If you read one blog post today, make it this one.
It is a comic strip (along the lines of “Charlie Hebdo”) that shows why American students are “screwed” by a system that causes them to start life deep in debt.
In the Nordic countries (Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden), higher education is a basic right, and universal access is free. Students even get a stipend to help with their expenses.
Why? Because education is the ultimate investment in a nation’s future.
We say we want more students to go to college; we want them to be college-and-career-ready. President Ibama says by 2020, we should have the highest college graduation rate in the world.
The credentials needed for good jobs go higher and higher. People with a college degree earn more than those without one.
But we have policies that put college education out of reach or make it a financial burden for those who want a college education. Our federal Department of Education pays billions to subpar, predatory for-profit colleges and universities with very low graduation rates, despite the fact that they prey on the poor, minorities, and immigrants trying to improve their lives but ending up deep in debt with a crummy education.
Just open the link.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Because if you disagree with conservative ‘Merica about Gubbermint, then you must be a communist. The Greatest Generation that built America by public good has yielded to the Craziest Generation supporting Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Millennials at least are realizing something is fundamentally wrong.
The cartoon is correct. Anyone in the classroom can see all the testing and anti-teacher movement hurting an entire generation. I wonder why in this country, voters can not see the long term impacts and continue to vote against their ultimate interests.
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Shared ….
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I’m more and more with Lessig and Teachout on this- if we don’t wash some of the massive amounts of campaign money out of the system, nothing will change.
I worry about the corrosive effects of corruption and capture- pay to play. I think it creates a long, slow bleed of credibility with the public. If I were a political leader I would worry about that because without SOME credibility they really have nothing. If people think the game is rigged (and they do) and political leaders are running the game that’s a problem for political leaders, not just a problem for the public.
There are plenty of completely corrupt governments where people know it’s a joke to even participate in a rigged game. It’s not like the US has some magic shield and it couldn’t happen here. Sure it could.
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I think we need to be very careful about adopting what works in another country to our own. There are cultural, social, and non-school factors that influence the educational system in nordic countries and are probably the reason why it works there. It would only work in America if we had the same cultural, social, and non-school factors, and my guess is we do not exactly match in those areas.
There are a lot of options in higher ed in our country. One doesn’t have to graduate with a boatload of debt.
Also, I think we need to be very, very careful about trying to make everything equal for all. That’s a utopian idea that is impossible to achieve and carries with it unforseen negative consequences.
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I am curious as to what “unforeseen negative consequences” you might possibly envision. How much more toxic could our system become? I’m really curious as to what you think might happen.
This Nordic model, that embraces this positive view of higher education, refers to a set of economic and social policies that combines free market capitalism with comprehensive welfare and collective bargaining at the national level. Seems like a pretty attractive model that would be worth exploring…sigh…
You mustn’t worry though…such a system would never be adopted here. Our politicians and business leaders are far too damned greedy to allow that to happen.
Just look at Trump’s recent description of Bernie Sanders…a communist…JHC…
What’s even scarier is that we have elements of an electorate who would vote for Trump.
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When the federal government steps in, raises taxes, all in the name of a new or better programs….dependency follows, soon to be followed by reform measures. Regulations abound, things become increasingly more complicated, and threat of litigation stagnates systems because something that used to be a choice, now is considered a right.
The grass is always greener on the other side…..until you get there.
Also, I have to ask:
What would our society be like if everyone had a bachelor’s degree from college?
Would our society be able to sustain everyone wanting to make a “professional” income?
How would colleges and universities handle the influx of students? Where would the money come from to handle the amount of instructors, staff, classrooms, etc. that would be needed to educate all students? So do we have the infrastructure to handle this idea?
Will this really do away with inequality in our society? No, because there will be those who go on and get Master’s and Doctorate degrees. So what do we do then? Does society pay for those too?
It’s a great platform for a politician to get elected on, but in reality, I don’t see how this will improve our society as a whole.
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Go Bernie!!!
What he has been preaching for some time.
Also
True. When I was in Portugal, one of Europe’s poorest nations some years ago
THEY
provided free college education.
2 or 3 years ago when visiting prices were raised.
Now it was $100 fee.
Guess inflation caught up with them.
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To unheardof writer:
You posted:
“When the federal government steps in, raises taxes, all in the name of a new or better programs…. dependency follows, soon to be followed by reform measures. Regulations abound, things become increasingly more complicated, and threat of litigation stagnates systems because something that used to be a choice, now is considered a right.”
Are good roads a choice or a right? Are safe bridges a choice or a right? How about public transit, dams, waste water management, etc…, etc….etc…?
Locate http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/ and take a look at the 2013 Report Card of America’s Infrastructure compiled by the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers).
This is what years of massive tax cuts and crony capitalism have fostered.
Law enforcement, fire departments, mental health agencies, blah, blah, blah… These entities all require funding. Are these services a right or a choice?
Haven’t even mentioned public education yet…
No shortage of public funds going to vouchers and private “academies” these days though….
Sieg heil Herr Norquist! Sieg heil Herr Friedman!
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