Is Higher Education Worth the Price?

 This module was based on whether the cost of college is worth it. We read two articles, a speech, and watched a documentary that dealt with the different points of view in which this question can be answered. It all depends on people's lifestyles and the opportunities and sources that are available to them.

The article "Are Colleges Worth the Price of Admission?" mentions different ways in which we can improve the educational system so that it is equal for everyone but also affordable. Sometimes it is not that education is expensive but that what they offer is not good enough to attract more people or to keep those who are already there because they offer a mediocre education, with teachers who only go for their paycheck and do not for teaching They suggest many changes in staff training, information sources and examples of colleges that are doing a good job and are a great example. But this takes time, that requires help from the government, from people who want to make a change in society, and not just from people who want summers and weekends off. 

The article "The New Liberal Arts", this article mentions the misperceptions that people tend to make but that do not have any type of evidence or proof to demonstrate their validity. Many times as a society we tend to create ideas about certain groups of people and generalize, referring to the fact that everyone is equal. An example of this is when they say that Hispanics and Latinos are lazy and that they do not like to study, that is generalizing and is a false statement, not all Hispanics are like that, but because some have not had the necessary resources to be able to obtain a more advanced education, they have dedicated themselves to working to support their families, but that does not mean that they are lazy or unintelligent. It requires a lot of intelligence, strength, and ability to build buildings and create hospitals or schools, and most of the time it is Latinos who do those jobs. This is one of the many misperceptions that make young people decide not to study and simply blame the high prices of university.

I liked the speech because it tells a realistic story that many of us live. Always surrounded by monotony and how difficult it is to choose or make the right decision. David Foster Wallace's Commencement Speech talks about the facts about adult life, how to be a student and make the right decisions. Many of us live in a reality that we do not know because every day it is the same routine. This speech is more than realistic and is right in saying that getting an education is not just learning calculus or physics, it is learning to think, but in a deeper way in which we can understand how the universe works and why things happen. Education is learning to understand others and being empathetic, it is learning to choose and to make decisions. Everywhere we are going to have to use these skills, think about a situation, how the other person would feel in my place, and then what decision to make about it; It sounds simple, but it is not. A bad decision can change our lives, and learning to choose is a challenge, for example, a student has a project to do, and she decides to do it or not, but the resolution will not be the same. If you do the project, you get a grade and can pass the class (sounds good), however, when you decide not to do it, not only do you run the risk of not passing the class, but your reputation as a person declines (you show yourself as someone irresponsible or that she doesn't care about the grade she gets), which little by little discourages the student himself but also affects the teacher, making him wonder "Am I doing things right?" "Are my students learning?" Should I change my method?"... It is a pattern that repeats itself constantly, so choosing to obtain an education can be a complicated decision. Still, the results will be much better, and the opportunities will be different. Education is a valuable trophy we must work for.

The documentary "The Ivory Tower" shows the different perspectives on which advanced education can be viewed. Some say that it is not necessary and that investing so much money just to obtain a diploma is not worth it, on the contrary, others affirm that obtaining an advanced education is necessary and changes lives. Now, the biggest factor is the cost of this education and how difficult it is to pay it or be in permanent debt. From my point of view, the problem lies in the fact that more money is offered to universities that already have the necessary resources, while other universities require more support (every day the rich get richer and the poor get poorer). They invest money in unnecessary luxuries, instead of offering low tuition costs. Education is necessary but its high cost makes young people decide not to go to university and avoid that debt. Finding a middle ground could be a solution, in which education is affordable in all areas and for everyone. 

Finally, the answer to this big question is inaccurate, College is worth the price but it is not available to everyone and that is the big problem. The day when we can all say that going to university will not be a financial problem, that day we will be able to say that society is changing. We all have different views and opinions, but the high cost of college is not always worth it.