SHORT
COMMUNICATIONS 337
Badly Needed
Reforms
By
Roger Behra
This
counterculture achievement deserves the special attention it is getting here
because of the devastating effect it has had on the American Public School
System for the past twenty-five years. As the Public Schools have been affected,
so has the American culture.
It
was just a matter of time before the U. S. Government would get involved in the
welfare and operation of the Public Schools. It all began when the government
offered to spend millions of dollars to help the schools operate more efficiently
and increase what could be offered. The schools jumped at the offer, and it has
turned out to be devastating. Along with the money came government mandates,
decisions, and just plain in meddling that has severely harmed the correct and
necessary ends that needed for very good results. Now, only 75.5% of high
school students graduate and only 39.5% attend a four-year college. Those who
do attend a four-year college are swamped with remedial courses that have to be
taken before they can get started on their degree objective. How things can be
remedied is anyone’s guess. There is no workable solution it seems.
The
American Public Schools are not the only educational institutions that are
having problems: so are America’s colleges and universities. Once again it
revolves around money: They charge way too much. The prospective college
student has to ask if a four-year college education is affordable. In so many
the answer is an emphatic, no, I cannot. That leaves two looser: the university
and the prospective student.
Along
with the money decision is another problem to be considered; colleges and
universities offer too little in the area of degree types that cost too much to
obtain. The institutions of higher learning have to come to their senses and
readjust. There is no other way.
Not
only do colleges and universities charge too much and offer too little, they steer
the student in the wrong direction concerning the hire-ability on the graduate.
There is nothing more dis heartening for a college graduate to learn that a
costly degree was earned that leads to few chances of being hired. So many
graduates have to tread water and serve cappuccino while they wait for a job
opportunity to become available in the area of their degree expertise. Colleges
and universities have considerable reforming to do in order to be more fair to
the college student.
The
high school, college, and university problems have been going for a very
longtime, and America’s culture has suffered very greatly. Once upon a time
America’s schools-colleges and universities in particular-were the envy of the
outside world. That is not the case any longer. The envy has completely
evaporated, and there are four losers: the high school organization; the high
school and college student; the college and universities; the American culture.
All the credit goes to the counterculture people in charge and their imbecile
type behavior.
R. B.
2-10-13
