Does College Build Successful?

By the time a high school student is ready to start college there are endless career possibilities available. The question becomes college the key factor in determining how successful a person will be? In today’s rapidly advancing society, students are pushed to go to college, but college does not always build successful people. In many cases, a secondary education provides all the necessary skills for a person to become successful. Each year, taxpayers pay thousands of dollars to provide public services, including funding public secondary education for students. Using the funds for secondary education is a positive use of the money.

Today’s society stresses so much about the idea that college will provide students with skills needed to be

successful in life. College does not always provide students with all they need in the real world. As a matter of fact, when specialists “turn up for work, they often find that they learned a lot of things in the classroom that they will never use” (Bird 129). Most graduates would assume that with a college degree they can obtain any job, but a college degree cannot guarantee a stable once the student graduates. College students are “going to wind up doing what there is to do” (129). Also, the price to attend college is outrageously high. At a state University, “a degree will cost the student and his family about $10,000,” so unless a student is dedicated to their education, a college degree will not be useful. College should not be the only option for high school graduates. Instead, a good high school education is sometimes all that is needed for a person to become successful, even though it may take them longer to move up the corporate ladder.
So much money is being poured into colleges, but secondary education is more vital and should not be neglected. Secondary Education is necessary in informing students of their rights as free individuals. In America, citizens cannot be truly free unless they are informed about their rights. A true Democracy begins “with public education, proceeds to informed citizenship, and comes to fruition in the securing of rights and liberties” (120). It teaches students how to be responsible voters and be able to choose their leaders, which is one right that not students in other countries have. By having a strong secondary education, students are able to go from “young, selfish individuals” to “conscientious, community- minded citizens” (121). From there, they are able to make decisions that could positively impact their community. Without “public education there can be no public and hence no truly public issues or public goods to advance,” which could cause our country to fall short of the advances made in other countries (124). Therefore, putting funds towards secondary education would be more beneficial, because “everyone can agree that we should educate our children” (119).
In conclusion, by using public funds to provide adequate secondary education, the U.S can raise a generation of responsible and community minded citizens. Secondary education provides enough skills and knowledge for students to be able to join the workforce, while obtaining a college degree costs more money will not make a person more successful, or guarantee any stable jobs.