03-06-2011, 12:08 PM
graylocks is on to something...
The idea that a college degree is/was a ticket to the next "level" kept lots of kids enrolled and they did what they had to do for the sake of getting by. Like most other things from the days "back when we were in school", I'd argue that idea is becoming harder and harder to validate.
The debacle that's going on in Ohio and Wisconsin relative to public workers in general and teachers in particular is germane, I think. Some of the latest statistics I've read list that something like 40% of the private sector is degreed, while some 60% of the public sector is. If all the noise is to be believed, that 40% in the private sector is asking the same question: why should a college degree that's apparently not worth much more than the paper it's printed on in many cases, be that ticket that back in the day it was touted as being? And when diplomas that represent hard work, well done are lined up next to those that represent, well - something different, it's easy to see why those degrees, though useful, are looked upon by some w/ a rather jaundiced eye.
The idea that a college degree is/was a ticket to the next "level" kept lots of kids enrolled and they did what they had to do for the sake of getting by. Like most other things from the days "back when we were in school", I'd argue that idea is becoming harder and harder to validate.
The debacle that's going on in Ohio and Wisconsin relative to public workers in general and teachers in particular is germane, I think. Some of the latest statistics I've read list that something like 40% of the private sector is degreed, while some 60% of the public sector is. If all the noise is to be believed, that 40% in the private sector is asking the same question: why should a college degree that's apparently not worth much more than the paper it's printed on in many cases, be that ticket that back in the day it was touted as being? And when diplomas that represent hard work, well done are lined up next to those that represent, well - something different, it's easy to see why those degrees, though useful, are looked upon by some w/ a rather jaundiced eye.