“Highly Educated” (From The Atlantic)? I Say Maybe “Highly Degreed”

“I am former college professor, who has spent almost a lifetime observing how much of higher education is essentially a scam on students and their parents.  I feel compelled to correct some of this article’s incorrect statements.  They can be used by unscrupulous institutions to justify some of their behavior.

(I am sure the statements are not intentional.  They may only be a reflection of what has been happening as students graduate without a good education – but with the belief – purposely instilled by their institutons marketing department – that they do have a good eduation.  I hope what I write here will help both readers and the author – who, overall, does a great job of bringing important facts to our attention)

Let’s start with the statement (in 1.) that it is not really true that a college degree is the new high school degree.  Jordan is telling us that it isn’t true because it is not yet the “norm”.  What I mean when I say “a college degree is the new high school degree” is that “the new college education is equal to the old high school degree”.  If that is not true, it is not because things are getting better, it’s because they are getting worse. Anyway, saying this in the sense of “one now needs a college degree” is correct only because of the dumbing down of both a high school education and a college education – and that adds to the coffers of colleges and finanially encourages them to hope for a poor high school education.  I have even heard that expressed by professors.

In 3., Jordan says college is hard, basing his conclusion on the fact that many don’t finish.  If college is so hard, why is it so much less work?  (In “Academically Adrift”, the authors report that students study about half as much as they did 30 years ago.

I could go on, but I will finish with this plea: Please don’t accept ANY priesthood at their word, and, please, don’t confuse “degree” with “education”.  Once the public realizes that college professors and administrators can be just as bad as the rest of us, including bankers, they will demand more transparency about college claims.  I am trying to help with posts like this one and with my blog inside-higher-ed.com

And, Jordan, please keep the good information flowing. Thanks.”