Charles Murray's Essay: Should People Go To College?

Improved Essays
From a kid coloring pages in a kindergarten to a pupil crafting mini-garden in a primary school, a teenage playing game in a middle school to a high school junior preparing academically for college, our children grow up in the mold of a traditional system. The next stage waiting for most of these children is to get a college degree. As our society develops very fast, many scholars believe that attending college is not a primary choice anymore for high school students. They can study by themselves at home or choose to learn online. However, other scholars argue that traditional college education is more important than people think. Charles Murray, a W. H. Brady scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, represents those who advocate that …show more content…
In his article “Are Too Many People Going to College,” Murray advocates that fewer students should go to colleges because the educational system our society has set up now is not the most proficient one to help students to achieve their goals in an effective way. He develops his argument in a professional manner by using many reasons, as well as vivid examples and details, to persuade students and their parents that “there has to be a better way” than learning in colleges (431). Also, in the debate “More Clicks Fewer Bricks: The Lecture Hall Is Obsolete,” Agarwal and Nelson defended online self-learning by saying that self-learning online allows students to control their learning progress. They employed credible evidence and well connected themselves to the topic being debated to convince the audience that with the developments of technology, the Internet would enhance students’ learning autonomy. On the other hand, in the article “What is College for,” Gutting successfully proves the effectiveness of the college education by giving strong reasons and evidence, as well as credible statistics. He illustrates the meaning of a college education and believes that it helps students develop their professional lives (412). Moreover, in the debate, Cole and Schuman pointed out that traditional education would be more effective than online self-learning because online education would limit physical

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Should Students Go to College? Many students are faced with the demanding decision on whether or not to attend college. The entire concept of college can be overwhelming for some people because of the commitment; however, college degrees now seem essential for career development. When discussing college certain people have different opinions, causing confusion to some students. For example, in Bryan Caplan's article "The World Might Be Better Off Without College for Everyone," he provides his own views about college.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    College: To Go or Not to Go? Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill unveiled the constructive and adverse features of obtaining a college degree in the article, “Should Everyone Go to College?” “A bachelor’s degree is not a smart investment for every student in every circumstance” (Owen and Sawhill 222). The author’s stress to their audience that college is not for everyone and…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “College Calculus” Kenzie R. Lincoln Roncalli High School College Calculus In “College Calculus” John Cassidy presents both sides regarding whether or not a higher education is necessary. For hundreds of years Americans have stated that a higher education is key to human betterment. Recently the demand for a higher education has increased because it does not just help a person acquire higher-paying jobs; it also raises wages and helps with rising inequality. Colleges have also continuously failed to prepare graduates to perform tasks that the economy requires.…

    • 1177 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray, claims that there are too many people attending college. Although, this claim is a disputable one, there are two reasons as to why he believes what he does. The first reason Murray brings up is that receiving a liberal education is possible and should be completed in primary and lower secondary schools rather than in a college. Secondarily, Murray also believes that there is a countless amount of people who do not need a secondary education for their career due to those people already having the necessary skills.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What if someone said you shouldn’t go to college because you don’t have a good enough reason to be there? In Charles Murray’s’ article “Are Too Many People Going To College?” , Murray states that too many people are going to college because students are going just to get a better education not for employment purposes. However, there are never too many people going to college, because there is no ending point to a better education. Murray believes that the purpose of college is to prepare for your future job.…

    • 1077 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From the day we start school, it is drilled into our brain that college is the only way to have a good future, but that may not be the case at all. Just ask Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. Although it helps to have a revolutionary idea like these men, it is not necessary. Ordinary people can also achieve success without a college degree. At least, that’s what Charles Murray in his article “Are Too Many People Going to College?”…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This article provided a very insightful look at the challenges of being a college student coming from a low-income background. Scott Carlson the author provides the reader with real life examples of these challenges and allows the reader to understand his viewpoint on the question “should everyone go to college”. We as a nation are pushing high school students to attend college ready or not, Carlson points out two of the more noticeable reasons for this push to attend college, First being that we must support a competitive edge, second we have a wage premium to make a decent living. The United States has one of the lowest rates of completion for college out of the entire developed world, to try to fix this fact, we have set up a “pay to Play”…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Charles Murray’s “Are Too Many People Going to College” makes key points as to why so many students now go away to college and why they should consider not attending the four years of continued education. Murray discusses many aspects such as why so many students feel the need to further their education, when to focus on the liberal arts in a child 's education, and whether all students have the mental capacity to attend college. He then questions if acquiring a degree is necessary for all jobs and comments on the labels that come with not pursuing a higher education To begin with, Murray suggests that a liberal arts education should be taught to students at a young age and should be the foundation of their education. He points out that young…

    • 1084 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In both “Stop Scaring Students,” by Devorah Lieberman and “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” by Caroline Bird the value of a college education is discussed. The need for dedication in both money and studies required for a college education could be a real set-back for some students; therefore, potential college students should acknowledge both the negative and positive qualities of a four year education. Bird and Lieberman have two differing opinions of the value of a college education, which should help future college students on a path that would be better for their future In “Stop Scaring Students,” Devorah Lieberman seeks to refocus the sights of potential college students and reassure the importance of a college degree in pursuing…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    College, Is it Right For Everyone? Linda Lee’s essay “The Case Against College”, which will be summarized here;entails an answer to the question, is college necessarily right for every high school graduate? Lee writes from the perspective of a parent trying to guide her child in the best direction. She declares that America is fixated on college, by referring to America’s college graduate rate which is the second-highest internationally. Lee expresses her opinion that a high school graduate who has no desire to get any further education will not reap the benefits of college, because they will not obligate themselves to go to classes or complete assignments.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the essay “Are Too Many People Going To College, Murray challenges the belief that it is necessary for all students to go to college. He argues that the fundamental and necessary things we should be learning we should already be taught before college. According to Murray every young person is not meant to go to college. He argues that four year colleges don’t make sense as a place to make a living and the three rationales that once existed for going to college have long ago began to fade. Murray states “Guidance counselors and parents who automatically encourage young people to go college straight out of high school regardless of their skills and interest are being thoughtless about the best interest of young people in their charge.”…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this essay, “College Prepares People for Life,” by Freeman Hrabowski portrays the notion that college is an absolute requirement to prepare students for “THE REAL WORLD”. Hrabowski embellishes the fact that without college, students are not going to be ready for the competitive job market and won’t be able to reach a high level of success if they don’t have the college experience. Yes Hrabowski point of view is completely understandable because in today’s society college has become such a norm and a place if you don’t go you will ostracized for, that students have no choice then to mindless focus on something that they are not passionate about. As a joiner in high school I can vouch first-hand the peer pressure from school, friends, teachers,…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Menand believes that today, we are incentivized to only learn that which leads to direct success, and that college “exposes future citizens to material that enlightens and empowers them, whatever careers they end up choosing”(2). He believes that college gives students a wide breadth of information that will help them in ways beyond advancing their career. There exists one final theory that explains why college is beneficial. This theory revolves around the idea that, in our current economy, colleges exist to provide a specific skill set necessary for a select few jobs. Last, but not least, Menand discusses “Professor X”, an author and professor, who believes that students come into college not prepared or particularly engaged in learning.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Years ago college in our world was not as popular as it is now. More and more young people are going to college after high school and will be the first in their family to do so. In her article “A Case Against College” Linda Lee brings up that college is not necessary. She points out all the negative aspects of college and none of the positive. She fails to grasp the reality that college is important and that its importance should not be downplayed.…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Everyone has heard about how you need to go to college to obtain a successful career. In today’s society, this is a true statement because of how we are advancing. Since our knowledge and understanding of things around us is constantly changing, we are continuously adjusting how we go about our daily lives and our jobs so we need to change the way we prepare to tackle these changes. Three writings that give different perspectives on the issue of the necessity of college are Should Everyone Go to College? by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, Measuring ‘Greatness’ of Grads: The Gallup-Purdue Index, funded in part by a $2 million grant, will be the largest national study of college graduates, measuring their material and work successes and well-being by Ronald Roach, and The Magical Elements of College Linked to Long-Term Success in Work and Life by Brandon Busteed. A college education is necessary to be successful today because jobs are becoming harder and are constantly changing with what knowledge is…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays