首页
登录
职称英语
What If A College Education Just Isn’t for Everyone?[A]Long bef
What If A College Education Just Isn’t for Everyone?[A]Long bef
游客
2024-02-02
54
管理
问题
What If A College Education Just Isn’t for Everyone?
[A]Long before the president swore last year that America will "have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world" by 2020, the importance placed on going to college was firmly rooted in the American soul. The case is compelling: As good jobs increasingly require more education, college is widely seen as the ticket to personal economic security and to global competitiveness. And yet, there’s a potential trend of concern about a group of students—sometimes called "the forgotten half,"—who, for whatever reason, do not think college is for them. It’s expressed by soul-searching parents such as Crave, whose son doesn’t thrive in the classroom. It’s also expressed increasingly by educators, economists and policy analysts, who question whether it’s realistic and responsible to push students into college even if the odds of academic success seem low.
[B]They’re swimming against a powerful tide. A small but growing number of states now require all high-schoolers to take a college entrance exam. Philadelphia’s mayor opened an office in City Hall last month to help residents get information about how to attain a college degree. Bill Gates, perhaps the world’s most famous college dropout, has poured more than $2 billion into programs and scholarships to help more students complete college. But what’s still getting lost, some argue, is that too many students are going to college not because they want to, but because they think they have to. "We’re force-feeding them" the idea that "you must go to college or you’ll be a second-class citizen," says Marty Nemko, a California career counselor.
Economic benefits, and more
[C]The debate over college is not new, but today’s economic climate has raised the stakes. "There’s beginning to be a lot of concern among the American public that…if you don’t get into that upper class, you’re going to struggle your whole life," says Public Agenda’s Jean Johnson. A four-year degree is no guarantee of wealthy of course. About 25% of those with bachelor’s degrees earn less than those with two-year degrees, studies by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce have found. But research consistently has shown that, on average, those at the top of higher education’s pecking order reap the most benefits, both economically and beyond.
[D]"This is a market for social position, which is why we spend so much on going to Harvard and one of the reasons it’s hard to get a student excited" about community college, says Anthony Carnevale, director of the center. "Class is real, and it has consequences. The position you hold, where you work, really determines your status."
Falling through the cracks
[E]Economists continue to debate the slight differences of trend data for jobs and wages. But some argue that college dropout rates alone suggest many students are wasting their time—and money. Federal data show that fewer than 60% of new students graduate from four-year colleges in six years, and just one in three community college students earn a degree. "It’s fine for most kids to go to college, of course, but it is not obvious to me that that is the best option for the majority," says Mike Gould, founder of New Futures, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that provides scholarships for low-income students pursuing anything from a four-year degree to a massage-therapy certification. "Some education may be a good thing or it may just be a lot of debt."
[F]The problem, Gould and others say, is that many high schools focus so much on college that low-achieving students fall through the cracks. A Public Agenda report this month raises similar concerns about high school guidance counseling. It follows up on a December survey that concluded most young workers who don’t have a college degree "are in their jobs by chance, not by choice," and that guidance toward a career path "is hardly clear and purposeful."
The apprentice(学徒)model
[G]Apprenticeships have long been popular in Europe, but workforce-oriented high school training is not nearly as common in U.S. schools. One reason is that such programs sound dangerously similar to tracking—sorting students by ability level, a practice repeatedly rejected in U.S. culture, in which the dominant philosophy is that all students should have opportunity to meet their full potential. If high schools were to advise students that some education beyond high school is not necessary for everyone, "there’s a little bit of a concern that... we’re saying a lesser goal is OK for the populations of students who have been historically least well-served by higher education," says Jane Wellman, executive director of Delta Project, which studies higher education spending.
[H]In recent years, male college-going and completion rates have raised concerns. But those least well-served historically are low-income and underrepresented minority students, who are less likely than their peers to pursue two- and four-year degrees, and most at risk of not completing college if they do enroll.
[I]Some evidence suggests, though, that students already are being held to different standards. A recent national survey of high school teachers by ACT Inc., the educational testing company, found 71% agreed "completely" or "a great deal" that high school graduates need the same set of skills and knowledge whether they plan to go to college or enter the workforce, yet 42% said teachers reduce academic expectations for students they perceive as not being college-bound. Studies released in November by Deloitte, an international consulting firm, suggest another disconnect: A survey of 400 low-income parents found that 89% say it’s "extremely" or "very important" that their child goes to college, but just 9% of high school teachers viewed preparing students for college as their most important mission.
[J]Deloitte CEO Barry Salzberg, chairman of the College Summit, which seeks to increase college enrollment rates, says that’s misguided. "I think we should measure high schools on their college entrance rate and figure out a way to track performance of high school graduates in college and see how many go beyond one full year of college." But others say the enthusiasm to increase college-going rates ignores the reality that many students will be in over their heads once they start college. "College preparation for everyone is a very nice ideal, but we have a very high failure rate," says Northwestern University professor James Rosenbaum. "If we don’t start letting counselors be frank, we’re not going to fix this system." [br] Many students think they have to go to college because that’s the way to the upper social position.
选项
答案
B
解析
本题与学生上大学的原因有关,根据have to go to college及upper social position定位至B段最后两句。该部分提到,许多学生认为上学是必须的,因为人们认为不能上学就意味着你是二等公民,这与本题所述相符。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3415933.html
相关试题推荐
Ithasbeensaidthateveryonelivesbysellingsomething.Inthelightoft
Ithasbeensaidthateveryonelivesbysellingsomething.Inthelightoft
Ithasbeensaidthateveryonelivesbysellingsomething.Inthelightoft
Ithasbeensaidthateveryonelivesbysellingsomething.Inthelightoft
Ithasbeensaidthateveryonelivesbysellingsomething.Inthelightoft
TheThree-YearSolutionA)HartwickCollege,asmalllibe
TheThree-YearSolutionA)HartwickCollege,asmalllibe
TheThree-YearSolutionA)HartwickCollege,asmalllibe
TheThree-YearSolutionA)HartwickCollege,asmalllibe
TheThree-YearSolutionA)HartwickCollege,asmalllibe
随机试题
Thefindingsofthetwoarchaeologists______theburialcustomsoftheancientEg
Theauthorreferstotheoceanbottomasa"frontier"inParagraph1becauseit
关于刚性基础和柔性基础说法有误的一项是()。A.对柔性地基作用的荷载可称为
A.苯海索 B.阿托品 C.东莨菪碱 D.山莨菪碱 E.新斯的明无明显中
下列何药不是桃核承气汤的组成药物()A.桂枝 B.枳实 C.大黄 D
患者,女,30岁,已婚。结婚4年未孕,月经周期正常,量少,色红无血块,小腹隐痛,
除了法律及行政法规外,证券公司自营业务涉及的部门规章及规范性文件还包括()
雌激素的生理作用有A.促进卵泡发育 B.促进子宫发育 C.增强阴道的抵抗力
标准分数可以通过()得到。(2009-05)A:线性转换 B:非线性转换 C
控制强噪声施工作业时间应做到() A.凡在人口稠密区进行强噪声作业肘,须严
最新回复
(
0
)