoughts. However, you can change this by pursuing a liberal education, education that is open to new thoughts, ideas and ways. You may argue that college is expensive and it may not worth all that money. It could keep in debt even years after graduation. Yes, this could be true. However, it is worth it as a degree makes you a strong candidate for a higher paying white collar job. Where as a choice of not attending college may save you money now but in the long run you won’t make as much as degree holders. With frequent updates in technology and new researches, you may think your college skills will be outdated. However, that is true with every profession. All engineers have to adapt to new methods; pharmacists have to give exams after a certain time to renew their licenses, doctors have to keep up with the research of new pharmaceutical drugs.
But what really helps these catch up to the new ways is their existing prior knowledge and skills that they acquired in universities. You are thinking about yourself right now, about saving money and living a hassle-free life. But more hardships equal to sweeter rewards. It is very likely that you will have a spouse and a child in the future. As a parent, your education will influence the way you will raise your child. The experience of educated parents will allow them to give their child proper guidance. Also, as Delbanco quoted a static, a sad reality, which I hope changes, “If you are the child of a family making more than $90,000 per year, your odds of getting a BA by age 24 are roughly 1 in 2; if your parents make less than $35,000, your odds are 1 in 17.” Your higher earnings will positively affect the education of your children 25 years down the road.
