Higher Education?

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  Is higher education worth the price?               

You know I do not think I could answer this question
without feeling like there was truth to both answers. I think that it is too complicated to have a simple yes or no but here is what I would say for each:



Yes, most people who go to college are able to make a living after school that can support their education. Also, teachers need to be paid too. The people who are making my education also deserve to be paid a living wage and if they need my dollar that makes sense.


No, because then higher education becomes a luxury and something inaccessible to many. Unfortunately, many people in our country cannot afford the tremendous costs of going to university or getting a higher education. But do not we want our society to be as educated as possible? If that is our goal why isn't college cheaper if not free like it is in some other countries? I know that one of the biggest arguments for higher education being worth it is that there are scholarships and loans to help students with the cost of college but that isn’t always enough. There is never enough money to go around and even with help from these scholarships and loans it often is not enough. Loans become a burden for years and years and years to come. I know that I will be getting out of school with loans and the job that I want does not have a lot of monetary payoff.

So…. a complicated question. I had a lot to say about disagreeing with higher education being worth the price so maybe that is where I am leaning. But I am aware enough to realize that everything comes with a price so why would higher education be any different? That sounds incredibly pessimistic but it is true. However, I am learning about something I am so incredibly passionate about that the cost is going to become a future Abby problem. I get the opportunity to go to school every day and learn how to become a better version of myself and learn how to grow as a dancer every day. I am learning about things I could not have known without the help of my teachers and mentors. 

So is higher education worth the price? I think that higher education is worth your price. Someone else's price line is going to be different than mine and so is their passion so who am I to decide if their education is worth a specific price if I can’t decide how much what they are learning is? Information is invaluable so it is hard to put a price on it why put a price on it? Now that got too soapboxy and philosophical for my taste so I am just going to leave a few more things and then be done. Higher education is important to our world because it creates smarter people and a smarter society. So why put a price on it that makes it inaccessible to many in our country? Should we not strive to create accessible education at all levels?  


Comments

  1. Professor KnauerNovember 26, 2024 at 6:42 AM

    Abby,
    Thanks for your honest wrestling with this complex question. You make a powerful argument that if education is important to us as a society, why would we make it inaccessible to so many?

    ReplyDelete

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