I was recently on a panel on WSHU radio discussing the value of a college education versus attending a trade school after high school. These are my thoughts.
My parents were not educated, but I graduated from college and all my siblings graduated as well. My adult son and step-daughters went to college. My grandchildren will attend. I teach at Hofstra University, so I am biased in favor of a college education. Basically, I want other people’s children to have the same benefits as I had and my family has.
I accept an academic college may not be for everyone. But there are a number of reasons for the United States to promote maximum college attendance.
College is a transitional experience into adulthood. It takes us out of our localized shell, exposes us to new ideas and new people, and prepares us for active citizenship, which is why some tradition bound people do not like it. Globally, people with more education tend to be more concerned about issues like climate change, and that includes the United States. According to Pew Research, in the 2016 election, a wide gap in presidential preferences emerged between those with and without a college degree. College graduates backed Hillary Clinton by a 9-point margin (52% to 43%), while those without a college degree backed Donald Trump by 52% to 44%.
College and vocational preparation are not separate life paths. College prepares students for careers in medical professions, teaching, communications, engineering, business, and law. Some unions like the Electrical workers run excellent apprenticeship programs that are affiliated with local colleges. Many police departments want their officers to attend college because it broadens their understanding of how to work with the people they are supposed to serve.
In 2018, average weekly earnings for workers with a high school diploma were about $675, or roughly $35,000 a year. The unemployment rate for high school graduates was 5.4%. On the other hand, college graduates earned a weekly average of over $1,100, which works out to almost $60,000 a year. The unemployment rate for college graduates was 2.8%, about half the rate for high school graduates. A 2015 study from Georgetown University on the economic value of college majors found that the average college graduate earns $1 million more than high school graduates during the course of their lifetimes.
Meanwhile, for-profit proprietary vocational training programs that promise high school graduates access to high paying jobs have been ripping off poorer people eligible for government subsidies, especially veterans. Many are accused of advertising preparation for jobs that do not exist. For-profit “colleges,” where enrollment skyrocketed between 2000 to 2010 as they heavily recruited students eligible for federal grants and loans, have also been heavily scrutinized. One of the most notorious was Trump University, which was forced to close and pay a $25 million settlement to students who were promised that they would learn the “secrets of success” in the real estate industry.
College debt is an enormous problem for the United States, but that does not mean people should not attend college. It is also a problem that does not exist for young people in other economically advanced countries where college education is either free or subsidized. Total U.S. student loan debt is $1.6 trillion, and 2018 college grads with loans owe $29,200 on average. I like that Democratic presidential primary candidates have made resolution of the debt-crisis a focus of their campaigns.
In Finland, one of those countries where students always seem to do better than the United States on international tests, a college education is free, paid by a progressive tax system. Business supports the tax system and free college because it provides them with a well-prepared and well-educated workforce.
And by the way, I attended the City College of New York in the 1960s when it was tuition free and I even received a state scholarship to help me with books and other expenses. I majored in history and became a teacher.
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