college in terms of the american dream
After WWII the country developed a sense of invincibility. Euphoria over defeating the 'evil' in the world led to strong nationalism and extreme confidence. Our ability to overproduce and overpower lesser nations quickly sparked an ambitious and enthusiastic population. Finally, we had definatively proven to the rest of the world, that America's self-elected role was not a farce. Our 'superiority' in the war had provided evidence of our superiority on other fronts. However, being the light to the world is not an easy task. Although it had become more managable via our success, our standards had been multiplied by ten times that. People had something to live up to. People had hope and ideals that they were responsible for achieving. Our very nationhood beckoned us.
One way in which people set out to manifest their elitism was through a college degree. This is not to say that the common man was not first and foremost on a mission to provide for their family, as all 'great generations' do, but I do believe it was in the back of their mind. We are modern day Puritans, we are the light, we are the strength of democracy and capitalism (two words that I must point out are very far from synonyms). It is our duty to be all that we can be and ask what we can do for our country.
This trend lasted for years and insighted great achievments all across acadamia. The SAT was developed so that no longer was it the smartest kids from Phillips Andover going to Harvard and screw everyone else. Competition was encouraged and breeded an intellectual country (stop me fellas if you want because I'm definately talking out of my ass).
Fastfoward a few decades. It is 1999 and a movie from the mind of Mike Judge has just come out and already begun to symbolize the new and disillusioned American culture. We had set unrealistic expectations and a fall from grace, a surprise when technology led to apathy instead of the perfect society, was prompted. Peter Gibbons and millions like him sat on the couch, treasuring their leisure time more than the pursuit for knowledge. Watching TV while other countries like Japan and China gained the competitive edge in the fields of math and science.
You see, the question is not whether higher education is worth it or practical, but instead who cares? We are in the middle of an epidemic, an epidemic of laziness and discouragement. "Why bother," says the white suburban kid at public high school. "Why bother," says the black drug dealer in the Bronx with his 1500 SAT caliber intellect.
My answer to your question takes the form of another question: Why not?
response: a welcome and a challenge
“Is higher education in America today worth it?” Well, I think one has to consider the "it." Does this refer to the money spent on education, or does it refer to one's own notion of success in life? I'm going to go at this issue by looking at the latter of these questions, because I think a library card will get you far greater access to knowledge for your dollar than a college education will.
For many, graduating from an institution of higher learning does not serve as an end, but as a mean or accomplishment en route to broader happiness in life. This notion is especially true in America, where wealth is closely (though falsely) associated with success, and college grads have a higher income than non-college graduates on average.
Affiliation with a college or university also provides the superficial notion of success when others congratulate or are in awe of the institution the individual attends or attended. Thus, we have thousands of station wagons (no offense Steve, my mom drives one) with school decals on their back windows and countless sweatshirts sporting college and university names. As America's economy became the powerhouse it now is, following WWII and more people began seeking higher education; the very American notion of capitalism became associated with finding a good job (via college). In this way, it seems college became the "American" thing to do, or at least, a portion of the "American Dream."
With higher education holding such a revered status in American society, Kanye West's depiction of "the dropout" comes as a very counter-culture idea. Maybe it's marketing, or maybe Kanye truly feels that higher education holds little correlation to success, but either way – Mr. West's proclamation revokes a traditional symbol of American success.
My own personal feelings on whether college is “worth it” depend upon who you are, not what you know.
a.) Just as those who go to the finest schools in the world but can not commit themselves to a field will not build successful careers, those who are able to find a job they truly love will succeed in it, no matter what school they go to. This does mean, however, that one must have a degree of financial stability to begin with (i.e. mommy and daddy), as most people are not going to be able to work a job, afford housing and schooling without some monetary backing.
b.) If you believe that financial success is an aspect of "it," then yes, for 99,999 out of 100,000 people, college is worth it.
In conclusion, I think this question will be more answerable in twenty years when I've finished my schooling. But from what I can reason at this early stage, college is not necessary for financial success and even less important for gaining knowledge... but for the rest of us who aren't Kanye West or Malcolm in the Middle and still believe financial stability is necessary for success (which is ultimately content), college is a rather nice safety blanket.
