The data shows that people who go to college make more money and find it easier to find a job in both good times and bad. That people with graduate degrees are more likely to find their work satisfying and interesting. The data show that people in their twenties just don't make much money, but that education makes a big difference in earnings for the majority of adults' working lives.
Recent data isn't showing that (see the links I've provided and the one that Austin provided), which is why reports like Academically Adrift are surfacing and why we're having a national conversation about the college bubble. '
You've said that "the data shows that..." but you haven't given me any links to support what you're saying. How old is that data? Does it come from a time when most people didn't go to college?
With respect, that argument that college grads earn more money is somewhat hackneyed (and I don't think that going to college with a primary goal of earning more money as a result is a great idea). Worse, too many people just seem to accept that argument without questioning it.
My own experience as a teenager from the working class and a high school with "Vocational" in the name was that college was a busy, joyful and life-changing experience. Most of my satisfying friendships are from my college years. Education led to many opportunities for a wide range of experiences.
Do you mean that you think that other people's experiences will mirror yours? Hmm. What about everything that JonLaw has said and other comments on this thread that offer different perspectives?
And teaching students without goals is like pushing ropes on a daily basis. I see a thousand little decisions that students make having more of an impact than IQ.
I'm getting the sense that you're saying that college is the only goal. I don't understand that.
As for other decisions having more of an impact than IQ, yes, I agree. But when it's time to write a 20-page term paper or make complex calculations, IQ is a significant barrier, and there's really no way around it unless your IQ is around one standard deviation above the mean or more. Which brings us back to watered-down programs that don't offer meaningful education.
What are your thoughts on reports like Academically Adrift and the national $1 trillion student loan burden?
