首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
What If A College Education Just Isn’t for Everyone? Long before the president swore last year that America will "have the h
What If A College Education Just Isn’t for Everyone? Long before the president swore last year that America will "have the h
admin
2013-07-11
43
问题
What If A College Education Just Isn’t for Everyone?
Long before the president swore last year that America will "have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world" by 2020, the importance placed on going to college was firmly rooted in the American soul.
The case is compelling: As good jobs increasingly require more education, college is widely seen as the ticket to personal economic security and to global competitiveness. And yet, there’s a potential trend of concern about a group of students—sometimes called "the forgotten half," —who, for whatever reason, do not think college is for them. It’s expressed by soul-searching parents such as Crave, whose son doesn’t thrive in the classroom. It’s also expressed increasingly by educators, economists and policy analysts, who question whether it’s realistic and responsible to push students into college even if the odds of academic success seem low.
They’re swimming against a powerful tide. A small but growing number of states now require’ all high-schoolers to take a college entrance exam. Philadelphia’s mayor opened an office in City Hall last month to help residents get information about how to attain a college degree. Bill Gates, perhaps the world’s most famous college dropout, has poured more than $2 billion into programs and scholarships to help more students complete college.
But what’s still getting lost, some argue, is that too many students are going to college not because they want to, but because they think they have to.
"We’re force-feeding them" the idea that "you must go to college or you’ll be a second-class citizen," says Marty Nemko, a California career counselor.
Economic benefits, and more
The debate over college is not new, but today’s economic climate has raised the stakes.
"There’s beginning to be a lot of concern among the American public that... if you don’t get into that upper class, you’re going to struggle your whole life," says Public Agenda’s Jean Johnson.
A four-year degree is no guarantee of wealth, of course. About 25% of those with bachelor’s degrees earn less than those with two-year degrees, studies by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce have found. But research consistently has shown that, on average, those at the top of higher education’s pecking order reap the most benefits, both economically and beyond.
"This is a market for social position, which is why we spend so much on going to Harvard and one of the reasons it’s hard to get a student excited" about community college, says AnthonyCarnevale, director of the center.
"Class is real, and it has consequences. The position you hold, where you work, really determines your status."
Falling through the cracks
Economists continue to debate the slight differences of trend data for jobs and wages. But some argue that college dropout rates alone suggest many students are wasting their time—and money.
Federal data show that fewer than 60% of new students graduate from four-year colleges in six years, and just one in three community college students earn a degree. "It’s fine for most kids to go to college, of course, but it is not obvious to me that that is the best option for the majority," says Mike Gould, founder of New Futures, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that provides scholarships for low-income students pursuing anything from a four-year degree to a massage-therapy certification. "Some education may be a good thing or it may just be a lot of debt."
The problem, Gould and others say, is that many high schools focus so much on college that low-achieving students fall through the cracks. A Public Agenda report this month raises similar concerns about high school guidance counseling. It follows up on a December survey that concluded most young workers who don’t have a college degree "are in their jobs by chance, not by choice," and that guidance toward a career path "is hardly clear and purposeful."
The apprentice(学徒)model
Apprenticeships have long been popular in Europe, but workforce-oriented high school training is not nearly as common in U.S. schools. One reason is that such programs sound dangerously similar to tracking—sorting students by ability level, a practice repeatedly rejected in U.S. culture, in which the dominant philosophy is that all students should have opportunity to meet their full potential.
If high schools were to advise students that some education beyond high school is not necessary for everyone, "there’s a little bit of a concern that... we’re saying a lesser goal is OK for the populations of students who have been historically least well-served by higher education," says Jane Wellman, executive director of Delta Project, which studies higher education spending.
In recent years, male college-going and completion rates have raised concerns. But those least well-served historically are low-income and underrepresented minority students, who are less likely than their peers to pursue two- and four-year degrees, and most at risk of not completing college if they do enroll.
Some evidence suggests, though, that students already are being held to different standards. A recent national survey of high school teachers by ACT Inc., the educational testing company, found 71% agreed "completely" or "a great deal" that high school graduates need the same set of skills and knowledge whether they plan to go to college or enter the workforce, yet 42% said teachers reduce academic expectations for students they perceive as not being college-bound.
Studies released in November by Deloitte, an international consulting firm, suggest another disconnect: A survey of 400 low-income parents found that 89% say it’s "extremely" or "very important" that their child goes to college, but just 9% of high school teachers viewed preparing students for college as their most important mission.
Deloitte CEO Barry Salzberg, chairman of the College Summit, which seeks to increase college enrollment rates, says that’s misguided. "I think we should measure high schools on their college entrance rate and figure out a way to track performance of high school graduates in college and see how many go beyond one full year of college."
But others say the enthusiasm to increase college-going rates ignores the reality that many students will be in over their heads once they start college.
"College preparation for everyone is a very nice ideal, but we have a very high failure rate," says Northwestern University professor James Rosenbaum. "If we don’t start letting counselors be frank, we’re not going to fix this system."
Historically speaking, ______, being poor and underrepresented, are the least well-served group in college education.
选项
答案
minority students
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/GA07777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
ShouldSugarBeRegulatedlikeAlcoholandTobacco?Sugarposesenoughhealthrisksthatitshouldbeconsideredacontrolle
Onlywhenyouhavepassedthetestsrequired______(你才能申请驾驶执照)
Itismoreimportantformostpeople______.(过一种愉快、健康的生活)
Anotherperson’senthusiasmwaswhatsetmemovingtowardthesuccessIhaveachieved.Thatpersonwasmystepmother.Iwas
A、Disappointment.B、Anger.C、Contentment.D、Sympathy.B观点态度题。四个选项都是表达感受的名词,可猜测问的是某人的态度。问题问及男士料想太太对其过失会有什么反应。对话最后男士夸张地说为自己的葬礼买花,可
Alandfreefromdestruction,pluswealth,naturalresources,andlaborsupply—allthesewereimportant【C1】______inhelpingEngl
TheNuclearAgeTheEarthexplodedintothenuclearageon16July1945.Onthatday,theUStestedacompletelynewtypeof
GoingonStudyorGoingtoWork?1.有些人决定毕业后读研2.有些人决定找工作3.我的看法
Idon’tmind______(你延期作出决定)aslongasitisnottoolate.
随机试题
同一层级地方政府的各个行政部门,分属两个以上行政组织领导的行政组织体制,指的是
世界极干旱且高温地区,往往被()所占据。
A.铁锈色痰B.砖红色胶胨样痰C.有恶臭味的痰D.脓血痰E.大量白色泡沫状痰吸入性肺脓肿表现为
左上12右上12缺失.缺隙一侧的余留牙基本无可利用倒凹.设计就位道时应采用
综观世界各国,宪法修改大体上有()。
节水水平评价应对水耗水平进行分析,主要计算()。
美国的医院以前主要依靠从付款的病人那里取得的收入来弥补未付款治疗的损失。几乎所有付款的病人现在都依靠政府或私人的医疗保险来支付医院的账单。最近,保险公司一直把他们为投保病人的治疗所进行的支付限制在等于或低于真实费用的水平。下面哪个结论对以上的信息最能支持?
给出—卜列的代码,则下列选项中()可以表示为类A合理的内部类。classA{protectedinti;A(inti){thisi=i;}}
OneofthemostpopularliteraryfiguresinAmericanliteratureisawomanwhospentalmosthalfofherlonglifeinChina,aco
A、Theyusuallydon’tfollowfamilyrules.B、Theydon’tliketotakechancesintheirlives.C、Theyarelesslikelytobesucce
最新回复
(
0
)