In Pharinet’s AssociatedContent.com blog essay, “Is College For Everyone?” she discusses the reality that not every person should attend college. Pharinet aims to convince her readers that it is okay to believe college is not made for everyone, that some people only feel obligated to further their education because if not, they will not lead happy, successful lives. The writer achieves her purpose through various rhetorical strategies, such as rhetorical questions, repetition, and an appeal to logic. As a college professor herself, Pharinet is a first-hand witness to the difficulties college students face. College brings academic and financial challenges that not all people are made to cope with. Pharinet acknowledges how, “the cost of college …show more content…
Some people carry the responsibility of repaying student loans well into their adulthood. The writer suggests these people should consider a different pathway in order to not deal with that responsibility. Even if financial difficulties can possibly be taken care of, college brings on rigorous academic challenges as well. Not every student is equipped with the skills to succeed in college; in fact, Pharinet states that, “there are students who cannot read attending college” (Pharinet 680). Although a rare case, it completely goes against the idea that college is for everyone. Pharinet follows with a string of rhetorical questions for readers to begin to reflect on this idea. “Why do we rely on SAT scores and high school transcripts? Why doesn’t every school have an open admissions policy?” (Pharinet 680) It is simply because not all people are up for the challenge. Later in the article, Pharinet shares her personal experiences with her own students. Students who have, “no real desire for learning,” (Pharinet 681). These students are just content with the minimum requirement to pass a class, “C’s get …show more content…
It comes down to wanting to, “get a good job, or appease your parents, or because ‘you’re finding yourself’” (Pharinet 681). However, it is important to explore other options and decide what the best choice is. Pharinet emphasizes this through the strategic method of repetition, “It is OK to say this! It is OK to believe this! ...it is OK to not attend college.” (Pharinet 681). The writer makes sure to clarify that no one should be ashamed to admit there are better options than going to college, no one is being put down. Despite popular belief, “higher education is not the key to happiness and success for every person,” (Pharinet 681). For instance, look at all the musicians and actors who did not go to college, yet lead very successful lives. Pharinet concludes her essay by bringing to light the reality that a lot of people have found happiness in careers that do not require a college education. If society continues to push a college education on everyone, jobs such as, “fork lift drivers, factory workers, sales clerks, and cashiers… mail carriers, construction worker,” (Pharinet 682) would all diminish. The fact is not all people should attend college. Pharinet appeals to logic becomes evidently clear here because without people to fill these position what would society do? It does not make sense to force people to attend college just because of “political
Recently, many have begun to attack and degrade higher education in the United States. In the book How College Works, authors Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs claim, “As state support has eroded, and as more students attend college in an increasingly desperate attempt to find viable jobs, the price to students of attending an institution of higher education has gone up, especially at more selective institutions” (172). So is college even worth it? Caroline Bird’s excerpt from her book Case Against College “Where College Fails Us” is an adequately written article that agrees with those who question whether college is a good investment. Bird argues that although some students would benefit from college and succeed, many fall short, wasting
In his article, “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray argues that too many people are going to college universities when they should be focusing on other lifestyle options. In his opinion, whether or not to attend college is a personal decision that should be thoroughly thought through. When weighed with the unrealistic prerequisites, the financial expenses, and the time needed to obtain a degree, many people will find that attending college will not be beneficial to them. Speaking of this Murray attests, “The question here is not whether the traditional four-year residential college is fun or valuable as a place to grow up, but when it makes sense as a place to learn how to make a living.
Too many people are receiving degrees while their ideal profession does not involve extraneous education. In the article, “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Charles Murray uses the maxim of quality and conveys his opinion intending to persuade his vast audience, whom can be inferred as upcoming, or presently, college students along with their parents and educational administrators; such as teachers and guidance counselors. Through the use of a simply structured article with equally understandable syntax and diction, his hidden meaning could not be more obvious of an ideology, however, he is not infallible, he also violates the maxim of quality, assuming his audience knows more than they truly do and at times, flouts the maxim of manner
As a college student who is currently spending thousands of dollars to further my education and achieve a career goal, it was, at first, disheartening to read Caroline Bird ’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money”. However, after thoroughly examining her points, I now see that her essay is illogical. In her piece “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird argues against the idea that “college is the best place for all high-school graduates” (1); in other words, college isn’t for everyone. Throughout her writing, Bird supplies her readers with evidence that explains how, for some individuals, college is a waste of not only time and money, but of intellectual effort, as well.
Throughout the essay Bird makes several points to support her overall argument that a person does not need college to succeed. She says that college does not work for everyone and believes a degree is not essential. In “Where College Fails Us,” Caroline Bird invalidly argues that all college graduates find themselves working meaningless jobs and that no one needs a college degree to be successful. First, Bird states that “College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis.” However, this point is flawed because not only does she not give any evidence to support her claim, but it is inaccurate.
“College in America” Caroline Bird thinks that a college education may not be the best choice for all high school students because college education does not bring about social equality, it does not benefit them financially, and it is not guaranteed that college will lead them to an elite profession. First of all, high school students are expected to bring about social equality through four rigorous years in college. However, college is an expensive way to categorize the highs and lows in society. It is pressuring to younger students to pursue a higher education that only a few could achieve, and is also difficult for them to established an identity in society. Second, a college education does not benefit the youth financially because it is
The context includes the benefits one can obtain with a degree versus those with a high school diploma, the struggles of debt that college can cause, and the punishments for those without higher education. The primary style of appeal is logos. Shell uses logical reasoning for the argument of the essay. Shell compares various aspects of
Reducing College Tuition College can either be a rude awakening for some students or it can be an opportunity for higher learning, but the goal is the same: to obtain a higher education and become successful. The purpose of college is to open people’s minds to new thoughts and ideas. Higher education offers knowledge and wisdom, but most of all, it offers experience, which is what people look for and desire when they think about attending college. Unfortunately, there is just one barrier keeping people from obtaining higher education, and that barrier is the price tag of college tuition.
In his essay, "College isn't for Everyone. Let's Stop Pretending It Is," Michael Petrilli uses the title of his article to clearly state the opinion that college is simply not for everyone. He supports this opinion on the statistically low college graduation rate of lower income students. He links this low rate of graduation to poor performance in high school, which leaves students unready for college upon completion of twelfth grade. On the job technical training is presented as a viable alternative to college, where a skill can be obtained to provide a career.
“On average, college graduates make significantly more money over their lifetime than those without a degree… What gets less attention is the fact that not all college degrees or college graduates are equal. ”(pg.208 para. 1) Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill are senior researchers at Brookings’ Center on Children and Families, Sawhill is also a senior fellow in economics study at Brookings’. Owen and Sawhill authored the essay, “Should everyone go to College?” The authors use a wide variety of rhetorical devices in the essay, including ethos, pathos, and logos to persuade their audience to take another look at whether college is the right choice for them.
“3 Reasons College Still Matters” by Andrew Delbanco 3) “Surely, every American college ought to defend this waning possibility, whatever we call it. And an American college is only true to itself when it opens its doors to all - the rich, the middle, and the poor - who have the capacity to embrace the precious chance to think and reflect before life engulfs them. If we are all serious about democracy, that means everyone.” 4) In this part of the writing Andrew Delbanco tries to persuade his audience by using the pattern of logic that agrees with the overall argument but also considers another striking point of view to strengthen the argument (While these arguments are convincing, they must also consider…).
Throughout the essay, Charles Murray stresses the idea that college is the wonderland of finding oneself and to find the career that one would want to follow for the rest of their lives. “College is seen as the open sesame to a good job and a desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood. Neither reason is as persuasive as it first appears.” Murray, C (2008) Practically spoken, this is not normally the case. College is a fair amount of work, much more work than one would normally acquire through any course of a high school or secondary school setting.
College Isn’t for Everyone "By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice" (Owen). This quote from “Brookings Paper: Is College a Good Investment” goes into detail about how college isn’t for everyone. By educators, parents, and authority figures telling graduating high school seniors that college is necessary, they are limiting the potential of that student’s true skills. College isn’t right for everyone and not everyone wants to go to college.
“Is College the best option why or why not discusses the controversial issue of whether college is important or not. On one hand, while some argue that college is very important. Stephanie Owens and Isabel Sawhill writers of article “Should Everyone Go to College” asserts that we may be doing a disservice by telling all young people that college is the best option. Owens feels that college may be of service to some people, but not the best option for everyone.
A rising issue in today’s society is deciding whether or not college is worth the cost. There is an extreme amount of pressure that is forced upon high school students by parents, teachers, and peers to further their education and attend college. However, there is research that challenges the thought that college is the best possible path for a person to take. College may be a great investment for some people, but it is not meant for everyone. This is supported by the arguments that colleges are expensive, jobs do not always require a college degree, and students are forced to choose a lifestyle before being exposed to the real world.