Zinsser’s work entitled “College Pressures” intent to expose a critical flaw within the educational system, in hope that it will encourage students to relax when it come to their academic success. Zinsser’s is doing more than illustrates a difficult situation, he is enforcing new ideas and principle just as: academic freedom and freedom to explore career opportunities without judgement and criticism from the school system and their parents. By enforcing these principle Zinsser’s hopes to awaken a new era where students are free from pressured sales tactics from both parents and society when come to academic success. To being with, college students today are economic pressure by school system and because of that student have become enslaved by financial aid department. This is an excellent quote by Zinsser he states: “they are the authentic voices of a generation that is panicky to succeed” (Zinsser 449). Student are spending more money than the actual value of their degree, on average student are spending 20-30 thousand each year just for tuition. Recently …show more content…
Parents are forcing students to take classes they don’t want, leaving the student dull and unheard. Parents focus their kids to take challenging classes in order to satisfy their fear of the child getting into a good college. Students are told by parents and the school system that they must take this challenging class and extracurricular just meet ‘the standard quota” but reality it’s not true. For instance, Zinsser’s did a survey on Yale students and asked the students a question about their parental guidance and why they follow it. The results were scary, most students stated: “well my parents want me to be a doctor… They’re paying all this money….” (Zinsser
As McArdle points out, the cost for a college education has gone up over the years, leaving students in debt. I agree with this statement, because a college education was more affordable years ago and now it has doubled it’s cost. According to the article, McArdle states “The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college
In their texts Both Zinsser and Barber are questioning the conventional assumptions that college is the main passage into a financial and social accomplishment. To achieve these goals students are often faced with unnecessary pressures. Their purpose or reason for challenging such assumptions is to make the readers become aware of the conventional notions, and possibly direct them out of their trapped positions to make their own choices. As today's students will be the potential future leaders and make-up of the society, there is a high stake. In the past the society has accomplished to thrive the students into the clichés and false assumptions about college that exist today, nevertheless this accomplishment has opened a door for some critics like Zinsser and Barber to come up with a different view on college education and pressures that can well be the next conventional assumption in the future.
From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.
Zinsser, William. “College Pressure.” The Norton Reader. 13th ed. Ed. Linda H. Peterson. New York: Norton, 2013. 380-388. Print
Individuals are struggling nowadays to acquire an education higher than a high school diploma. One of the main reasons for this issue could be very well the price it is to attend college. Prices have skyrocketed throughout the years. A lot of the people who attend college have to take out a “student loan,” just so they can get by. I believe one should not need to be in serious debt before they even graduate, all because they want to go out and further their education, and become successful in their life.
In “College Pressures” from The Seagull Reader: Essays, William Zinsser examines the societal ideology of obtaining a degree from a university being the only path to financial and social success. Zinsser also discloses to his audience the encumbrances that college students face while enrolled in a higher education facility. The author’s main point is that college students should not be heavily pressured throughout their college career, for college is a time to relish the educational experience that comes with higher education. In his referential essay that is developed by description, William Zinsser effectively uses emotional appeal and rhetorical questions.
1. How, according to Zinsser, is his evaluation of students different from their own and from their potential employers ' assessments? His evaluation is broken down in four category, after the set of answer he received. Economic, parental, peer, and self-induced pressure. Either a combination or one, ranging mild and moderate. He urges, students to break free and do something that will make them happy. Their potential employers’ assessments ideals smart and educated student. Only the best will make it and your action will be the result. Student presume to strive that A and while balancing everything out.
Academic excellence is the primary desire of every parent and student. However, there are varying perceptions of the role of education in the life of and individual. According to the survey carried out on the perception of the role of education in the life of an individual, it was established that eight out of ten students were of the view that they pursued education for the purpose of economic gains. Additionally, six out of ten students viewed education as serving the purpose of broadening their view and perceptions in life. Accordingly, the widening of the will help them rethink their ideas and values. This essay will focus on the reasons why students attend college and barriers to education in light of the book Rereading America.
William Zinsser’s essay “College Pressures” emphasizes the struggles students have in trying to conquer the college milestone in life. Zinsser believes that college has lost the authenticity of the overall goal of gaining knowledge for one’s own interest, rather than the overall need of going. He sympathizes with struggles college kids go through and hopes to provide insight on the overall situation. One of his major points are that succeeding the first time is not always the best way in learning, and that sometimes students need to fail in order to properly learn. The author mentions the “Four pressures, economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure” and how there are “No villains; only victims” that fall
There was a time in America where college was based solely on merit, higher education and pursuing the American Dream to obtain a career and gain social status to be successful in society. According to the Economist newspaper, rising fees and increase of student debt, shared with dwindling financial and educational returns, are undermining at least the perception that university is a good investment. Now due to high cost of an average good university, students are leaving college owing back over $100,000 and are not getting the job of their original dreams.
How does the rising cost of college tuition affect us? Every year thousands of students attend a college or university, usually of their choice, with the goal of achieving a higher education and to better their future. The cost of attending college is too high and it needs to go down; there needs to be more scholarship and grant opportunities. The high cost of attending college is a major reason that students aren’t able to achieve higher education; others take this as a challenge and it is motivation for them to work harder to achieve their goal. One might ask why would someone want to spend money to receive more education and miss out on more years of work that they could’ve performed? For many, it is so they can receive more salary for the jobs that they will have later in life, also so that they can get training for their wanted career. The cost of attending college is high and continues to rise without indications of decreasing. The rising cost has many benefits such as earning more pay, but it also has its disadvantages such as the debt that is accumulated from student loans. Not everyone can afford to drop down thousands of dollars and attend school for a few more years. Students who wish to receive a post-secondary education must decide whether it is the right choice for them depending on their financial standpoint, meaning that they must decide if they have the resources to further their education.
There are so many students who would extremely grateful to attend any four year institution but can’t because of the lack of funds. College life can be very stressful, and the process can is very frustrating to most students the first two years. When the cost of college tuition is compared to the 21 century financial economy the cost does not make sense, because for a middle-class family it is impossible to afford sending their child to any four-year institution. It hard for students to graduate with the stress to pay-off hundreds and thousands of dollars in loans. Going to college is stressful enough without the need to worry about how we’re going to pay for it and what other costs will continue to rise with getting a degree afterwards. With the current increase of unemployment rate and the thought of going to college seems like a farfetched goal. Many people choice not to attend a four year institution, because they did receive a scholarship or enough government funding. Having a college background is very important for professional growth, it will eventually limit career opportunities. My stand point is, you may not leave college doing the same thing you began with but the life experience is endless. College experience not only gives knowledge that builds you into a better person by giving a broader erosion. With the cost of tuition increasing will hurt our generation, by causing physical and mental stress but in the end it will all pay off. Not all colleges are for the blame; some of the blame is our economy and other factors play a big roll. As students we need to be aware of all our resources offered, such as Pell Grants, and government scholarships. For example, the some states will pay for a student’s college if they graduate high school with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. There are many states that are willing to pay for all or some of college tuition only if students are willing to use
According to data from the Labor Department, the price index for college tuition grew by nearly 80 percent between August 2003 and August 2013. That is nearly twice as fast as growth in costs in medical care, another area widely recognized for fast-rising prices. To simply state, at one point or another the debt has forced student to discontinue their education, and eventually the educational gap between our work force and the rest of the world will make it very hard to be competitive.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, college tuition and relevant fees have increased by 893 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). 893 percent is a very daunting percentage considering that it has surpassed the rise in the costs of Medicare, food, and housing. As America is trying to pull out of a recession, many students are looking for higher education so they can attain a gratified job. However, their vision is being stained by the dreadful rise in college costs. College tuition is rising beyond inflation. Such an immense rise in tuition has many serious implications for students; for example, fewer students are attending private colleges, fewer students are staying enrolled in college, and fewer students are working in the fields in which they majored in.
Fees and loans are too big of a load for young people to carry. A lot of students drop out do to the pressure of having to worry about all the loans they have to pay back after they are done with college. This should not be an issue to the student. According Iatham Emmmons, “Even worse, a large portion of students never receive funding at all due to the multitude of stipulations that must be adhered to in order to qualify for assistance. A major flaw in the current federal educational assistance programs is that the students’ parents’ income is used to calculate financial need” (Emmons 3). Even citizens who try to get help by applying for funding never end up getting it because they do not meet the needs required for the funding. Education should be p...