General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why do we have to "Work so Hard" to make a living? [View all]Kellerfeller
(397 posts)And I agree with most of them. The only thing I don't really agree with is the free education one. Obviously I support it as the primary/secondary level. However, in our country, with its current attitudes, I don't agree at the collegiate level.
Here's why: Too many young Americans simply see college as a rite of passage to go and socialize and put off having to grow up. They come in unprepared (another issue) but more importantly, unmotivated to really learn and excel. They want to do the minimum they can to stay in college, have their parents off their back, and possibly graduate with a degree. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of young adults working their butts off to make it in college. I'm not talking about those folks. But there are quite a lot who are as I have described and would be even more if it were completely free to them.
I would love to have the gov't fund merit-based scholarships for areas where there is a national shortage of folks with documented credentials. Obviously this would be in addition to need-based scholarships. However, the student loan industry needs more regulation. Like mortgages, loans should be given based on the projected ability to repay them instead of handed out like candy to anyone who wants them.
On a related not, education is not a degree. If someone just wants an education, there are all sorts of ways to gain that which are much cheaper than going to college. I am a huge supporter of our library system, where people can get resources to be educated on all sorts of topics. Everyone should regularly be getting a liberal education.
The easiest way to fix many of the problems you listed and change my position on the free college education issue is to have a test or qualification minimum for people to have kids. However, that will never happen nor am I advocating it should. It would just be nice if there was such a thing because then we wouldn't have to worry near as much about kids being allowed to not care about education or have to worry near as much about he safety of the streets around them.
Granted, it would also be nice if I had a unicorn to ride to work...
Edit: typo that I caught. No doubt there are some I missed.