Education Is Under Threat, Essay Example

Introduction

I can still recall one moment from my memory: at a very young age my previous teacher told us that education is one of the most critical things one can have in life. Today, however, education is facing serious challenges from all aspects of the society. The issues related to education have become a hot topic in the United States, as well as the rest of the Western world. Some authors (Deresiewicz, Cockburn) claim that  education is under attack. Since education is a vehicle for social mobility, equality, freedom, and liberal principles are in the focus of many discussions about policies and practices. The main thesis the author would like to present is that the capitalist approach toward education, and neoliberal approaches to college course development result in students’ lack of crucial skills. Based on the two articles’ analysis below, the author of the current essay argues that the reason why college graduates are unable to find jobs, and those that have jobs are still unable to repay loans they acquired to go to college lies in the market-based  approach of colleges that replaced individual learning initiatives. The main question is what should policymakers do in order to better match college courses to the needs of students, as well as employers.

In the below essay, I would like to primary analyze the main points and arguments of Deresiewicz and Alexanders respectively. After a careful analysis of ideas, theories related to each argument will be discussed and tested. The relative strength and comparative relationships between those two articles will be evaluated. The article also aims to analyze the rhetorical methods used in each article, and their effectiveness. Finally, a conclusion reflecting on the ideas presented in the two articles will be closing the essay.

The Market-Oriented Education System

William Deresiewicz, the author of the article titled “The Neoliberal Arts: How College Sold Its Soul to the Market”, published in Harper’s Magazine mentions that contemporary education has become a marketplace more than a place of study. Therefore, students lost their ability to think and learn, due to this situation (Deresiewicz, 25). On the other hand, Alexander Cockburn, in “A Colossal Wreck”, presents facts related to the quality of teaching and materials, claiming that schools do not provide the appropriate skills and knowledge. This lack of matching students’ needs with the school system leads to students finishing school having no significant gains from learning. The author (Cockburn) argues that the best anti-poverty program should be based on education reforms (Alexander, 537). Deresiewicz approaches the question from a different perspective.  The author  highlights the present struggle of education in the age of neoliberalism and its mindset about personal liberty of interpretation. Cockburn expands on Deresiewicz’ argument by illustrating numbers and statistics.

In his article, Deresiewicz demonstrates how college sold its soul to the market,  and further explains how neoliberalism created a less effective education system over the years. In the age of neoliberalism, high school and college education barely relate to the idea of thinking and learning (Deresiewicz, 26). Deresiewicz claims that everything in the school system has now been assigned a fiscal value, instead of an educational value. That stated,  Deresiewicz ask “what is ‘real education’ nonsense anyway”. The main claim of this argument of Deresiewicz is the purpose of education in the period of neoliberalism is to produce the producers (Deresiewicz, 26). What he means by that is the contemporary college education prefers to educate students to be future experts, but not the people who leave school having all the knowledge they need for life. Elite education is more like a program to produce the right people that this world and market wants. It is a program which prepares people to start their career in industries where there is a demand for their expertise.

The author goes even further, claiming that the purpose of education has completely changed in recent years, due to the adjustments made to reflect the market conditions. So, are we seeking education just for the financial gain and stability it can render?  He goes on to add,” It is not the humanities per se that are under attack. It is learning: learning for its own sake, curiosity for its own sake, ideas for their own sake. It is the liberal arts, but understood in their true meaning, as all of those fields in which knowledge is pursued as an end in itself, the sciences and social sciences included” ( Deresiewicz, 30).

As a consequence of value deviation, many of the subjects like English in college are under attack due to the changing of the education’s practical purpose.  Subjects that relate to various business areas are more “in demand”. To prove this trend, the author provides a statistical overview of majors taken on by current students.

Furthermore, Deresiewicz argues that majors with a commercial and practical value are only suitable for learning a job, instead of providing students with a real insight. (Deresiewicz, 26, 27) The author compares the education of the sixties and the nineties and finds that focusing on the student’s character lost importance. Quoting Governor Rick Scott of Florida, the author highlights the fact that the number of anthropology majors decreased due to the lack of need. This statement from the Governor further increases the author’s credibility, as well as the statistical figures presented in the article. Deresiewicz also provides readers with a real life testimonial from Steve Pinker, the Harvard psychologist, who claims that he has no idea how to get his students to build a self or become a soul. The educator also claims that we have never evaluated a candidate on how well he or she could accomplish the goal of the education (Deresiewicz, 26). The above rhetoric strategy of using an authority to confirm the claims presented helps Deresiewicz build credibility for his argument.

The Impact Of Education On Society

Cockburn’s article, on the other hand, examines the role of education policies designed to reduce poverty. One of the main arguments presented by the author is that people in the United States expect education to be the best anti-poverty program, still no positive impacts have been confirmed. Indeed, Cockburn claims that there is a connection between education and society. He points out that a person does need a college degree to be successful in society. In fact, he says that most jobs do not require even a high school diploma (Cockburn, 537)

Cockburn quotes statistics from Steven Kent in Daily Finance, proving that students in contemporary education have a high standard of expectation for reading and writing levels, and also study time. The author argues that students spend almost 50% of their time studying, compared with the students from a few decades ago (Cockburn, 537). Cockburn investigates the reality of the United States and finds that the diversity of courses offered and the number of instructors being ruthlessly cut. (Cockburn, 537)

What is more, Cockburn spends lots of words on the connection between education and social reality. Cockburn argues that it is hard to image that why call us a knowledge economy. He shows a fact which shows that the majority of jobs will still require a high school diploma or less in the year 2020. Due to the situation described above, most  people are going to be paid a median wage of less than 35,000 dollars a year and near 30 percent get a median salary of 20,000 a year (in 2010 dollars). (Cockburn, 538) According to the author, and considering the relationship between education and present job’s requirement, millions of Americans are over-educated. The statistics the author uses builds a bridge between the education and reality, which expand and specify the author’s point and argument. Indeed, Cockburn expresses his opinion that the United States actually need people who seek a job to have more educated in the future by quoting the words of Jack Metzgar, a professor of humanities at Roosevelt University.  Metzgar points out the “Knowledge economy” in the US now needs more than six million people with master’s or doctoral degrees, with another needed by 2020. (Cockburn, 538) However, this will still be less than 5 percent of the overall economy. The uses of authorities throughout the paragraphs give a strong hand to the author to strength the argument and keep the argument and evidences well connected.

Cockburn’s article uses statistics and figures, as well as expert opinions to increase credibility. By representing the ideas of renowned experts, the argument becomes more convincing to the audiences, especially to the governors and educators. One of the main aims of the author would like to increase awareness of the challenges of colleges among people who work in the field.

Shared Ideas and Rhetorical Concepts Identified

Deresiewicz and Cockburn, both analyze the education issues and their impact on learning outcomes and the society. Deresiewicz argues that in an age of neoliberalism thinking and learning lost its value. Deresiewicz makes a logical argument claiming that colleges should responsibility for the poor quality education. He supports his arguments with statistics and authorities’ quotes. He makes use of “logos” as a rhetorical tool. The main difference between the ideas presented in the two articles is that Deresiewicz believes that education should empower the individual, while Cockburn claims that it should create a shared benefit for the society.

Similarly, Cockburn reflects on the state of contemporary education, using a strong argument and evidence. In the article, Cockburn focuses more on the responsibility of the society, and utilizes pathos and ethos as rhetorical tools. He makes emotional arguments, building on people’s sense of responsibility, instead of fully utilizing logical approaches.  Cockburn’s article still provides a large amount of statistical data to increase credibility, while Deresiewicz uses more time on the reliable authorities’ source. Still, both sources appear to be reliable and credible, while one of them argues about the education institutes while another one proves the cause-effect relationship between Western education’s current situation and the state and needs of the society. For example, Deresiewicz claims that elite American University no longer provide their students with a real education (Deresiewicz, 26)  when Cockburn claims that the US governments’ Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS) reports that in 2010 only 20 percent of jobs required a bachelor’s degree, whereas 26 percent of jobs did not even require a high school diploma. (Cockburn, 537) In addition, Deresiewicz aim to tell the struggles the education has to the public and education institutes. Cockburn, however, he willing to points out the education-related social issues and have a conversation with the government about what is the best anti-poverty program.

Conclusion

Each student seeking education hopes to foster learning of content, but to also help developing a deep love and respect for knowledge, others, their environment.  The above analyzed articles reveal that today’s college courses focus on either the needs of the market, or reflect the needs of the educational organization. The main takeaway from the readings is that educators should try to create an atmosphere where each student’s individual voice is heard; students should feel free to express themselves. For me, education provides an opportunity for constant learning and growth. One of my hopes as a lifelong learner is to instill a love of learning to all that I meet. I feel that there is a need for compassionate, resilient, and committed individuals, who are excited about working with children and young adults, to light a fire, just like my childhood teacher opened my eyes to the power of knowledge many years ago. In our competitive society, it is important for students to not only receive an adequate education, but to work with someone who is aware of and sensitive to their individual needs. The educational system as we know it is failing our students by and creating societies that want the most for less, instead of empowering individuals to develop a better world through applying knowledge.

Works Cited

Cockburn, Alexander. A Colossal Wreck. New York: Verso, 2013. Print.

Deresiewicz, William. “The Neoliberal Arts.” Harper’s Magazine. Sept. 2015: 25-32. Web. 16 Aug. 2015.