"FBI EXPOSES WEALTHY PARENTS RIGGING COLLEGE FOR KIDS. BUT IT WAS ALWAYS RIGGED." - Mary Clare Amselem/ @MCAmselem / March 12, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/03/12/fbi-exposes-wealthy-parents-rigging-college-for-kids-but-it-was-always-rigged [AS I SEE IT: To what this author writes, I would add that there has always been too much emphasis and pressure on going to college. To be sure, having a degree does tend to increase earning power ... but not always. I've personally known several people who never attended college - including my only brother, sister-in-law, and a good friend - who have done well in life without attending or finishing college. The emphasis should always be on what a person is passionate about doing and is gifted in doing. A college "education " (and there is always the question of whether students leave more intelligent or just more indoctrinated to a certain world-view) has its greatest value when it causes true growth in the individual and doesn't just leave the person with some piece of paper. I will never forget my college commencement ceremony. The head of the university's opening remarks were: "Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations! Today your intelligence has been certified; if anyone asks how smart you are, you can simply take your cap and hit them over the head!" It was probably the most reflective moment I had in my college experience. - Stan]
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The FBI dropped a new bombshell on Tuesday, and this time the scandal is Russian-free.
Dozens of wealthy parents, including notable celebrities, were charged in a college admissions scandal and accused of paying a total of $25 million in payments to cheat their children into school. According to Politico, “parents paid a college counseling test prep business in Newport Beach, Calif., called ‘The Key’, which bribed college coaches and administrator and organized a scheme to help students cheat on college entrance exams, including the ACT and SAT.”
It is disappointing that these parents would resort to such measures to ensure that their children get into elite colleges. But Americans should not be surprised that the system is broken. It always has been, and working-class Americans are paying for it.
Take, for example, our student loan system.
For the most part, students who earn bachelor’s degrees have higher lifetime earnings than students with only a high school degree. So why have lawmakers promulgated policies like loan forgiveness, the in-school interest subsidy, and even “free” college, to remove financial responsibility from the elite one-third of Americans who obtain the highly sought-after bachelor’s degree? The hardworking two-thirds of Americans who have bypassed this system altogether should not have to absorb the cost for students who are far more likely to achieve high career earnings.
Additionally, left-wing politicians have recently pushed for “free college” options that would entirely remove all financial responsibility from students and transfer those costs to taxpayers. California, for example, is considering legislation that would grant all citizens access to free college, including the children of Hollywood elite. These policies fuel the troublesome trend of degree inflation. It is true that higher levels of education indicate higher levels of earnings, and some may argue that this is because a college degree equips students with the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. But it appears increasingly apparent that the simple attainment of a degree carries far more weight than the actual attainment of knowledge or marketable skills.
The signaling that occurs when a student obtains a degree tells employers that they have followed through on their education, but says little about their human capital development.
While most would not put it in so many words, this is a phenomenon that most Americans, including the wealthy parents wrapped up in this scandal, are well aware of.
As George Mason University’s Bryan Caplan has noted, if average students were presented with this scenario: You can either receive a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University without going to a single class, or you can take classes at Georgetown but you walk away without the degree, most Americans would pick the former option, rather than the latter.
This is because most Americans with a small amount of motivation and an internet connection can seek out alternative means for obtaining career knowledge outside of the classroom. However, getting your foot in the door without a college degree is another story.
This admissions scandal should cause all Americans to rethink the system they are paying into. Celebrities such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were able to cheat the system because of their elite celebrity status and high financial capital. This is not the system President Lyndon Johnson sought in his vision for a “Great Society.” His hope was to grant all Americans, regardless of socio-economic status, a pathway to the American dream.
Instead, higher education in America today embodies a system that shackles American students and taxpayers alike with high student loan debt, and fails to create a proper education-to-workforce pipeline that enables graduates to pay down their loans.
American taxpayers should not have to spend roughly $75 billion per year on a broken system. Furthermore, students and taxpayers should not suffer under $1.5 trillion in student loan debt for degrees of questionable value.
In order to reinstate academic integrity in the higher education system, lawmakers should eliminate policies that favor the elite at the expense of working-class Americans. Loan forgiveness and “free college” only serve to pour money into a broken system that perpetuates elitism at the expense of working Americans and other viable pathways to upward mobility.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
Mary Clare Amselem is a policy analyst in education policy at The Heritage Foundation
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PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."
- Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan
------------------------------------------------------------
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
In March, Open Doors is focusing on rebuilding hope for the church in the Middle East. This month, we invite you to pray specific and informed prayers for believers in Iraq and Syria as
we remember our brothers and sisters in these extremely volatile areas.
March 14 | CHINA - Please pray with the leaders whose house churches have recently been raided and closed. Crosses have been torn down and church equipment, Bibles and other Christian materials confiscated. Some house church buildings have been destroyed completely.
*Names changed to protect identities
"FBI EXPOSES WEALTHY PARENTS RIGGING COLLEGE FOR KIDS. BUT IT WAS ALWAYS RIGGED." - Mary Clare Amselem/ @MCAmselem / March 12, 2019 / https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/03/12/fbi-exposes-wealthy-parents-rigging-college-for-kids-but-it-was-always-rigged [AS I SEE IT: To what this author writes, I would add that there has always been too much emphasis and pressure on going to college. To be sure, having a degree does tend to increase earning power ... but not always. I've personally known several people who never attended college - including my only brother, sister-in-law, and a good friend - who have done well in life without attending or finishing college. The emphasis should always be on what a person is passionate about doing and is gifted in doing. A college "education " (and there is always the question of whether students leave more intelligent or just more indoctrinated to a certain world-view) has its greatest value when it causes true growth in the individual and doesn't just leave the person with some piece of paper. I will never forget my college commencement ceremony. The head of the university's opening remarks were: "Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations! Today your intelligence has been certified; if anyone asks how smart you are, you can simply take your cap and hit them over the head!" It was probably the most reflective moment I had in my college experience. - Stan]
It is disappointing that these parents would resort to such measures to ensure that their children get into elite colleges. But Americans should not be surprised that the system is broken. It always has been, and working-class Americans are paying for it.
Take, for example, our student loan system.
Additionally, left-wing politicians have recently pushed for “free college” options that would entirely remove all financial responsibility from students and transfer those costs to taxpayers. California, for example, is considering legislation that would grant all citizens access to free college, including the children of Hollywood elite. These policies fuel the troublesome trend of degree inflation. It is true that higher levels of education indicate higher levels of earnings, and some may argue that this is because a college degree equips students with the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. But it appears increasingly apparent that the simple attainment of a degree carries far more weight than the actual attainment of knowledge or marketable skills.
The signaling that occurs when a student obtains a degree tells employers that they have followed through on their education, but says little about their human capital development.
As George Mason University’s Bryan Caplan has noted, if average students were presented with this scenario: You can either receive a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University without going to a single class, or you can take classes at Georgetown but you walk away without the degree, most Americans would pick the former option, rather than the latter.
This admissions scandal should cause all Americans to rethink the system they are paying into. Celebrities such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were able to cheat the system because of their elite celebrity status and high financial capital. This is not the system President Lyndon Johnson sought in his vision for a “Great Society.” His hope was to grant all Americans, regardless of socio-economic status, a pathway to the American dream.
Instead, higher education in America today embodies a system that shackles American students and taxpayers alike with high student loan debt, and fails to create a proper education-to-workforce pipeline that enables graduates to pay down their loans.
In order to reinstate academic integrity in the higher education system, lawmakers should eliminate policies that favor the elite at the expense of working-class Americans. Loan forgiveness and “free college” only serve to pour money into a broken system that perpetuates elitism at the expense of working Americans and other viable pathways to upward mobility.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
Mary Clare Amselem is a policy analyst in education policy at The Heritage Foundation
------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
The FBI dropped a new bombshell on Tuesday, and this time the scandal is Russian-free.
Dozens of wealthy parents, including notable celebrities, were charged in a college admissions scandal and accused of paying a total of $25 million in payments to cheat their children into school. According to Politico, “parents paid a college counseling test prep business in Newport Beach, Calif., called ‘The Key’, which bribed college coaches and administrator and organized a scheme to help students cheat on college entrance exams, including the ACT and SAT.”
It is disappointing that these parents would resort to such measures to ensure that their children get into elite colleges. But Americans should not be surprised that the system is broken. It always has been, and working-class Americans are paying for it.
Take, for example, our student loan system.
For the most part, students who earn bachelor’s degrees have higher lifetime earnings than students with only a high school degree. So why have lawmakers promulgated policies like loan forgiveness, the in-school interest subsidy, and even “free” college, to remove financial responsibility from the elite one-third of Americans who obtain the highly sought-after bachelor’s degree? The hardworking two-thirds of Americans who have bypassed this system altogether should not have to absorb the cost for students who are far more likely to achieve high career earnings.
Additionally, left-wing politicians have recently pushed for “free college” options that would entirely remove all financial responsibility from students and transfer those costs to taxpayers. California, for example, is considering legislation that would grant all citizens access to free college, including the children of Hollywood elite. These policies fuel the troublesome trend of degree inflation. It is true that higher levels of education indicate higher levels of earnings, and some may argue that this is because a college degree equips students with the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. But it appears increasingly apparent that the simple attainment of a degree carries far more weight than the actual attainment of knowledge or marketable skills.
The signaling that occurs when a student obtains a degree tells employers that they have followed through on their education, but says little about their human capital development.
While most would not put it in so many words, this is a phenomenon that most Americans, including the wealthy parents wrapped up in this scandal, are well aware of.
As George Mason University’s Bryan Caplan has noted, if average students were presented with this scenario: You can either receive a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University without going to a single class, or you can take classes at Georgetown but you walk away without the degree, most Americans would pick the former option, rather than the latter.
This is because most Americans with a small amount of motivation and an internet connection can seek out alternative means for obtaining career knowledge outside of the classroom. However, getting your foot in the door without a college degree is another story.
This admissions scandal should cause all Americans to rethink the system they are paying into. Celebrities such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were able to cheat the system because of their elite celebrity status and high financial capital. This is not the system President Lyndon Johnson sought in his vision for a “Great Society.” His hope was to grant all Americans, regardless of socio-economic status, a pathway to the American dream.
Instead, higher education in America today embodies a system that shackles American students and taxpayers alike with high student loan debt, and fails to create a proper education-to-workforce pipeline that enables graduates to pay down their loans.
American taxpayers should not have to spend roughly $75 billion per year on a broken system. Furthermore, students and taxpayers should not suffer under $1.5 trillion in student loan debt for degrees of questionable value.
In order to reinstate academic integrity in the higher education system, lawmakers should eliminate policies that favor the elite at the expense of working-class Americans. Loan forgiveness and “free college” only serve to pour money into a broken system that perpetuates elitism at the expense of working Americans and other viable pathways to upward mobility.
[italics and colored emphasis mine]
Mary Clare Amselem is a policy analyst in education policy at The Heritage Foundation
--------------------------------------------------------
|
PRAYER MATTERS:
"To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world."
- Karl Barth; "Prayer is inviting God into a seemingly impossible situation and trusting/resting in His love and grace to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect time and for His greatest glory. Intercession is the one of the great privileges AND responsibilities for EVERY believer." - Stan
------------------------------------------------------------
Praying Through the Open Doors World Watch List for persecuted believers:https://www.opendoorsusa.org/take-action/pray/monthly-prayer-calendar/
In March, Open Doors is focusing on rebuilding hope for the church in the Middle East. This month, we invite you to pray specific and informed prayers for believers in Iraq and Syria as
we remember our brothers and sisters in these extremely volatile areas.
March 14 | CHINA - Please pray with the leaders whose house churches have recently been raided and closed. Crosses have been torn down and church equipment, Bibles and other Christian materials confiscated. Some house church buildings have been destroyed completely.
*Names changed to protect identities |
There's a lot to chew on in this article, such as the problems of high student loans, the controversy of free college, and the value of a degree. The claim is that the education system is broken. Does it make people smarter? I argue that college provides the environment where people can become smarter, but it's up to each person whether they want to become smarter. I like the quote that Stan included at the beginning (paraphrased here): "Congrats, your intelligence has been certified. If someone says otherwise, whap them over the head with your cap!"
ReplyDelete-herb