Good Example Of Essay On Stolleru Article Critique

In this article, Paul Stolleru is comparing today’s formal education system to that portrayed in George Orwell’s book 1984. In this novel, the Big Brother government is Orwell’s imagining of a future in which the government takes control of nearly every aspect of its citizens’ lives. The slogan written on every wall is “Big Brother is Watching You.” There are “telescreens” in every room and people are arrested and punished for even thinking against the government. Stolleru argues that, like Orwell’s imaginary world of the future, higher education has become a corporation more concerned with spitting out graduates ready to work than teaching them to think critically and systematically. He believes that the system has shut out all intellectual thought, similar to the “thought crimes” committed in Orwell’s book. He explains that the institutions have resorted to these actions because of the rising costs of education and the amount of accumulated student debt. He mentions one of the more extreme examples from Kansas which has a policy that states that employees can be fired for improper use of social media, a judgment that is left entirely up to the university itself. This includes any comments which the university may deem derogatory on any social media site such as Facebook, Twitter, or blogs. He believes that this example shows that administrators are becoming more like politicians and university managers than educators who are concerned with helping students to learn. The goal now, he argues, is to “churn out more graduates quickly and efficiently.” Professors at these universities who tend to express real concern over the students’ education are now seen as a threat to the universities’ main goals. He concludes that the new education system of today is unacceptable and should be considered “a real life ‘thought crime’.”
Though I believe Stolleru makes some valid points in his argument, I do think that he is taking it to the extreme by comparing it to the much more controlling and frightening environment found in Orwell’s 1984. I have noticed an obvious push toward encouraging students to join trade-school-like programs, but I assume this is only to reach those who merely wish to receive an education specific to their jobs. There are plenty of degrees still offered to suit a number of interests outside of career-specific paths. As far as the social media event in Kansas goes, I do not believe it is really all that radical for a university to be able to deem what is inappropriate and what is not. I do not view it as an Orwellian threat in the least bit.
Despite my reluctance to agree with many of the items mentioned in Stolleru’s article, I must say that I can relate with parts of it. For example, I do believe the cost of education has become outrageous. Students are encouraged to take out government loans to improve their lives, yet after four years are left in too much debt to handle. I, myself, have collected so much debt I almost regret starting school in the first place.
Overall, Stolleru’s article, though somewhat exaggerated, makes some very good points that need to be considered. Today’s education system is much different from that of previous generations and it is important not to let the system get out of hand like it did in Orwell’s novel.