Context:
Shortly, Gl Bill is a change in the educational system of the United States that occurred in 1944. It provided veterans with the financial aid as well as accommodation expenses that could be spent on the higher education (Cuny.edu).
Purposes:
The main Gl Bill’s purpose is to give the opportunity to the middle class students to pursue the higher education (Cuny.edu). A lot of African-American veterans could not afford to do so because most of them were of the middle class. CL Bill gave the access to the college for many veterans.
HEA
Context:
The abbreviation HEA can be defined as the Higher Educational Act that was signed in 1965 by the president of the United States Lyndon Johnson in Texas. The Higher Educational Act provides prospective middle-class students with financial aid (Wikipedia).
Purpose(s)/Goals: The Higher Educational Act aims to assist students of the middle class in pursuing post-secondary and higher education (Wikipedia). The HEA covers all the expenses for students. Additionally, students are also able to get low-interest loans for their higher education (Wikipedia).
1. List the events (past and predicted) that the 1959 Master Plan is responding to.
1944 Gl Bill -> 1954 Brown v. Board of education -> 1959\1960 Master Plan -> 1965 HEA -> The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) (Wikipedia) -> 2007 reauthorization of the HEA (Wikipedia).
2. Name (at least) three goals of the Master Plan that seem most relevant to our class discussion. Why did your group choose to focus on these three?
The Higher Education in California has always been considered as one of the best and the most expensive. Thus, one of the main goals of the Master Plan is to provide the middle-class students with the financial aid. Also, the HEA aims to use electronic based equipment for registration procedures such as scheduling (MasterPlan). Additionally, its main purpose is to provide additional campuses in the relevant geographical areas. These goals seem relevant to our class discussion because the majority of prospective students face the same problems when pursuing the higher education in California today.
3. What are the assumptions and values (about education) that underlie these goals? Remember that these may or may not be stated explicitly in the text.
In my opinion, the main assumption about education that underlies these goals is to give the opportunity to middle-class students to pursue the higher education by providing them with the essential financial aid. In fact, these goals aim to improve the overall higher education system.
4. What are your reactions to the Master Plan? In what ways does it or perhaps does it not address the American values of equal access and opportunity? Other reactions?
My reaction to the Master Plan is positive because the main problem that many prospective students face is the financial side. I think the primary goal of the American values is to give a chance and educate those students who due to their financial state cannot afford to pay the tuition fee.
5. What, in your opinion, are the purposes of higher education? To the individual? To the “state”? To society?
The main purpose of higher education to the individual is to be able to fit the global market, in particular, to find a relevant and well-paid workplace. The “state” benefits from the higher education financially because firstly students pay for their education; secondly, all of the students are prospective workers. Lastly, the purpose of higher education to society is that the universities prepare well-educated and mature minds ready to input in today’s market.
6. Why did I ask you to read the GI Bill, Master Plan, the HEA together? In what ways do they relate to each other in terms of
(1) context?
All of them are the educational acts that give access to the higher education to the middle-class students.
(2) purposes?
Their main purpose is to provide this kind of students with financial aid that covers their living expenses and tuition fee.
(3) values/beliefs/needs?
It is clear that the main values of these three acts are to give the opportunity and to educate those students who are willing to study but cannot afford to pay the tuition fee.
(4) potential contradictions?
The only potential contradiction that all of the three acts shares is the inequality between students.
7. If you are familiar with a higher education system outside the US, how does it differ from or compare to that in the US as outlined in these documents?
The majority of higher education system in Europe differs from the US, for example, local students cannot choose the subjects they want to learn. In particular, students can choose their major but the classes are usually assigned by the dean of the university. The similarity between the European and the US higher education systems is that both offer financial aid that covers tuitions fee and living expenses for middle-class students.
References
Cuny.edu,. "GI Bill - Public Higher Education In America - CUNY Calendar And Curricula Websites - CUNY". Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
Wikipedia,. "Higher Education Act Of 1965". N.p., 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
MasterPlan 1960. Print.
