In the course English, a variety of topics were discussed during class. These topics spanned from traditional gender stereotypes to using social media responsibly as a job candidate or employee. English 131 taught students how to achieve credibility in an argument, gave students the tools to find quality sources, and provided an environment that nurtured independent ideas and opposing viewpoints. These course traits led to students developing a proficiency in arguing the differing sides on multiple subjects presented throughout the class.
The topic of the worth of going to college should be discussed in English 131 at Baldwin Wallace. Students throughout college may question whether they are making the correct decision and contemplate if the investment is worth it or not. The question posed of asking students if going to college is worth it is appropriate for English 131 because it is relevant to all students taking the course, multiple studies have been done for the opposing opinions, and will provide students with the means of additional investigation into the lingering question about furthering their education.
Debating whether or not college has enough worth to exceed the cost of the investment will force students to reason logically, evaluate information critically, solve problems, and analyze the merits of diverse perspectives. A vast number of people today consider college an unessential piece of building a successful career and ultimately making enough money to live a comfortable life. A supplemental article titled “Higher-Education Poll,” by Josh Sanburn analyzes a web-based poll, conducted by GfK Custom Research North America from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8. They surveyed a national sample of 1,000 U.S. adults and 540 senior administrators at public and private two- and four-year colleges and universities. Using data from the poll, Sanburn determined,”80% of U.S. adults agreed that at many colleges, the education students receive is not worth what they pay for it.”
However, a variety of professionals, administrators, and parents alike believe college to be a worthwhile expense that will provide the graduate with more income in the long run. In an additional article by David Leonhardt titled “Is College Worth It? Clearly Yes, New Data Says,” Leonhardt states, “Americans with four year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” By using facts and statistics presented on both sides of the debate, students will quickly learn how to critically evaluate information and reason logically with facts by informing themselves about the optimal outcomes of both situations that can be chosen by current and future students alike.
While doing so, students analyzing the worth of going to college will be problem solving by cementing their own opinions on the topic by analyzing each side, using the statistics presented on each opposing viewpoint, and ultimately making a decision with their newfound knowledge.
While using information gathered to construct an educated opinion, Baldwin Wallace students in English 131 will learn to care about whether continuing their college education is worth the expense and time. These students will care because the topic directly relates to their current lives and ultimately their futures. Discussing the issue of higher education in English 131 will allow students to hear the experiences of their peers and the opinions they have about the topic of college worth.
Experiences shared could come from the students’ knowledge of their parents’ educational background, students’ own involvement with working without a college degree, and possibly the viewpoints of older students that originally took the path of skipping or postponing attaining a college degree. Hearing the opposite viewpoints from other students in English 131 will help further develop an individuals’ own cemented idea about whether or not college is worth it.
The first article, taken from the Ritter database, to be used by students is “Is College Worth It? Yes, but Be Smart and Curb Borrowing” by Chris Farrell. Farrell is the economics editor of Marketplace Money, an economics correspondent for Marketplace, a contributing economics editor at Business Week magazine, executive editor of Right on the Money, and he graduate from the Stanford School of Economics. These credentials show Farrell to be qualified to write on the debate of whether college is worth it or not because he is highly regarded in the economics community, has produced multiple shows based off the principles of economics, and he has a degree that allows him to analyze the worth of such large investments.
Farrell takes a neutral stance on the worth of attending college and obtaining a degree. Farrell says in his article that a college degree is “a critical safety net in our society, limiting downside employment risks” and makes the point that although entrepreneurship is on the rise for younger people, having a college degree allows a person to start their business with a set of skills that they would otherwise have to acquire during the course of pioneering a business strategy. While Farrell says that a college degree can be important in minimizing the chances to be unemployed, he also states, “That doesn’t mean it’s worth any price to go to a particular college. Students and their parents should work hard at minimizing student loans.”
This shows Farrell’s opinion that a college degree is only worth a certain amount and after that point it may not be a practical decision to go in to debt to attain a degree. This article would be helpful to students because it shows that college degrees are important to a certain point and brings up the aspect of entrepreneurship in today’s economy.
The second source is “Is College Worth It? Clearly Yes, New Data Says” by David Leonhardt. Leonhardt is the bureau chief and an economics columnist for The New York Times, an author of an economics e-book, helped found the Economix blog, and he won the Gerald Loeb Award for magazine writing in 2009. Having won a prestigious award and being the chief of a highly regarded newspaper gives Leonhardt the credibility needed to be used as a trustworthy source. Leonhardt strongly believes that a college degree is worth the investment.
In his article, Leonhardt clarifiesa series of statistics displaying the rising gap between workers with a college degree and those without. He explains how a rising gap means that the economy is in need of additional workers with college experience and the gap will only continue to increase until the market is in equilibrium between the supply and demand for skilled employees. This article by Leonhardt would be important for students in English 131 to read because it details the costs of not attending college, the differences in pay between both decisions, and it hypothesizes on the future state of the market on matters of wage rate and job growth for both sides.
The third article to be used by students in English 131 is “Is College Worth It?” by William J. Bennett and David Wilezol. Bennett is a United States politician, political theorist, served as Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988, and co-founded a publicly-traded online education company named K12. Wilezol is a producer on Bill Bennett’s Morning in America, associate editor for Right Reason, and attends daily seminars with liberty-minded professors of political philosophy.
The two authors of this article both have very prestigious credentials and enough experience between the two of them to make their credibility guaranteed. Both authors take the stance of college not being worth it in today’s society. In their article, Bennett and Wilezol explain that rising tuition costs means that students will most likely need to take more money from student aid programs. As a result of taking on loans, a student will need to take on additional loans in the future to pay off the money they already have borrowed and can create an unending cycle of debt for themselves.
This cycle of debt can cause serious financial troubles for a student for the rest of their lives and they may not be able to pay it off even though they graduated college and obtained the degree they took the loan for to begin with. This article would be important for students to read because it outlines the financial struggles, costs of college, and provides an in-depth cost-benefit analysis for higher education.
English 131 students at Baldwin Wallace should discuss the worth of college because it provides a means for students to use logical reason, expand their use of crtical evaulation, develop their ability to solve problems, and allow them to analyze differing perspectives of one debate. Presenting this topic to the class will cause lively discussion between students because of different opinions, varying backgrounds, and a multitude of hopes for the future. This topic is extremely relevant to students lives and they will take an interest in learning about the multiple advantages and disadvantages presented about continuing their academic career and will ultimately allow them to reach a consice opinion on their future decision of whether to stay or drop out of college.
