The idea of college evokes emotions and feelings depending on which side of the divide one belongs to. One may have others believe that college is essentially a waste of time and money. This line of thought is heavy in emotion and complete with empirical and philosophical evidence. One would cite college dropouts or high school leavers who never saw the doors of college but have since excelled in life. In fact, in the modern world, Facebook and Microsoft founders lead in that context. They are among individuals who dropped out of college and pursued their own dreams outside the confines of academia. In addition, loads of samples suffice for college graduates who either earn peanuts at their current workplace or are pathetic losers living miserable lives. From that context, one may want to argue that college is a waste of time and money.
However, contrary to that school of thought, this paper contends that college is essential and should actually be seen as the heart of an economy. Just like the human heart, the moment college collapses, the entire being of the economy collapses and dies. This can be backed with numerous empirical and philosophical evidence. In addition, before we embark on enunciating the place of college in the economy and the nation’s wellbeing, it is of equal importance to react to the arguments floated by the anti-college thinkers. For starters, mentioning the successful college dropouts is an act of isolation that amounts to intellectual deceit. Majority of college dropouts live under the poverty levels. In fact, most of them perform semi-skilled and unskilled work. These groups live in undesirable conditions in wanting situations that often calls for the assistance of social welfare services. It is, therefore, erroneous to pick the extreme situation represented by a few successful school dropouts and propagate an argument on that basis. In addition, the failed college graduates often experience such hazardous situations not because the knowledge acquired in college failed them, but because they fail to apply and make good the knowledge they acquired at college level. In that context, it should be appreciated that college gives an opportunity which must be capitalized on to make success of any situation.
Over and above that, this paper contends that college is the backbone of the economy. In the modern era,economies of the world are knowledge based that is predicated on information technology. Both the knowledge and the information technology are products that have been developed and continue to be propagated through colleges. Various disciplines open the mind of the student and equips him with the necessary skills and competence to work in and develop the knowledge economy. It is on that basis that graduates inform the largest base of skilled and semiskilled personnel at the workplace. It is them that perform most of the white collar jobs that are responsible for the development and growth of the economy. The productivity of a nation which determines its economic prowess is directly proportional to the productivity of the individual citizens. College education enhances individual productivity. Other than the economy, colleges are the foundation of philosophical and moral thought. It is in college that students develop philosophies and ideologies that would be useful in the overall operation of society and the maintenance of a social fabric. The two elements are useful for good living in the world.
It is consequently this paper’s position that college is essential and cannot be equated to wasting of time and money.
Works Cited
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Cavell, Stanley. Philosophy:The Day After Tomorrow. New York: Harvard University Press, 2005.
Kerr, Clark. The Uses of the University. Boston: Harvard U.P., 2007.
Melucci, Nancy. E-Z Psychology. New York: Barron's Educational Series, 2010.
