College is a Waste of Time and Money by Caroline Bird - Essay Example

Critical Analysis of “College is a Waste of Time and Money” by Caroline Bird Basically, the views and structure of the article “College is a Waste of Time and Money” by Caroline Bird are truly bound to their senses having conveyed in the author’s statement “college is the dumbest investment you can make” as Bird claims that parents send their children to college under a firm impression that it serves as a path to the ultimate objective of attaining financial security (Bird, 1975). That should suffice to proceed without contesting the majority in the general public who would at any time be disposed to argue “that is downright true and how can a regressed economy running scarce with job creators ever address the fresh yields of the academe, the new brood of the first-time bloodthirsty job hunters?” However, while Bird commits to this type of sentiments in her period which are presently felt as well and expresses sold-out support for the abolition of college, does it ever occur to her to ponder on how the world would look with money-driven human beings who act, talk, treat, and think like some crazy engine for dough all the time? For one, having thought ahead of the possible scenarios with that and what I would most likely feel about each of them, I am rather afraid of acquiring much trouble in coping with that kind of future Bird insists in her sphere of change and investments. Apparently, she is quite significantly concerned with the keen reality experienced via the inverse proportionality that exists between finishing college and the hard-to-settle issue of unemployment than the core essence of tertiary education itself. Perhaps we ought to guide her perception to veer off at examining and modifying the curriculum instead of rationalizing “If high-school graduates don’t want to go, or if they don’t want to go right away, they may perceive more clearly than their elders that college is not for them” in a tone of complaint. The concept of further education is never unwise and if our main problem lies on the reluctant attitude of most 18-year-olds toward college, this can be neutralized or put to balance by focusing on the manner educators are supposed to work on tools or techniques of fostering a stimulating atmosphere for the students. We can opt herein to find hope and realize that exploring beyond the conventional academic realm enables studying individuals to learn the remarkable key to versatile potentials and thereby gain opulent interest on succeeding with the targeted growth in both professional and economic goals as they stay in school prior. Bird primarily communicates her findings that “A great majority of our nine million college students are not in school because they want to be or because they want to learn – They are there because it has become the thing to do” (1975). Of course, we have widely known the ever-prevailing behavior among youth in transition from secondary level as such since we have gone through the stage and somehow managed to comprehend all the frailties and unpleasant feelings thereof. This we can acknowledge, nevertheless, as a normal phase of life where immaturity inevitably combines with confusion and curiosity due to the so-called ‘identity crisis’ which naturally places a young person to a state of random inquisition, denial, rebellion, and repulsion of moral discipline. Whether in and out of the academe, this condition lives as a fact and may not be prevented from happening so it would be irrational to tolerate the reasoning that college alone is responsible just because the 18-year-olds are being forced into a challenge or something they are not prepared yet considering which, they must thus be allowed the freedom to decide for themselves as Bird proposes. After conducting scholarly studies and interviews, Bird is eventually brought to conclude that “students are sad because they are not needed ... there is no room for so many newly minted 18-year-olds – So we temporarily get them out of the way by sending them to college.” I am led to wonder at this point what could be Bird’s sensible grounds for treating college as if it were mere dumpsite for the lost. Hadn’t she an opportunity to see and take delight in the impact of knowledge? Was there never a moment in her life at school when she was able to recognize the purpose and philosophy behind education or how it benefits a man for the sake of enlightenment? We cannot simply have relief and convenience sought after in this world because if this is solely what we teach the youth to value without much regard for suffering then how are we to envision an accomplished character? Nobody would want to go back to ancient times when men, prior to civilization and endeavor with education, were all brutes. Moreover, Bird explicates based on personal research that “Too many young people speak little, and then only in drowned voices ... just as society had systematically damaged women by insisting that their proper place was in the home, so we may be systematically damaging 18-year-olds by insisting that their proper place is in college” (1975). Well, maybe college is not a proper place for this young people but must we deprive them of the right to education by giving in to their uneducated immature preferences? Sending them to college means not only subjecting them to engage with a bulk of tasks that constitute the coursework in couple of years followed by career, but it also entails overcoming hardships that are altogether part of training for overall personal development. It is rather too early to judge a large fraction of youth and generalize that they would suppose the worst for each of their distinct cases. I should admit that in my case, I have my fair share of struggles but I can equally attest to the advantages of higher education. If I have not been through the sad and rough days of confronting difficulties with curricular projects and activities, I would have taken my current ordeals less seriously. Different people from faculty and student body possess strengths in their fields and I unconsciously derive inspiration from these strengths which are why as a whole, I appreciate college that I could readily ignore the negative consequence of weariness and boredom in the process. What Bird’s paradigm appears to lack in understanding is that in truth, people by nature are free wanderers seeking true knowledge despite socio-political weather and economic conditions. Regardless of age and era, history has made us observe how indispensable an asset critical thinking is for the well-being of mankind as citizenry and as an entire nation. There can be no critical or creative thinking without valuable learning and there can be no valuable learning without an institution that promotes a systematic way of educating people especially the youth. We must not forget that our capacity to think with the utmost sensibility is generated by our unconscious embrace of discipline and teachings in school. No matter how much we admit on not having a choice but to deal with academic tasks that take up considerable time and energy from us, at some point later, wherever we are or howsoever we come to be, a spur of wisdom pops to us and renders us capable of drawing inexplicable insights. It may be a little difficult to justify such statement without actual encounter yet certainly, a natural wonder of sound intellect is not something that prominent figures like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Paul Allen could afford to impart to an individual who is after a deeper sense of fulfillment in life. Definitely, I would never want myself nor my children and even my children’s grandchildren to miss on the fundamentals of sciences, mathematics, history, and classic literature to delight with for subjects like these are priceless and can only be delivered with heart by a faculty that believes and discerns the principles of good education more than those of material wealth. Attempts to resolve joblessness and associated educational demands should be held in great regard but never at the expense of one’s scholastic foundation which is highly essential in living, that there is no probable way it could reasonably be traded with nor find adequate meaning in Bird’s proposition that college is a waste of time and money. Work Cited Bird, Caroline. “College is a Waste of Time and Money.” 1975. Web. 12 Mar 2013. http://www.tarleton.edu/Faculty/anewsome/Bird%20Article.pdf. Read More