General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ok. the message on DU is clear. Be glad with what you might get, serf! [View all]BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)But we have become a two-tiered or many-tiered society precisely because the cost of college separates those that can afford it from those who can't. Or it creates a life of never ending debt for middle class students who are taught it is a path to prosperity when all facts show that it is no longer. We need to give people choices and options.
What if we encouraged people to instead of investing in overpriced colleges to invest in themselves or a business? Kevin Smith dropped out of film school and took his tuition refund to make a film. He always says it was one of his best decisions. Just thinking aloud, but the well-worn path isn't working so well. It has been co-opted by capital and now no longer serves its purpose.
If I were a Harvard alumni, I might feel a bit of a twinge when Mr. Summers lost all that money through his brilliance. I did know that as an undergrad at my swanky college, we were seen as a source of income but that's about it. They were much more interested in large endowments from corporations, the military and rich folk buying their child's way into prestige.
I'm also saying that once we feel dependent upon a person or a system, in this case academic institutions, to give us a seal of approval--"you're smart (because we allowed you to pay us)"--and especially when that has taken on the smack of indulgences sold to the highest bidder, it's time to find another way.
I don't hate college. In fact, I could have become a permanent student at a small, academically focused place. I considered getting my PhD for my own edification. I'm just saying this idea that 18 year olds need to run into college whether they are mature enough or not, that parents need to go broke paying for Tommy and Suzy to party their asses off, or middle class students need to bend their backs to carry their debts, is wrong-headed and bears some scrutiny.