[Unknown Target]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZtX32sKVE

Watch until you lose interest. I'm watching it now. Discuss?

So far (7 minutes in) seems to be pretty much what I've been saying all this time.

29 minutes in. This is a lot of the stuff I've been talking about. I really don't like that guy in the leather jacket though. I'd like to say that I am a good person and that I know many good people - the way that he says universities aren't turning out "quality" people is offensive.

[achtung]

Conspiracy

Stopped reading there.

[Unknown Target]

That's really close minded of you. Watch the video. I personally feel that it was poorly titled.

EDIT: Honestly, my biggest problem with this video? The people they're interviewing. The standards haven't fallen (@ 33:41) - you've been holding us back and we've been blasting through what used to take you ages to do.


EDIT2: Lost interest at 34 minutes in. Anyone want to discuss?

[BloodEagle]

I haven't watched the video.  I might, tomorrow.

EDIT: Honestly, my biggest problem with this video? The people they're interviewing. The standards haven't fallen (@ 33:41) - you've been holding us back and we've been blasting through what used to take you ages to do.

Standards haven't fallen, they've plummeted.

[Mika]

EDIT: Honestly, my biggest problem with this video? The people they're interviewing. The standards haven't fallen (@ 33:41) - you've been holding us back and we've been blasting through what used to take you ages to do.

Interesting comment. Could you explain a little bit further why do you feel the older generation is holding younger people back?

[Nuke]

theres not a doubt in my mind that higher education is a scam to sink people into debt so they can be made more pliable and thus easier to control. i rebel by not paying my student loans. they can suck it.

[Klaustrophobia]

sure they make money off of us, but it's not a scam.  unless you're going just to get some bull**** degree just because you think you're supposed to go to college.  but then that's really your fault, not theirs.  my degree was worth every penny.

[Sushi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZtX32sKVE

Watch until you lose interest. I'm watching it now. Discuss?

So far (7 minutes in) seems to be pretty much what I've been saying all this time.

29 minutes in. This is a lot of the stuff I've been talking about. I really don't like that guy in the leather jacket though. I'd like to say that I am a good person and that I know many good people - the way that he says universities aren't turning out "quality" people is offensive.

I lasted about 15 seconds. Too annoying, didn't watch.

If someone can give me a less silly summary of the rest of it (or a text transcript, or something), I'll take it from there.

[Unknown Target]

Basically, easy college loans have created the biggest debt bubble in US history.

It also talks about how college is portrayed to students as a necessity, and how our education system is basically geared only towards preparing you for the next stage of education until you get a job.

It also goes into detail about how non-dischargable college debt has destroyed some people's lives and is turning students into debt workers for the rest of their lives.

[Sushi]

Well, I certainly agree that the rapidly-inflating cost of higher education is a problem. Did the video have any solutions?

[Unknown Target]

They said (and I disagreed) that the federal government needs to end all college loans right now. They listed a few examples of students using the loans to pay for cars instead of college. To be honest I can even see the logic of the students that did that, and focusing on them ignores the forest for the trees.

I would propose instead integrating the campuses with their local communities - have the students (all of them, not just grads) do actual research and use all that tuition money they pay to try and create real value for the country. For instance, why, if there is a college with an agriculture program, do they spend the majority of their time in a classroom reading textbooks, instead of actually out experimenting with new ideas on how to solve local food supply issues? Why are agriculture students reading about planting crops instead of actually planting them?

I have further solutions that I'd propose, but one of the main ones is basically that; college students should be allowed and encouraged to actually live their own lives and contribute to the community, instead of being pent up in uni. Yes, I do feel that colleges are actually acting as a barrier to these things. I don't blame the students, most of them are simply doing what they have always been told was best for them. Best for them being shortsighted advice pressed upon them by their elders and their elders before them, IMO.

[StarSlayer]

They can only inflate so much, it will hit a tipping point were people cannot afford it and they will either have to reevaluate how much they charge, or deal with the fact that they will have to compete over a much smaller pool of applicants who can afford it.  Though I imagine they are pretty careful about how they price school so it doesn't actually hit that point.  Like it or not college isn't exactly a right, it's a privilege and the expectation that most people go to college is only a relatively recent development.  The sad thing really is that primary education has become basically an entrance prep for college rather than providing an education that readies students to go into the real world.  Especially since college isn't exactly the one road to success, plenty of jobs like carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc. can pull down as much or more then a person with a degree.

[Unknown Target]

I agree with all your points, yea. I wish there was more emphasis placed on vocational and skill learning, like welding, business starting, etc. I wish the community would be more open to supporting that.
Which actually segways a little into another point. The school I attend is a non-profit organization, but it (like many other colleges I suspect) seems to be run like a for profit institution - expenses are kept as low as possible and tuition fees are constantly increased so the college can continue expanding, to keep attracting investment and more students. It's disgusting IMO - it's a mindset of greed and mindless expansion, with seemingly no thought towards ever being satisfied or serving an actual need within society.

[Nuke]

seems you end up going to school and the jobs you get with the degree pay less than typical manual labor jobs that you can get out of high-school. i mean the only job i ever had that utilized my degree payed $6, that was my system builder job. some years later i got a job to build bicycles that i figure payed around 25/hr. the latter job is something anyone could learn in a couple weeks, while the former required several decades of using computers and knowing how they work. the job market does not seem to offer entry level jobs to college graduates that are even remotely helpful in paying off student debt. so you get out of college and you're in worse shape than hs graduates who already have some work experience, and you have a huge debt on top of it.

[Unknown Target]

Aye that's a serious problem, but strangely I don't see college students in America doing anything about it.

I think the fact that many of us have our parents to fall back on helps keep the "well, oh well" attitude going. That, and many of us don't actually believe that the entire economy is going to instantly collapse and leave us fighting for food.

[Sushi]

I would propose instead integrating the campuses with their local communities - have the students (all of them, not just grads) do actual research and use all that tuition money they pay to try and create real value for the country. For instance, why, if there is a college with an agriculture program, do they spend the majority of their time in a classroom reading textbooks, instead of actually out experimenting with new ideas on how to solve local food supply issues? Why are agriculture students reading about planting crops instead of actually planting them?

I have further solutions that I'd propose, but one of the main ones is basically that; college students should be allowed and encouraged to actually live their own lives and contribute to the community, instead of being pent up in uni. Yes, I do feel that colleges are actually acting as a barrier to these things. I don't blame the students, most of them are simply doing what they have always been told was best for them. Best for them being shortsighted advice pressed upon them by their elders and their elders before them, IMO.

That's great, but I don't see how this has anything to do with inflating education costs. It also makes some heavy assumptions about a lot of degree programs at a lot of schools... I bet a bunch of agriculture programs do have their students work on a farm.

Which actually segways segues a little into another point.

</pet peeve>

[Pred the Penguin]

Aye that's a serious problem, but strangely I don't see college students in America doing anything about it.

I think the fact that many of us have our parents to fall back on helps keep the "well, oh well" attitude going. That, and many of us don't actually believe that the entire economy is going to instantly collapse and leave us fighting for food.

That's seems like a big problem going on in many countries. Many people say older generations are holding the younger ones back, but then why do the younger ones keep needing to depend on the older generations?

Anyway, I mostly agree with what you're saying. Plus I think there are waaay too many jobs out there that simply do not need a college level education.

[General Battuta]

I got into a great school, got the opportunity to explore every possible field I was interested in, and, once I'd settled on a field, immediately got to work on practical field research. My thesis was relevant to a major problem the community was facing and involved a lot of street work. As soon as I graduated, the skills I'd learned got me a high-paying job that allowed me to help work with social issues all around the globe. As a side effect they also made me a killer political canvasser, giving me the ability to really make a difference in local elections.

I also didn't have a single dollar in debt.

I couldn't have asked for a better education.

[Mustang19]

>conspiracy

>UT thread

 

Basically, easy college loans have created the biggest debt bubble in US history.

I think I saw something about this on Russia Today.

I got into a great school, got the opportunity to explore every possible field I was interested in, and, once I'd settled on a field, immediately got to work on practical field research. My thesis was relevant to a major problem the community was facing and involved a lot of street work. As soon as I graduated, the skills I'd learned got me a high-paying job that allowed me to help work with social issues all around the globe. As a side effect they also made me a killer political canvasser, giving me the ability to really make a difference in local elections.

I also didn't have a single dollar in debt.

I couldn't have asked for a better education.

I had a canvasser job once with GVO. I was a model employee. Curbstoned my way to every quota.

I myself just can't stand selling things to people. Good thing it worked out for you. Although we have very different notions of a fantasy college experience.

[General Battuta]

I myself just can't stand selling things to people. Good thing it worked out for you. Although we have very different notions of a fantasy college experience.

This is a family forum!

And holy hell canvassing was a tough job. Mentally and physically taxing. Also morally.