[Rhodes22-list] Free Education

[brad haslett]

Slim,

There is a lot of wisdom in what you said.  Frankly, I
think there is too much emphasis placed on college. 
We need auto mechanics, heat & air folks, carpenters,
etc.  Try and find a good one!  Kids graduate from
four years of college with a BA in Underwater
Basketweaving and then bitch about not being able to
find a job. Grad school makes it even worse. I like
China's approach; you have the grades, you go to
college, poor grades and you go to trade school or
work.  My father taught me to believe that all work is
dignified.  There are enough "suits" in our economy. 
Now if I could just convince my very expensive college
age children of that!

Brad
--- Steve Alm <salm@mn.rr.com> wrote:
> As our illustrious former Gov. Jesse Ventura said
> after cutting millions
> from the Univ. of MN spurring an immediate tuition
> hike, "If you're smart
> enough to get into college, you should be able to
> figure out how to pay for
> it."
> 
> Although it was yet another example of his
> shoot-from-the-hip comments, I
> think there's a little wisdom there.  Maybe just a
> little.  But if a college
> education was a free and easy thing, wouldn't that
> make any advanced degree
> more common and less distinguishing?  Further, in
> order to make their
> programs look like they're working, there would be a
> big push to get
> everybody graduated--so they'd have to dumb down the
> programs to achieve
> this.  Instead of "No child left behind" it would be
> "No dorm-squatting,
> reefer-blowing coed left behind."  [grin]
> 
> Show me the money!  We have enough trouble funding
> K-12.  But I'm in favor
> of finding ways to make college more available to
> more people.  Bush is now
> at loggerheads within his own cabinet on Affirmative
> Action.
> Quotas...whatever!  Let them in.  Let everybody in. 
> Even ere on the side of
> letting anybody in.  But Don't lower the bar to get
> out!!!!  Not even the
> first class.  Calculus 101 isn't supposed to be
> easy.
> 
> But for the good students, we need to find more
> creative ways of helping
> them get through.  For you parents out there who are
> putting your kids
> through college, OWCH!  I feel your pain.  Tuition
> is outrageous.  Bring
> back the GI Bill.  What do you say we make a new tax
> (gasp!) on companies
> that require a college degree for employment?  That
> money goes to the
> colleges and universities (but not Bob Jones
> University) and offsets the
> tuition. We could call it the dorm-squatting,
> reefer-blowing tax.
> 
> Last thought: Cuba has one of, if not the highest
> literacy rate in the
> world.  And almost everybody goes to college.  Has
> that helped Cubans or
> Cuba herself?  I'd like hearing from any of you who
> know more about higher
> ed in Cuba.
> 
> Slim
> 
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