Progression One

“Tuning In to Dropping Out” Summary

In the article “Tuning In to Dropping Out” Alex Tabarrok, professor of economics and research director of the Independent Institute, believes that the government should put money into the fields that will benefit everyone, including those who have dropped out of high school as well as those who have earned degrees. Tabarrok states that more students in the U.S. graduated in the subjects of visual and performing arts rather than with degrees in chemical engineering, math, and computer science. Tabarrok argues that “the focus on college education has distracted government and students from apprenticeship opportunities.” In addition, opportunities for all types of learners should be provided.

Works Cited

Tabarrok, Alex. "Tuning In to Dropping Out." The Chronicle of Higher Education. The      Chronicle, 4 Mar. 2012. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.

“3 Reasons College Still Matters” Summary

In the article “3 Reasons College Still Matters” Andrew Delbanco, professor at Columbia University, provides insight as to why we need to work hard in order keep “the ideal of democratic education alive.” Delbanco questions what college is for in today's day and age. Delbanco argues that the three reasons college still matters are so one may obtain a degree, evaluate information, and find happiness. The economic reason, to obtain a degree, is because these days, you are more likely to find a job with a college degree, a high school diploma no longer can get you a into “the skilled labor market.” Delbanco adds his second argument as a political one, to learn how to evaluate information. Delbanco gives an example of this when he talks about abortion stating that some people believe abortion is a sin, while others believe that it is a woman's right. Delbanco lastly adds to find happiness, which students can do by discovering themselves, and allowing themselves to be who they are.

Works Cited

Delbanco, Andrew. "3 Reasons College Still Matters - The Boston Globe."         BostonGlobe.com. Boston Globe Media, 4 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Sept. 2015.

“How to Get a College Education” Jeffrey Hart Summary

In the article “How to Get a College Education” Jeffrey Hart, a professor at Dartmouth, believes that a well-rounded citizen is one that is educated. Hart states that the 25 freshmen in his composition course couldn’t answer his impromptu oral quiz about the Mayflower Compact, John Locke, James Madison, and Magna Carta. Hart argues that the “undergraduate curriculum at Dartmouth and all comparable institutions is in chaos is specialization.” Moreover, Hart felt that an “ordinary” course should be in every students schedule for basic knowledge such as American and European history. Hart all in all stated he wanted students that would be able to re-create civilization and aims to produce members of society that will continue to make the world better than it is today.

Works Cited

Hart, Jeffrey. "How to Get a College Education." National Review Online. National Review                        Online, 29 Sept. 2006. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.

Exercise One

My name is Ohr Saghezi and I am a freshman at California State University Northridge. I read your article “Tuning In To Dropping Out” and would like to think I understand where you are coming from. I have had the privilege to have some amazing instructors over the years who have brought in guests from varying types of schools because they knew not everyone is meant for a 4-year college education, and that many of us were undecided and would end our education after high school. My teachers made us aware that there are many options other than a 4-year college plan. Do you want to be a chef? Go to cooking school. Do you want to make a video game? Go to a graphic art school! Throughout the school year, speakers and representatives of different schools would come in and allow us to open our minds to different roads. Education does not have to end with high school. There are those students who simply attend a 4-year college because it seems like the right thing to do, and then they get there and realize it is not anything near what they expected, and they can no longer handle it so they decide to drop out with what you wrote, “no degree, few skills, and a lot of debt” which is “not an ideal way to begin a career.” Can we really do anything about students not wanting to study science, technology engineering and math, when the arts allow them to feel free and creative? To be honest, when I read about students in Europe entering apprenticeship programs after high school, instead of college I thought to myself “I want to move to Europe” and “America could use programs like that.” My 22-year-old brother never did well in school, this is not because he is not intelligent, he was just never the type to sit down, read and learn. You could not force him to learn or understand something he found little interest in. I believe if we had apprenticeship programs after high school he would have, without a doubt, entered a field that interests him. We need to open more roads to education so that people can feel as though they have a rightful place in this world. This would benefit the non-book learners and would keep them from stopping their education to work a minimum wage job the rest of their lives because they could not learn from a book. I, myself, a freshman in college, am doubting everything I am doing, I am the first in my family to go straight out of high school to a university, with no one leading me in the right direction, no one telling me what I am doing right or wrong. If apprenticeship programs were offered to me after high school I do not believe I would be in a 4-year university at this moment.

Works Cited

Tabarrok, Alex. "Tuning In to Dropping Out." The Chronicle of Higher Education. The                     Chronicle, 4 Mar. 2012. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.

Exercise Two

Dear Dad,

I know you want me to be a lawyer and want me to think the way Michelle Singletary
did when she wrote her article “Not All College Majors Are Created Equal,” and think “of which job opportunities might be available and weighing what” I  “can expect to earn annually against the cost of taking on debt to finance” my education but as stated in “Making College ‘Relevant’” Kate Zernike, “Making College ‘Relevant’”,” Nationally, business has been the most popular major for the last 15 years.” Why would I want to put myself in debt for something I have no interest in? You probably think that’s where I can earn the best living as stated in “Making College ‘Relevant’”, “Dropping a classics or philosophy major might have been unthinkable a generation ago,” but today there are way too many lawyers, and way too much competition. I know it took you a while to understand that I love music, and you should be happy I didn’t start a career in singing and instruments and that I truly strived to do well in school and select a major that can lead to many open doors. Things have changed from when you were younger and in today's generation you don't necessarily need a lawyer “boom” anymore. Zernike states, “the major isn’t nearly as important as the toolbox of skills you come out with and the experiences you have," and I believe majoring in business marketing will provide me with skills such as critical thinking, social techniques, and will overall be an experience I can’t wait to tell you about.

Works Cited

Singletary, Michelle. "Not All College Majors Are Created Equal." Washington Post. The                              Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.

Zernike, Kate. "Making College ‘Relevant’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Dec.                 2009. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.

What An Education Means To Me

            A degree, a career, and enduring friendships are what many college students would like to achieve attending a four-year university. To achieve this, students should take classes that help them develop their communication skills, ability to interact with diverse populations, and increase their general knowledge. Furthermore, a good college education should provide different types of educational programs to help students become well-rounded individuals. Therefore, universities should require students to enroll in classes outside of one’s major, help develop moral character, and provide the skills that will make students marketable.

            A college education should develop moral character. After reflecting on “College Makeover” by S. Georgia Nugent, president of Kenyon College, I believe moral development of character is a better understanding of beliefs of individuals, groups, and communities. Nugent argues, “A substantial majority of undergraduate students said that what they expect from college is guidance in defining their life’s values.” A role colleges and universities should play in the moral development of character is assuring that a large variety of ethnicities attend their campus, as well as make at least one religious studies course mandatory. Students would not only be educated in a variety of beliefs, but multicultural morals and values as well, which will benefit students when they enter the work force.

            A good college education should allow students to be more marketable in today’s economy. Often students believe they will only be marketable if they enroll in limited majors, such as business, enginiring, and nursing. In "No, It Doesn’t Matter What You Majored In” Carlo Rotella, director of American Studies at Boston College, states employers generally only care that a potential employee is a college graduate. If a student works diligently and had good professors they can develop skills in writing, communication, and speech along with the ability to analyze information, which can be taught in every course. These skills along with a college degree should guarantee a graduate a job. In “Making College ‘Relevant’” Kate Zernike, national reporter for The Times, asserts that a recent survey of employers found that “89 percent said they wanted more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing,” 81 percent asked for better “critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills.”” As a seventeen year old college student with a high school diploma it has been challenging obtaining employment. On the other hand, when my sister, a CSUN graduate applies for a job she is usually hired. A college degree gives employers a sense that she has a set of skills learned and is prepared. Overall, what really matters is that you are trained to work in complex situations, which is a skill learned in college.

A good college education should help students become well-rounded citizens that are well informed on current events. In the article “3 Reasons College Still Matters” Andrew Delbanco, a professor at Columbia University, argues that it is important for colleges to teach students how to evaluate information so that they can make informed political decisions. This is important because if you do not know how to analyze information correctly you can be misinformed. As a future professionals who must present in front of their peers it is very important to evaluate information. People do not want listen to their colleagues pitch an idea for fifteen minutes if the information is not accurate. You really have to learn how to get straight to the point when speaking in front of others.

In order to make the world a better places, students should take general courses. In the article “How to Get a College Education” Jeffrey Hart, a professor at Dartmouth, states that he wants students who would be able to re-create civilization and he aims to produce members of society who will continue to make the world better than it is today. To do this Hart believes students should select “ordinary” courses such as, history, economics, and English because “the ordinary course is one that has always been taken and obviously should be taken.” I believe students can make the world better than it is today by taking an economics class. At the age of 16, I took an ordinary course that helped me decide my major, economics. Since I did not know much about economics going into my major, I really had to actively participate to decide whether this is the major for me. For that reason I believe they should make economics a mandatory full year class in universities. Taking an economics class would not only show students different perspectives of the world’s transfer of wealth, but also allow students to understand the effects of economics. A well-rounded citizen is one that can view situations from different perspectives and discuss them in a professional manner.

Some people might argue that students should get a degree that will provide them with the highest income. In the article “Not All College Majors Are Created Equal” Michelle Singletary believes students should think about the salaries related to the degree in order to pay off student debt. However, Kate Zernike disagrees in “Making College ‘Relevant’” stating, “the major isn’t nearly as important as the toolbox of skills you come out with and the experiences you have." I believe attending any four-year university will provide its students with skills such as critical thinking, which can be obtained in any major. Why just look at the income that degrees make and suffer through it and hate your job? Do not just look at the price tag and assume that’s what will offer you the best life. A college education should be what you want to make of it. Be yourself and study what interests you while you’re going through these college years. Keep an open mind because your first major that you thought would make you a lot of money might not be what you thought it would be.

A college education should support all types of learning by being more interactive. Some degrees do offer field experience and internships, but not all. I believe many students want to obtain a degree in visual and performing arts rather than more text based majors, like chemical engineering because these subjects are taught differently. We need to create new and different ways of teaching students so that those who learn visually, orally, and hands on have the same opportunities to learn as those who learn through conventional methods. Opportunities for all types of learners should be provided.

Overall, a good college educations is one that provides college students the opportunity to learn in different ways, obtain a degree that can provide skills to find stable employment opportunities, and, most importantly, become a well-rounded citizen. To me a good college education is my personal goal. I am hoping my college education will be challenging, provide new skills, and help me become a better person.

Works Cited

Delbanco, Andrew. "3 Reasons College Still Matters - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com.                          Boston Globe Media, 4 Mar. 2012. Web. 13 Sept. 2015.

Hart, Jeffrey. "How to Get a College Education." National Review Online. National Review                              Online, 29 Sept. 2006. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.

Rotella, Carlo. "No, It Doesn’t Matter What You Majored In - The Boston Globe."                                            BostonGlobe.com. The Boston Globe, 24 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.

Singletary, Michelle. "Not All College Majors Are Created Equal." Washington Post. The                                Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2012. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.

Zernike, Kate. "Making College ‘Relevant’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Dec.                   2009. Web. 7 Sept. 2015.