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Education
Shackles To The Tune of “University” by Jane Callahan A friend of mine found out she was pregnant a few years ago. When I asked her how she felt, she replied, “a little nauseous, hungry…and I opened a new bank account for his college savings yesterday.” If that comment shocks you, it shouldn’t. Going to college has now become a necessity in making a decent living in our country, yet so many people must go to extraordinary means to do so. In fact, the irony is, is that many of us spend a chunk of our adult lives repaying the very thing we used to get there in the first place. Massive loans, re-mortgaging houses, and decades of saving: these are not alien concepts to Americans when it comes to a University education. Yet, aren’t we the land of the free? It seems that the right to information and education is just as much a part of our freedom as being able to voice our opinions or disagree with the president. A country whose people are uneducated is a country with a weak core, a country that will experience little change and whose people will be subservient and easily swayed. A country with out education would never have landed on the moon, or given way to any of the beneficial technologies we now enjoy. Therefore, it seems education is not only a right but also a vital part in insuring a quality in our lives. The fact is, being financially burdened to the point of immobility for something human beings are entitled to is ludicrous. To be in debt for tens to hundreds and thousands of dollars is enslaving, and takes away from us the freedom we sought through learning. Of course, when I’ve heard people complain that they owe almost $150,000 for a Harvard education I think two things: you will get a better job than me, and therefore that facilitates your ability to repay those loans in a timely fashion. Secondly, the state provides colleges with reasonable prices for those who will not or cannot fund a further education. While that may be correct, it reveals the politics embedded in one’s college education. In a tight job market and bouts of recession, such as the one we are experiencing now, who will get the job: someone who went to Brooklyn College, thus only paying around $4,000 a year in tuition or someone who went to Yale and paid $35,000 a year in tuition? My very confident guess would be the one who can call Yale his alma mater. Why is that? Well, there are several reasons. First of all, you get what you pay for. In many cases these government- sponsored schools do not have the funding to enrich the quality of the education that such Ivy Leagues enjoy. Secondly, the very reason those Ivy Leagues enjoy such comfort is because from their beginnings they have openly favored children of rich and powerful Americans. This is a well-known and socially accepted fact. (This is a true statement, while at the same time we acknowledge those who do enter these schools based solely on their outstanding abilities. However, this is not something to be particularly noted, as those with exceptional abilities justly deserve this high level of education.) “Rich schools” have ensured that they stay that way by buttressing their walls with important names and charging a fortune; a fortune that many people, even if accepted, could not possibly afford. Then it is completely fair to ask oneself why they cannot receive this kind of education. The answer is because they aren’t wealthy; their parents aren’t powerful, therefore they can attend a CUNY and struggle to compete with 1st-tier college graduates in a bad job market. Seems fair, doesn’t it? Not really. The rest of the world has caught on to all of this, and at the risk that we Americans find out; it isn’t a commonly known fact. Australia, (ironically the opposite side of the world as well as an opposite stance on education) has manifested what I feel to be the best further education system. Each year, a number of spaces open up in different areas of studies, or faculties. For example, let us say there are 600 pre-med spots open for incoming freshman. If there are 700 students vying for pre-med, and only 600 can be chosen, obviously those will be the top 600 students in academics. This makes sure that students will study hard, and that those who enter into their faculty of choice have worked hard to get there. That still leaves some very top-grade students disappointed; they have three options: enter another faculty, wait another year and re-apply, or, go to private university. Never the less, the fees and tuitions for these schools are what American students pay in total for 4 years of books and materials. This is where the real opposition to the American higher education system lies: private schools are academically snubbed. According to the Australian native with whom I discussed the school system, those who attend private universities only do so because they did not do well enough in High School. They are children of rich parents, whose wealthy families could afford to bail them out of trouble; and a hefty bail is basically the price they must pay for university. The education is not at all regarded as any higher in quality than that of government universities. A private university, which would equate with an ivy league in cost and attempted projected image, is the last resort for any student seeking higher education. For those who go the route of public university, not a single penny is paid until after graduation, and not until a job is secured. Even when payment is due, there are no lengthy forms to deal with. The execution is clean and simple: based on a sliding scale, a small portion is taken from each paycheck. This portion is decided by the government, based on how much money you are currently making. They take deduct little enough so that you can still live as comfortably as you would without the deduction. Those who are unemployed do not have to pay anything until employment is obtained. In the United States, (with the exception of exemptions given by some, not all loan institutions to those in Peace Corps., etc.) interest payments begin on average two years after the borrowing date: in most cases, while the student is still in college! It almost defeats the purpose of alleviating a financial burden. If the student fails to find employment after graduation, regardless of the circumstances, minimum payments must still be made. It’s interesting to look at some other countries around the world and their policies on higher education. In Finland, students are even given tax reductions. In India, the social caste system finds its way into schooling. There are elitist schools where admission is given to the “highest bidder, and the plethora of petty teaching shops against which it is fashionable for the educated elite to occasionally raise a hue and cry.” (http://ignca.nic.in/cd 06021.htm). Aside from these Yales and Harvards of India are other higher education institutions, which are usually established by “charitable or religious organizations”, and even then there are limited resources and a low-salaried staff. Russia, a name that some Americans would associate with a desolate landscape left over from a fallen communist regime, provides higher education which is not completely free of charge, but mostly financed by the Ministry of Education, or other local ministries. In Iceland, the schools of agriculture are also financed by the ministry of that faculty. In other departments, education boards act as watchdogs that constantly bring in funding to help alleviate education costs. In Israel it is also important to keep in mind, with accordance in my argument that free education is a person’s right, that every single citizen of Israel serves times in the Army. It seems only fair that any and all education should be free; one serves their country and their country shall in turn serve them. In any case, schools are divided into those that stress a secular education, and those that center their studies around the Torah. While additional fees apply for things such as reading material, the Ministry of Education provides a mandatory free education. It’s no surprise that these policies directly mirror the political agenda. The American burden of attending University is compliant with the egalitarian, up-the-ladder-by-way-of-merit, pulling oneself up by the boot strings type attitude. The fact is, it seems to cause more “damage” in most cases than not. It could vaguely resemble India’s harsh caste system, where it is accepted or ignored that there is not always a “way out” for the poor. The middle class seems to disappear when it comes to funding a college education: the poor are first in consideration for financial assistance, the rich can pay for it, and there seems to be nothing left over for the middle class, unless they wish to sell everything they own and re-mortgage their house a second time. I believe that many Americans, (in these days, seemingly Democrats more than Republicans) acknowledge that America is not always the standard of national conduct; that in fact we are not the only country in the world. Perhaps it is time to consider that so many countries around the world are rapidly building a next generation saturated with quality and intelligence. We learn from that, lest we get left behind tomorrow. About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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