The film Declining by Degrees effectively argues its claim that all is not right in higher education. They do this by interviewing countless professors and students that still attend college or that have recently graduated or dropped out. Their use of personal experiences, statistics, and expert opinions helps build their credibility and emotional appeal for the viewers of the documentary. The main audience for this documentary being anyone who cares about college, parents, students, and even the professors and staff at colleges in the United States. The films effective use of statistics undoubtedly enhances its credibility. For example, the film states that one in every four college students will not make it to their sophomore …show more content…
The film uses victims of higher education to do just that. For example, the segment where the lady who was raising her baby girl, working part time, and going to college eventually had no choice but to say by to higher educations and all the dreams she had of being a college grad, is emotional gold. The filmmakers chose this specific dropout so anyone who is currently employed while raising a kid and thinking about going to college or returning to college, or possibly had a parent who did not go to college could be emotionally affected by this segment in the film. The goal of this being to present the problems of working long hours while going to college can possibly have on someone. According to statistics used in the documentary, sixty-eight percent of college students work. Implying that more than half of college students are at risk. Although, government funding is still being given to colleges; Merrow states, “The government tends to think that higher education can handle itself by raising tuition.” This strongly suggests that higher education is not being funded enough to make tuition affordable for the majority of students. It is noted in the film that, not being able to afford college is one of the biggest reason people do not go to universities and often have to settle with community
In chapter 6, "The College Dropout Boom" talked about the idea of how higher education, meaning colleg...
The teachers interviewed in this film discussed that once students begin looking into the hefty cost that comes with college they become quite discouraged because they are not aware of ways to get some of the cost eliminated such as qualifying for FAFSA, application wavers and multiple scholarships they could apply for. Not only is the financial aspect intimidating, but these students do not understand how much profit they could potentially make off of a student loan. Not only can these students make more money and benefit from a possible loan along with avoiding some financial struggles, they can also work to benefit their futures. For example, Soma, discusses that before his father passed away his father encouraged him to get a college degree, with that being said, if these students were to attain a college degree they could help their families In the future, live with a sense of accomplishment and break the cycle of low socioeconomic status, allowing them to thrive in their future. With the lack of knowledge first generation students possess, they are typically unable to see the benefits they would have if they attended a college and attained a
The right and privilege to higher education in today’s society teeters like the scales of justice. In reading Andrew Delbanco’s, “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, it is apparent that Delbanco believes that the main role of college is to accommodate that needs of all students in providing opportunities to discover individual passions and dreams while furthering and enhancing the economic strength of the nation. Additionally, Delbanco also views college as more than just a time to prepare for a job in the future but a way in which students and young adults can prepare for their future lives so they are meaningful and purposeful. Even more important is the role that college will play in helping and guiding students to learn how to accept alternate point of views and the importance that differing views play in a democratic society. With that said, the issue is not the importance that higher education plays in society, but exactly who should pay the costly price tag of higher education is a raging debate in all social classes, cultures, socioeconomic groups and races.
Long ago, receiving education was once something only the rich could afford; it was a luxury. Nowadays it is open to everyone, but many students enter college only to discover that they are underprepared, and in turn they become disenchanted. David Leonhardt’s article, The College Dropout Boom, addresses the issues that are apparent in the education system and how it contributes to the gap between the upper and lower class while Access to Attainment by Abby Miller, Katherine Valle, Jennifer Engle, and Michelle Cooper calls to improve access to college education for today’s students. This is incredibly important because many students either drop out or never attended college and in today’s time, having a Bachelor’s degree has become a requirement
In this article Nemko is illuminating the issues that our modern society is facing involving higher education. Students are starting off college with bare minimum requirements for next level learning and feeling disappointed when they are not succeeding in their courses. The author acknowledges that the courses being taken by students are sometimes not beneficial to life after college. Nemko states, “A 2006 study supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that 50 percent of college seniors scored below ‘proficient’ levels on a test that required them to do such basic tasks…”(525). Students are specializing in areas of learning to in turn be denied to working in that field and stuck with unnecessary skills. “Many college graduates are forced to take some very nonprofessional positions, such as driving a truck or tending bar”( ...
The argument about if college is worth it or not has been one of the biggest arguments throughout the media for decades. Students suffer a lot from the debts that they get from college and also the amount of studying that they do in college and when they graduate they ask themselves “is graduation from college really worth all the money that we paid and all the work that we have done?”
"Parents with incomes below $40,000 were much more likely to say they couldn 't afford college compared to those with higher incomes. The unsettling aspect of this poll is that in all likelihood, these parents ' perceptions mirror reality," says Tamara Draut, author of "Strapped”. She talks about how most middle class families can 't afford to put their children into college. The highest education they can get is a high school diploma, which we all know in this modern world it cant get you a lucrative job to maintain your whole life. Most American don 't get the chance to develop their full capabilities through higher schooling due to lack of resources like funds to enable them see their full potential. People will say that education is meant for people who can afford to go. And already the government has made schooling from pre-k to high school free for all public school, so making community colleges free will cost the state about 60 billion dollars as said by the white house spokesman Eric Schultz . Education must not be limited to only privilege people,it should be universal for anybody willing to educate themselves to make their life better and help grow Americas economy reducing
Studying a university degree is one of the biggest achievements of many individuals around the world. But, according to Mark Edmunson, a diploma in America does not mean necessarily studying and working hard. Getting a diploma in the United States implies managing with external factors that go in the opposite direction with the real purpose of education. The welcome speech that most of us listen to when we started college, is the initial prank used by the author to state the American education system is not converging in a well-shaped society. Relating events in a sarcastic way is the tone that the author uses to explain many of his arguments. Mark Edmunson uses emotional appeals to deliver an essay to the people that have attended College any time in their life or those who have been involved with the American education system.
In Caroline Bird’s “College is A Waste of Time and Money”, it’s argued that there are many college students who would be better off if they were to begin working after high school graduation. Colleges and universities can no longer ensure that one will go on to get a better job, getting paid more than they would have without a higher education. However, high school seniors still stress about where they will be attending college, how they’re going to pay for it and what they’re going to study for the next four years. Bird points out how college has changed over the past few decades and how, in turn, it has set many young adults up for disappointment, if nothing else.
Steve Cohen shows the disparity between the rising cost of college and a family’s capability to afford it. Cohen explains “Tuition has risen almost 1,200 percent in the last 35 years, and the sticker price for many four-year private colleges and out-of-state public universities exceeds $250,000.” Moreover, he goes on to say that even at public universities, it is about $80,000 for four years for tuition and other college related expenses. Later in his article, Cohen explains how this leaves middle-class families in a very uncomfortable situation. The parents or other money-making entities in the household want their student to go to college and earn a degree, but now there can be an element of stress in figuring out how the fees will be paid for. Furth...
Many Americans today tend to believe that a college education is valuable financially, yet some others strongly oppose this, since they look at the college education as being both time and money consuming. A person who successfully completes a college education may obtain one or all of the following; an associate’s degree after two years, a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or a PhD. The institutions that provide the college education can be public or private. Whereas a college education might be seen as being very expensive, it actually increases people’s chances of getting higher paying jobs, instills knowledge into them, and raises their enjoyment levels.
Therefore, throughout the film many key points are made about the unemployment rates from 2012 by stating that rates for college students were increasingly lower than high school graduations. Also, another benefit about going to college is that college doubles an individual’s success rate in the future, and could possibly be the only investment that doubles income rates throughout an entire lifetime. Lastly, one of the most important topics that Walsh includes, is that news reports only focus on the total cost of attending a certain college. Abel and Deitz also agree that “[w]hile published tuition and fees represent the “sticker price” for attending college, many students, if not most, do not actually pay this price” (4). Therefore, a college education is beneficial for individuals who want to succeed in life and not have to worry about struggling to survive in a community with a dead-end
...ing the mindset of the students to aspire for jobs that they will be able to pay off their hefty loans. Students aren’t reaching for their passion but rather an apathetic job that society is forcing on them.
John Merrow. PBS Home Video 2007. DVD. Kelderman, Eric. “As State Funds Dry Up, Many Community Colleges Rely More On Tuition Than On Taxes To Get By.”
Many significant questions regarding higher education are in relation to its cost, raising fears that higher education has become unaffordable. Education fee for universities and colleges has continuously grown to become one of the largest expense for most students and parents over the years, especially with the never-ending dramatic tuition fee increases resulting from public funding cuts for education by the federal and state governments. Selingo (para 3) reported that higher education cost definitely has a direct impact on access, thus, the frequent increases in cost are logically of great concern to many, including parents, students, and education policymakers. In other words, this has disadvantaged the poor families, resulting in unequal education opportunities for Americans and putting attainment of higher education in danger of becoming a hereditary privilege rather than a right for all people (Selingo para 6).