Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Attitudes toward college



Traditionally American families viewed higher education as the pathway to success and prosperity. In order to achieve a high standard of living and move up the social ladder, individuals were encouraged to acquire specialized knowledge and skills. And the only means of acquiring these assets was to attend an institution of higher learning. Thus, families encouraged their children to attend college and work hard to graduate. After students finished their undergraduate education, many families also encouraged their children to attend graduate and professional school, so that they could further hone their specialized skill sets.

However, in recent years some Americans have begun to question the value proposition of a college education. And some groups within American society such as the white working class have adopted a relatively negative attitude about higher education. Rather than view colleges as the gateway to the American dream, many white working class Americans now believe it is immaterial to achieving social mobility. The reported cases of college graduates working minimum wage jobs after graduation only reinforces their belief that college is not worth it.
Today, only 12% of low paying jobs are held by teenagers, while adults make up 60% of them. Also, only 20% of such workers had attended some college in 1979 while today, it's 33%. In essence, people working at a McDonald's (MCD), Burger King (BKW) or Wendy's (WEN) are older and more educated but earning some of the lowest wages in the economy.
Furthermore the rising cost of higher education has led many working class Americans to feel that college may actually hinder one’s ability to achieve social mobility in their life time. The money borrowed to attend a university not only continuously accumulates interest from the time its issued to the borrower, but it is also considered nondischargeable debt. Thus, student loans must be paid back regardless of the employment opportunities available to graduates. Even if a person declares bankruptcy in their lifetime, their student loan debt will not be forgiven.  
It’s 2018 and Americans are more burdened by student loan debt than ever. You’ve probably heard the statistics: Americans owe over $1.48 trillion in student loan debt spread out among about 44 million borrowers, that’s about $620 billion more than the total U.S. credit card debt. In fact, the average Class of 2016 graduate has about $37,172 in student loan debt, up six percent from the previous year.
According to Joan C. William, the white working class resents the professional class and by extension higher education institutions, because they perceive them as arrogant and lacking social honor. Williams further states that white working-class families often fear their children will reject their beliefs and ideals after receiving a college education. Thus, white working-class families do not push their children into higher education unlike middle-class and upper-class families.

However, it seems to me that working-class communities still need college educated professionals in order for their communities to function properly. For example, these communities still need health care professionals to care for the population, they still need legal professionals to help resolve disputes, and they still need managerial professionals to guide large scale manufacturing and assembly operations. Also, for these communities to obtain much needed investment capital and to gain more jobs, professionals must have a place within the community. After all the opening of a new hospital or law firm creates hundreds of new positions to be filled by members of the community.  

Since it is common knowledge that college educated individuals are vital to the normal operation of a community, why do working-class families still discourage their children from attending university? Would the attitude of the white working-class towards college change, if it were more affordable and thus more accessible to all individuals?



4 comments:

  1. I know not all working class people live in rural areas, but for those that do, the college educated are moving away and largely not returning. Rural working-class communities may need doctors/lawyers/managerial workers but the pay is not competitive in rural areas to help with loan repayment. Furthermore, younger folks, especially professionals, are drawn to more urban locales for the same reason most people are. Jobs, social and professional networks, and vibrant economies are a big draw.

    For those parents who want their kids to stay closer to home (or for those kids who don't want to go to college or for whom college isn't a good fit) college just doesn't make financial sense unless they live somewhere they can use their degree and make a sustainable income.

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  2. My own personal experience growing up as a working class white was that my parents never pushed me to go to college, and probably would have preferred that I didn't. They themselves did not go to college and still managed to be fairly successful as entrepreneurs. I think my family did find, as you mentioned above, that I have largely rejected their beliefs and ideals. I feel a duty, however, to return the community as a professional, but I fear the issues that B. Williams mentioned above. While there is a great need for professional services in many working class areas, the allure to go there isn't great and the pay won't go far especially with student loan debt. Further, I wonder whether the community would be receptive to someone who has now become fairly liberal and progressive. Perhaps another factor preventing people from returning to their rural/working class communities is that the differences in ideals and beliefs is just to great and the people fear isolation and exclusion upon return?

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  3. I can understand why attitudes towards college have changed in some respects and I’m not sure that it’s entirely a bad thing. However, I do think a negative attitude towards education is really damaging and I think the two have to be distinguished.

    Taking on a large amount of debt is not always in the best interests of everyone. There are the horror stories, like you cited, of college graduates working minimum wage jobs at fast food restaurants. However, equally if not more common, are college graduates working at jobs where either a college education is not required or they are getting paid similarly to professions where a college degree is irrelevant.

    For some students, college is a great choice. These might be students who have strived academically, enjoy academics, or those who want to pursue a career where a college degree is either recommended or required. On the other hand, some students only go to college because it is what they are supposed to do. If a student is not academically inclined, and is not motivated by a desire for a degree for professional purposes than racking up significant debt for a degree with a low GPA from a middling university might not be worth it. Instead of accumulating over 100k in debt over four years, that student could have made close to 400k working as a truck driver, plumber, electrician, or a host of other professions that do not require a college degree.

    For the latter category of students, the changing attitudes towards college education can be a good thing. Instead of trying to fit a square into a circle, it is better for students to make their own decisions on whether they wish to continue their studies after high school. Further, if there was greater diversity in the entry age at university this might open the door for more students. Many students are not ready to enter into college immediately after graduating high school. For some, waiting for two years and entering college would allow them to actually perform better. Others might be better off waiting five, ten, or even twenty years.

    For the former category of students, negative attitudes towards education can be damaging. These are the students who have showed academic aptitude or dedication. These are the students who are hurt by parents who belittle academic achievements and the value of an education. If suburban kids stereotypically face the overeager mom who forces them to go to college, the white working class stereotypically face the who gives a crap about college mom.

    I think a combination of the overeager mom and the who gives a crap about college mom would be the perfect mom in this situation.

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  4. Nice post! I understand why some people are skeptical about the financial benefits college degrees provide these days. Older generations have seen the value of a college degree decrease over their lifetime partly because college education has become more accessible. The pay gap between college and non-college graduates has probably narrowed based on there being an excess supply of college graduates with certain degrees. Indeed, projections suggest that by 2025 "the share of the workforce with a bachelor's and graduate degrees will increase from 32 percent to 46 percent." [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/many-college-grads] So it's reasonable to be skeptical about the financial payoff of a college degree, especially as the cost of college and student indebtedness keep increasing.

    But even as the "bang for your buck" of college degrees decreases, there's an argument to be made that some individuals should be encouraged to pursue certain academic fields. Consider the legal profession. Data suggests that lawyers' salaries are decreasing, despite the rising costs of legal education. [http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers_salaries_slipping_compared_to_other_professions_data_indicates ] The legal profession remains overwhelmingly male and white, however. In 2008 the percentage of African-American, and Hispanic lawyers in the nation was four and three percent, respectively. The numbers for both groups increased a few percentage points to five percent in 2018. Meanwhile, the percentage of Caucasian attorneys in 2018 remains in the mid-eighties. And men comprise sixty-four percent of attorneys across the nation. [https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/market_research/National_Lawyer_Population_Demographics_2008-2018.authcheckdam.pdf ] Thus, even if the financial benefits of becoming an attorney have decreased, students from disadvantaged racial, class, sexual/gender, and geographic** backgrounds should consider pursuing a legal education. Otherwise, there will continue to be a legal-professional class that doesn't reflect America's diverse population and can't adequately meet the legal needs of a diverse Americans.

    In short, while the financial benefits of a bachelor's degree may have decreased, we should continue encouraging youths to pursue college degrees in certain closed-off, elitist fields, including the medical, dental, and legal fields.

    **Data suggests that students who attend rural high schools, even "high-income, majority-white schools," are less likely than their suburban and urban counterparts to enroll in college immediately after high school. [https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/02/15/581895659/whos-missing-from-america-s-colleges-rural-high-school-graduates]

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