Marla Bonser
Dr. Larimore
SOC 109
12/4/15
Higher Education:
A Worthwhile Investment? The value of higher education is being questioned more than ever. There are immediate questions when considering whether or not to further one’s education. The overwhelming concern with higher education is its cost. The cost of higher education per student has substantially increased since 1985. The cost has rapidly risen along with the public’s concern. The continual panic and overall angst associated with the price to attend college has become a serious national issue. There is not one sole reason as to why the costs have reached this point. It is rather a accumulation of factors. However, without a clear understanding of what is causing the issue it is …show more content…
This concept can be applied to higher education’s increasing costs. It is acknowledged in P.P. Claxton’s article, “Cost of Education in the United States” he argues that the cost to receive an education cannot be considered a burden when compared to other expenditures that aren’t nearly as important. Claxton goes as far back as the early 1900’s to fully understand and examine the progression.. He determines that, “In 1918, the last year for which complete reports have been compiled, we spent in the United States for public education, elementary and secondary, $762,259,154; for normal schools for training of teachers, $20,414,689; for higher education in colleges, universities, and professional and technical schools, whether supported by public taxation or privately endowed, $137,055,415. The grand total was $919,729,258” (p. 182). These values hold little significane alone. However, when they are compared to expenditures for luxuries they become evidence. In that same year approximatley $1.3 billion was spent on cigarettes and cigars which is $300,000,000 more than the total cost of all education. Tobacco along with other luxuries are expenditures that are nonessential and require funds that can be put into much better use such as improving teacher salaries. This is only one of the many comparisons Claxton makes in his article yet he proves a point, “These and other figures which might be easily determined show very clearly the contention in the first part of this article, that, compared with other expenditures, public and private, expenditures for education are almost negligible” (p. 184). He argues that the cost of education is not the largest burden we face if a burden at all. Education is utilized by everyone at some point. It’s cost shouldn’t be considered the burden but the excessive amounts of money spent on expenditures of luxuries should
Dr. Larimore
SOC 109
12/4/15
Higher Education:
A Worthwhile Investment? The value of higher education is being questioned more than ever. There are immediate questions when considering whether or not to further one’s education. The overwhelming concern with higher education is its cost. The cost of higher education per student has substantially increased since 1985. The cost has rapidly risen along with the public’s concern. The continual panic and overall angst associated with the price to attend college has become a serious national issue. There is not one sole reason as to why the costs have reached this point. It is rather a accumulation of factors. However, without a clear understanding of what is causing the issue it is …show more content…
This concept can be applied to higher education’s increasing costs. It is acknowledged in P.P. Claxton’s article, “Cost of Education in the United States” he argues that the cost to receive an education cannot be considered a burden when compared to other expenditures that aren’t nearly as important. Claxton goes as far back as the early 1900’s to fully understand and examine the progression.. He determines that, “In 1918, the last year for which complete reports have been compiled, we spent in the United States for public education, elementary and secondary, $762,259,154; for normal schools for training of teachers, $20,414,689; for higher education in colleges, universities, and professional and technical schools, whether supported by public taxation or privately endowed, $137,055,415. The grand total was $919,729,258” (p. 182). These values hold little significane alone. However, when they are compared to expenditures for luxuries they become evidence. In that same year approximatley $1.3 billion was spent on cigarettes and cigars which is $300,000,000 more than the total cost of all education. Tobacco along with other luxuries are expenditures that are nonessential and require funds that can be put into much better use such as improving teacher salaries. This is only one of the many comparisons Claxton makes in his article yet he proves a point, “These and other figures which might be easily determined show very clearly the contention in the first part of this article, that, compared with other expenditures, public and private, expenditures for education are almost negligible” (p. 184). He argues that the cost of education is not the largest burden we face if a burden at all. Education is utilized by everyone at some point. It’s cost shouldn’t be considered the burden but the excessive amounts of money spent on expenditures of luxuries should