Discussion between Christopher Caldwell and I
Caldwell: Just how important or valuable do you consider college education in America today?
Me: Considering the increase in the number of families, sacrificing a lot to have at least one of the family members in college, I presume therefore that college education must be very important and valuable too.
Caldwell: According to you, you presume college education to be important simply because many families sacrifice to at least have one of their own go to college. They have to spend a lot of money, up to $180, 000 dollars just for one student. I think these money can be used in other endeavors that could see a family much well off than taking an individual to college. This is considering that it is not guaranteed that a student would graduate and proceed to get meaningful employment. If for instance a student fails to complete college, or completes college and is never employed, wouldn’t that be a waste of resources?
Me: The value of college education is seen not only in the sacrifices made by most individuals, but also in those who actually manage to graduate. Mind you, I said sacrifice. It is like taking a risk, but which if successful can transform not only the life of that particular individual but others as well whom this individual interacts with. College education is meant not to mechanically prepare an individual for one particular career, but to engage an individual’s mind in a manner that that particular individual is open to be taught and perform in various diverse fields. According to Menand a former university lecturer, intelligence is a measure of the open mindedness of an individual, how effective one can communicate, be self critical and be open to new ideas. College is thus meant to mould such an individual to be as such and just to train one to acquire specific skills. Such an individual is not only useful to themselves but also to the society at large. That is why majority of the American citizens advocate for affordable and accessible college education.
Caldwell: I agree with you that the actual and most important element of education is to mould individuals who can think rationally, and who are open to learn new ideas and can fit in virtually any sector provided that they can be taught easily the details of that particular sector. But that unfortunately is not what many parents view college education in America. Most assign a monetary value to college education. This why most prefer to have their children pursue courses that seem to offer specific skills like medicine or engineering. Unfortunately, very few manage to complete such courses successfully. Only about 15% of those enrolled in such courses actually manage to compete the course successfully. Shouldn’t corporations then just take the students straight from high school, train them and then deduct the cost of training them once they are through and are employed in the same corporations?
Me: Recently, employers actually have been hiring graduates not based on their degree courses, but based on the rigorous interviews carried out in these corporations. Most employers now realize the importance of employing all rounded individuals. It is not only cost effective, but also efficient to the corporations. Individuals who are only trained for specific tasks are like machines that cannot be made to perform any other functions other than the functions the machines are designed for. This why there has been an upsurge of corporations preferring to employ liberal arts graduates to other graduates since they are more open minded and ready to learn new ideas and skills and are very flexible. In the issue of assigning monetary value to college education, it is evident that college graduates are earning much more than their high school counterparts. College graduates earn up to 50% more than their high school counterparts. It is therefore of real value for one to get a college education. An individual not only acquires knowledge to improve one’s personal life and the society in general, but also actually accrues monetary benefits. College graduates are also capable of initiating new projects and create employment for themselves and for others. The more citizens with college education, the better that country’s society, economy as compared to those with fewer college graduates. This is way many developed countries have higher literacy levels than developing countries.
Caldwell: Many Americans are also of the opinion that people should go to college for its non educational uses. For instance, college is considered as a great platform for individuals to meet their prospective life partners. Others consider college an effective means of spending four years awaiting employment or trying to figure out what to do with their lives. Should they still then spend so much on college education with such motivation?
Me: Those opinions have not been substantiated. Even if they were to be true, it is still evident that America is great if not the greatest in the world because of its highly educated and innovative citizens. It is thus important irrespective of individuals’ opinions that as many people as possible go to college.
