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June 1, 2023 - 1:10pm
Fewer young Americans are going to college. For recent high school graduates, college enrolment is now at 62%, down from 66.2% in 2019. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is in part because of “brighter prospects for blue-collar jobs”, as the labour shortage has boosted wages for jobs that don’t require degrees. More broadly, the shift comes as Americans question the value of higher education. A recent survey found that 56% of Americans think the traditional degree is not worth the cost, versus only 42% who think college is worth it.
This trend defies an article of faith, as the American Dream has long been equated with going to college. As Barack Obama put it in a 2014 speech, “an essential promise of America” is that “where you start should not determine where you end up.” For Obama, the upshot was self-evident: “And so I’m glad that everybody wants to go to college.”
Many likewise treat college as a tool for alleviating poverty. Bernie Sanders, who has positioned himself as the perennial champion of the working class, popularised “college for all” as a political rallying cry and introduced legislation to make college free for most Americans. Of course, the rallying cry draws attention to skyrocketing tuition, which has placed an enormous financial burden on many Americans. But it leaves unquestioned — and indeed, amplifies — the assumption that basically everyone should go to college.
Americans seem to be rejecting this college-for-all paradigm. On the most practical level, this is simply a correction to a faulty assumption. It has never been desirable for everyone to go to college, which is ultimately a technocratic aspiration, not a democratic one. The four-year degree provides good training for some jobs, but poor training for others.
Of course, another reason Americans are saying “no” to college might be the aggressive ideological project adopted throughout American higher education. Under the innocuous-sounding banner of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), many universities now signal their allegiance to a set of principles that are in practice highly contestable.
Students are increasingly required to attend DEI training sessions and take DEI-themed courses, which often draw from critical race theory and fixate on race and gender. Many new faculty jobs require applicants to submit a statement on their commitment to DEI. Other faculty jobs simply call for specialisation in the themes of identity politics. The Ohio State University, for example, recently sought a professor of “Indigenous Feminisms” whose expertise might include “the potentials of women- and two-spirit or queer-led innovations in preserving embattled minority and colonized food/health/body/eco cultures”.
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SubscribeStudents in America are taught what think, not how to think. At many of the elite schools, the cost of such an “education” is $92,000 per year. Is it any wonder that many are taking a pass?
Yes they are indeed taught what rather than how to think – as part of their being funnel-filtered into the most lucrative and powerful jobs. They are being trained to belong to the elite. Yet it is my impression that in relative terms there are fewer of those lucrative and powerful jobs than there used to be, and that unless a degree comes from a top 25 school it will count for less and less.
Yes they are indeed taught what rather than how to think – as part of their being funnel-filtered into the most lucrative and powerful jobs. They are being trained to belong to the elite. Yet it is my impression that in relative terms there are fewer of those lucrative and powerful jobs than there used to be, and that unless a degree comes from a top 25 school it will count for less and less.
Students in America are taught what think, not how to think. At many of the elite schools, the cost of such an “education” is $92,000 per year. Is it any wonder that many are taking a pass?
It’s still concerning that 62% of American school leavers are put through that sh*t.
It’s still concerning that 62% of American school leavers are put through that sh*t.
Part of the attraction of college was that young men could experience ‘manly activities’ before they had to buckle down to earning a living. More recently young women could go to establish their credentials for earning a living.
Those experiences have been knocked askew by the collective ambitions of activists, often cutting across personal hopes and expectations of individuals.
Perhaps college numbers are falling because fewer wish to pay for someone else to indoctrinate them?
I think your last sentence, in particular, hits the nail squarely on the head. College has been repurposed, to the detriment of all.
I think your last sentence, in particular, hits the nail squarely on the head. College has been repurposed, to the detriment of all.
Part of the attraction of college was that young men could experience ‘manly activities’ before they had to buckle down to earning a living. More recently young women could go to establish their credentials for earning a living.
Those experiences have been knocked askew by the collective ambitions of activists, often cutting across personal hopes and expectations of individuals.
Perhaps college numbers are falling because fewer wish to pay for someone else to indoctrinate them?
I have two university degrees – but I went to great lengths to make sure my daughters understand they don’t have to go to university. If I had boys I would have pushed them hard towards the trades. Before you get upset – I think trades are too sexist an environment for women. My older daughter is going to a top university in Canada and I have to admit that I resent the amount of money I will have to pay for this given the diminishing returns we get from universities. As to men participating- why in God’s name would you want to spend your time and money at institutions that explicitly hate you? The interesting thing will be to see if women start dropping out due to declining male enrolment since – let’s face it – both genders traditionally went there in large part to find a spouse.
“let’s face it – both genders traditionally went there in large part to find a spouse.”
I went in order to get laid. The spouse bit was an accident.
Despite best intentions one often leads to the other.
If only I had known!
LOL!
LOL!
If only I had known!
Despite best intentions one often leads to the other.
“In large part” to find a spouse? I somehow doubt it. There have always been cheaper and faster ways to find a suitable match, if you’re so inclined (most 17 year-olds aren’t, though).
It used to be that women went to college to get their “MRS” degree.
“let’s face it – both genders traditionally went there in large part to find a spouse.”
I went in order to get laid. The spouse bit was an accident.
“In large part” to find a spouse? I somehow doubt it. There have always been cheaper and faster ways to find a suitable match, if you’re so inclined (most 17 year-olds aren’t, though).
It used to be that women went to college to get their “MRS” degree.
I have two university degrees – but I went to great lengths to make sure my daughters understand they don’t have to go to university. If I had boys I would have pushed them hard towards the trades. Before you get upset – I think trades are too sexist an environment for women. My older daughter is going to a top university in Canada and I have to admit that I resent the amount of money I will have to pay for this given the diminishing returns we get from universities. As to men participating- why in God’s name would you want to spend your time and money at institutions that explicitly hate you? The interesting thing will be to see if women start dropping out due to declining male enrolment since – let’s face it – both genders traditionally went there in large part to find a spouse.
DEI is an inescapable ‘fact’ at US colleges. It permeates every institutional nook and cranny. It’s a given that the US is systemically racist and transphobic, therefore the whole system must be replaced the self-proclaimed enlightened ones. I do wonder what kind of world they would create after viewing footage such as this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=moWe3rk7LzQ&pp=ygUaU29jaWFsIGp1c3RpY2Ugbm8gY2xhcHBpbmc%3D
That video never gets old, narcissism writ large.
That video never gets old, narcissism writ large.
DEI is an inescapable ‘fact’ at US colleges. It permeates every institutional nook and cranny. It’s a given that the US is systemically racist and transphobic, therefore the whole system must be replaced the self-proclaimed enlightened ones. I do wonder what kind of world they would create after viewing footage such as this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=moWe3rk7LzQ&pp=ygUaU29jaWFsIGp1c3RpY2Ugbm8gY2xhcHBpbmc%3D
What a wonderful unintended consequence of DEI, to reduce the number of graduates!
What a wonderful unintended consequence of DEI, to reduce the number of graduates!
“[A]nother reason Americans are saying ‘no’ to college might be the aggressive ideological project adopted throughout American higher education.”
And it might be that young Americans’ brains are controlled by aliens from the planet Zorc. But the author doesn’t offer any objective evidence about that either.
And I’m not sure that “college for all” means that *everyone* should go, or simply that everyone should have the *opportunity* to go if they wish.
“[A]nother reason Americans are saying ‘no’ to college might be the aggressive ideological project adopted throughout American higher education.”
And it might be that young Americans’ brains are controlled by aliens from the planet Zorc. But the author doesn’t offer any objective evidence about that either.
And I’m not sure that “college for all” means that *everyone* should go, or simply that everyone should have the *opportunity* to go if they wish.