Are Too Many People Going To College Charles Murray Summary

Demonet

Julien Demonet

Ms Pyle

ENG 1302

15 September 2014

Introduction

“Are Too Many People Going to College?” is an article written by Charles Murray in 2008 discussing the necessity and the consequences of people attending college after graduating from high school, particularly liberal education. In this argument, Murray implies he is against people going to college as it’s the notion of college is changing. The primary argument he uses is the social model that pushes people to seek a B.A. as it is the first reason students attend college. Another argument Murray makes is the financial aspect of college education as it is increasingly difficult to afford. He argues that basic liberal education is and should be learned during elementary school

and the K-8th classes, and that advanced liberal education taught in college should only be taken by people studying a major that is beneficial to others such as law.
I have a mixed opinion of Murray’s assertion that too many people are going to college; as college education develops the reflecting and theorizing skills of students, whereas experience is not acquired through college classes but an “on field” presence.

Nowadays, many high school students decide to attend college following their graduating because of social pressure from relatives and employers.

Several years ago, when college was not available to the middle class, a college degree was not necessary for the way people applied for jobs. Companies considered applications on account of the person’s experience and potential. Today, a résumé needs to mention a B.A. degree to have a chance to be considered. It does not assure the post but the diploma assures the recognition of the person’s achievement and potential. Murray uses the term “screening device” to qualify the role of the B.A. for companies. So the degree’s role is the ticket to get a job. However, because the majority of young adults earn a B.A., then the job position becomes more competitive, forcing the graduate students to study for a master degree. This becomes a vicious circle: just like the college degree, the master degree is going to become a norm and soon, the doctorate degree will become a norm

too.
It is important to know that "Employees with college degrees believe that their education helped get them through the door, but about half say it has no relevance to the work they're actually doing" said Rusty Rueff, career and workplace expert: why do college students study to obtain a BA that has nothing to do with the job they are doing? An engineer needs to have expert knowledge in sciences and mathematics. To present his researches to other non-engineers; he needs to learn how to communicate and the art of business which is something that is not taught in college.
Academics is one of the two factors that define college.

The second factor is the experience college life brings to college students – growing up in a scholarly environment with a bunch of strangers one can meet and become friends with. Every college student have lived their lives under their parents’ roof before they attended college. They learned and followed the way their parents lived, with their morals, traditions and expectations. College enables the high school graduate to experience a life where they grow up without the presence of the parents. Through their undergraduate years, college students discover themselves, they learn to be independent and responsible, how to manage their time, and encounter young people with whom they flourish and share their values. College is an opportunity to start a young adult life alongside with mature adults, guiding them through their new

lives.
Students attending college discover themselves and can come upon an area of interest they have not come across or have not thought about. Pr. Mark Edmundson from the University of Virginia said, “A real education — I will offend a few people by saying this — is humanities-based and it’s oriented around the prospect of getting to know yourself, figuring out who you are and what you really want to do with your life”. This is especially true when students are contrived by their relatives and consumerism to earn a position with high wages.
Education is divided into two categories. The first one is to teach the fundamentals of thinking and writing, and the development of theoretical and critical knowledge. The second one is the establishment of tools and methods that will be used in a professional environment. However, knowing how to use a certain tool does not mean one can approve they have put this knowledge to practice. Experience is very valuable, because employers cannot afford nowadays to pay to train new employees in their new position. Hiring someone according to experience or to academic results is arguably difficult to measure. It is undeniable that taking part into multiple internships, a student will learn more from the internships than from his classes.
I said that financing college tuition was expensive and that getting a job was competitive, even when having a bachelor’s degree. Internships, on the other hand, does not only offer a student to experience work in a professional setting, but also build a trusting relationship between the intern and the company. When a student gets an internship and does a great job, employers are more likely to hire this intern since they witnessed his accomplishments; therefore being confident in his capacities than hiring a student they know nothing about apart from having a bachelor degree.
To conclude,