Sample Notes: Menand
MY COMMENTS IN ALL BOLD ALL CAPS
Writer’s Notes for Essay #1 Readings (see course site for download of clean copy) – On Campus Version
For each essay, set up a worksheet with the following categories. Note: not all categories will be filled for all essays. These notes will form the basis of your essay: the more detail the better
At the top of each set of notes, write a works cited entry. Remember that all works cited entries begin with the author’s last name and then the title, etc. Follow the directions on how to set up a works cited entry (See table of contents I&C) for specific instructions – or “Citing Sources” from the Links menu on the home page. <<<YOU CAN DELETE THIS INFO
Works Cited
(Friendly assist for first readings) Both Menand’s and Gutting’s essays are from blogs. See #8, page 81 I&C.
Menand,Louis. “Live and Learn: Why We Have College.” The New Yorker. 6 June 2011. Web. 9 September 2012
List all the different ways this essay identifies and describes the role of college in America
“The theory goes like this: In any group of people, it’s easy to determine who is the fastest or the strongest or even the best-looking. But picking out the most intelligent person is difficult, because intelligence involves many attributes that can’t be captured in a one-time assessment, like an I.Q. test.” (Menand). THEORY 1
“If you like the first theory, then it doesn’t matter which courses students take, or even what is taught in them, as long as they’re rigorous enough for the sorting mechanism to do its work. All that matters is the grades.” (Menand). THEORY 1 DESCRIPTION
“If you prefer the second theory, then you might consider grades a useful instrument of positive or negative reinforcement, but the only thing that matters is what students actually learn.” (Menand). THEORY 2
“Society needs a mechanism for sorting out its more intelligent members from its less intelligent ones, just as a track team needs a mechanism (such as a stopwatch) for sorting out the faster athletes from the slower ones.” (Menand). ANALOGY SUPPORTING THEORY 2
“Theory 3—is that advanced economies demand specialized knowledge and skills, and, since high school is aimed at the general learner, college is where people can be taught what they need in order to enter a vocation.” (Menand). THEORY 3
What are reasons this essay offers to support its argument
GOOD START CONNECTING REASONS TO THE THEORIES.
“Society wants to identify intelligent people early on so that it can funnel them into careers that maximize their talents.” (Menand). REASON FOR WHY PEOPLE AGREE WITH THEORY 1
“This reflects a different theory of college, a theory that runs like this: In a society that encourages its members to pursue the career paths that promise the greatest personal or financial rewards, people will, given a choice, learn only what they need to know for success.”(Menand). REASON SUPPORTING THEORY 2
“We want higher education to be available to all Americans, but we also want people to deserve the grades they receive.” (Menand). MEDIUM BETWEEN THEORY 1&2
“As work becomes more high-tech, employers demand more people with specialized training.” (Menand). REASONING BEHIND THEORY 3
General information on colleges
“Before 1945, élite private colleges like Harvard and Yale were largely in the business of reproducing a privileged social class” (Menand). STUDENTS THAT WERE BEING ACCEPTED TO THESE IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS WERE MOSTLY CHILDREN OF HIGH CLASS GRADUATES.
“Testing insured that only people who deserved to go to college did.” (Menand). AFTER THE S.A.T. AND A.C.T. WERE INVENTED, THESE SCHOOLS WERE NOT PERMITTED TO ACCEPT THE UNQUALIFIED WEALTHY STUDENTS.
“In 1940, the acceptance rate at Harvard was eighty-five per cent. By 1970, it was twenty per cent. Last year, thirty-five thousand students applied to Harvard, and the acceptance rate was six per cent.” (Menand). THE DECLINE IN ACCEPTANCE RATES SHOW THE DIFFERENCE THAT THE STANDARDIZED TESTING MADE.
Connections to previous readings
Higher education discourse – word list for this topic (see I&C 18 “Discourse” for more on this)
citizenship, assessment intellectual literate informed intelligence higher education
Writer's Notes for Essay #1 Readings (see course site for download of clean copy) – On Campus Version
For each essay, set up a worksheet with the following categories. Note: not all categories will be filled for all essays. These notes will form the basis of your essay: the more detail the better
At the top of each set of notes, write a works cited entry. Remember that all works cited entries begin with the author's last name and then the title, etc. Follow the directions on how to set up a works cited entry (See table of contents I&C) for specific instructions – or "Citing Sources" from the Links menu on the home page.<<<THIS INFO CAN BE DELETED
Menand, Louis. "Live and Learn: Why We Have College<<MISSING PERIOD" New Yorker. 6 June 2011. Web. Date of access<<NEED TO INSERT THE DATE ESSAY WAS READ.
Works Cited (Friendly assist for first readings) Both Menand's and Gutting's essays are from blogs. See #8, page 81 I&C.
List all the different ways this essay identifies and describes the role of college in America
GOOD START HERE AND QUICK LISTING OF THEORIES
"If you are a theory 1 person, you worry that with so many Americans going to college, the bachelors degree is losing its meaning" (Menand). THEORY 1.<<<DOESN'T REALLY DEFINE THEORY
"Picking out the most intelligent person is difficult because intelligence involves many attributes that can't be captured in a one time assessment, like an IQ test"(Menand). THEORY 1
"When motivation is missing, when people come into the system without believing that what goes on in it really matters, its hard to transform minds"(Menand). THEORY 1
"College is, essentially, a four year intelligence test, college sorts people according to their aptitude"(Menand). THEORY 1
"Ideally, we want everyone to go to college, because college gets everyone one the same page, way of producing a society of like minded grownups"(Menand). THEORY 1
"If you are a theory 2 person, you worry that the competition for slots in top-tier colleges is warping educational priorities"(Menand). THEORY 2.
"Higher education is widely regarded as the route to a better life"(Menand). THEORY 2
"Most of them trying to get jobs (ex. as registered nurses or state troopers) that require a college degree and they wants one thing and one thing only from Professor X: a passing grade"(Menand). THEORY 2
"Obama and Arne Duncan[secretary of education] talk about how higher education is the key to the future of the American economy"(Menand). THEORY 2
"As work becomes more high tech, employers demand more people with specialized training"(Menand). THEORY 3
"Advanced economies demand specialized knowledge and skills and since high school is aimed at the general learner, college is where people can be taught what they need in order to enter a vocation"(Menand). THEORY 3
"The academic motivation of the students at these schools is utilitarian"(Menand). THEORY 3
" They attend either because the degree is a job requirement or because they've been seduced by the siren song "college is for everyone"(Menand). THEORY 3.
SOME OF THESE POINTS CAN BE MOVED DOWN TO REASONS
What are reasons this essay offers to support its argument
VALID POINTS HERE, BUT INSTEAD OF SUMMARIES, QUOTES WOULD WORK BETTER. IF SUMMARIES ARE USED, NEED TO INCLUDE CITATIONS.
Society wants to identify intelligent people early on so that it can funnel them into careers that maximize their talents. <<<NEED CITATION (MENAND) FOR THIS AN ALL SUMMARIESTHEORY 1
An intelligent person is open minded, an outside the box thinker, an effective communicator, is prudent, self-critical, consistent and so on. THEORY 1
College is, essentially, a four year intelligence test. THEORY 1
College sorts people according to their aptitude. THEORY 1
Its important that everyone is taking more or less the same test. THEORY 1
College exposes future citizens to material that enlightens and empowers them, whatever careers they end up choosing. THEORY 2
Liberal education is the elite type of college education: its the gateway to the high-status professions. THEORY 2
Education is about personal and intellectual growth, not about winning some race to the top. THEORY 2
A college degree in a non liberal field signifies competence in a specific line of work. THEORY 3
They attend either because the degree is a job requirement or because they've been seduced by the siren song "college is for everyone. THEORY 3
College is basically a supplier of vocational preparation and a credentialling service. THEORY 3
General information on colleges
-In 2008, the average income for someone with an advanced degree(masters, professional, doctoral) was $83,144
-Someone with a bachelors degree was $58,613
-For someone with a high school diploma was $31,283 THESE ALL NEED CITATIONS
Connections to previous readings
Higher education discourse(communication of thought by words) – word list for this topic (see I&C 18 "Discourse" for more on this)
GOOD START WITH THIS LIST OF WORDS
Critical Reading
Citizenship
Assessment- evaluation of a given situation
Literate-
Informed- you were told about something
For each essay, set up a worksheet with the following categories. Note: not all categories will be filled for all essays. These notes will form the basis of your essay: the more detail the better
At the top of each set of notes, write a works cited entry. Remember that all works cited entries begin with the author's last name and then the title, etc. Follow the directions on how to set up a works cited entry (See table of contents I&C) for specific instructions - or “Citing Sources” from the Links menu on the home page.
Works Cited
(Friendly assist for first readings) Both Menand's and Gutting's essays are from blogs. See #8, page 81 I&C. <<<THE INFORMATION ABOVE THIS ISN'T NEEDED.
Menand, Louis. “Live and Learn: Why We Have College.” The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 6 June, 2011. Web. September 10th, 2012.
List all the different ways this essay identifies and describes the role of college in America
THESE NOTES DON'T REALLY ADDRESS THE ROLE OF COLLEGE -- NEED TO FOCUS ON THE THEORIES HE SUGGESTS
“The students were happy to be taught, and we, their teachers, were happy to be teaching them.” (Menand)
When a learning environment works like this, it will be successful. A student and teacher need to have an alive and comfortable learning environment.
“I didn't regard this as my business any more than I had the social lives of my Ivy League students.” (Menand)
The professor should take into play that many of the students have distractions.Therefor he should do more heavy in-class learning so that they can have an easier outcome.
“I got the question in that form only once, but I heard it a number of times in the unmonetized form of 'Why did we have to read this book?'”(Menand) Menand was not used to money being a problem since he previously worked at a high-end private school.
“I could have said, 'You are reading these books because you're in college, and these are the kinds of books that people in college read.' If you hold a certain theory of education, that answer is not as circular as it sounds.”(Menand)
Menand means that you are in a higher level education and in order to be there, you need to be reading all the materials possible.
“In any group of people, it's easy to determine who is the fastest or the strongest or even the best-looking. But picking out the most intelligent person is difficult, because intelligence involves many attributes that can't be captured in a one-time assessment, like an I.Q. test. There is no intellectual equivalent of the hundred-yard dash. An intelligent person is open-minded, an outside-the-box thinker, an effective communicator, is prudent, self-critical, consistent, and so on.”(Menand) Theory #1
“Society wants to identify intelligent people early on so that it can funnel them into careers that maximize their talents.”(Menand)
“We want higher education to be available to all Americans, but we also want people to deserve the grades they receive.”(Menand)
What are reasons this essay offers to support its argument
“In a society that encourages its members to pursue the career paths that promise the greatest personal or financial rewards, people will, given a choice, learn only what they need to know for success. They will have no incentive to acquire the knowledge and skills important for life as an informed citizen, or as a reflective and culturally literate human being.”(Menand) Theory 2<<<GOOD JOB OF CONNECTING REASON TO A SPECIFIC POINT FROM THE CATEGORIES ABOVE.
“It takes people with disparate backgrounds and beliefs and brings them into line with mainstream norms of reason and taste. Independence of mind is tolerated in college, and even honored, but students have to master the accepted ways of doing things before they are permitted to deviate.”(Menand)
“Testing insured that only people who deserved to go to college did. The fact that Daddy went no longer sufficed.”(Menand)
NEED MORE REASONS HERE.
General information on colleges
“Before 1945, élite private colleges like Harvard and Yale were largely in the business of reproducing a privileged social class. Between 1906 and 1932, four hundred and five boys from Groton applied to Harvard. Four hundred and two were accepted. In 1932, Yale received thirteen hundred and thirty applications, and it admitted nine hundred and fifty-nine--an acceptance rate of seventy-two per cent. Almost a third of those who enrolled were sons of Yale graduates.”(Menand)
“In 1940, the acceptance rate at Harvard was eighty-five per cent. By 1970, it was twenty per cent. Last year, thirty-five thousand students applied to Harvard, and the acceptance rate was six per cent.”(Menand)
“In 1950, there were about 1.14 million students in public colleges and universities and about the same number in private ones. Today, public colleges enroll almost fifteen million students, private colleges fewer than six million.”(Menand)
VERY GOOD GENERAL INFO
Connections to previous readings
Higher education discourse - word list for this topic (see I&C 18 “Discourse” for more on this)
Citizenship, vocational, communicator, assessment, career, informed, literate, <<GOOD LIST OF WORDS
For each essay, set up a worksheet with the following categories. Note: not all categories will be filled for all essays. These notes will form the basis of your essay: the more detail the better
At the top of each set of notes, write a works cited entry. Remember that all works cited entries begin with the author's last name and then the title, etc. Follow the directions on how to set up a works cited entry (See table of contents I&C) for specific instructions - or “Citing Sources” from the Links menu on the home page.
Works Cited
(Friendly assist for first readings) Both Menand's and Gutting's essays are from blogs. See #8, page Error! Bookmark not defined. I&C. <<<THIS INFORMATION CAN BE DELETED
Menand, Louis. “Live and Learn: Why We Have College.” The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 6 June 2011. Web. 8 September 2012
List all the different ways this essay identifies and describes the role of college in America
“Society needs a mechanism for sorting out its more intelligent members from its less intelligent ones”(Menand) THAT'S WHY PEOPLE WITH COLLEGE DEGREES TEND TO MAKE MORE MONEY, THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SMARTER.
“college also socializes. It takes people with disparate backgrounds and beliefs and brings them into line with mainstream norms of reason and taste.”(Menand) COLLEGE PUTS EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE, A UNIFORM WAY OF DOING THINGS.
“If you like the first theory, then it doesn't matter which courses students take, or even what is taught in them, as long as they're rigorous enough for the sorting mechanism to do its work. All that matters is the grades.”(Menand) I TEND TO AGREE WITH THIS REGARDLESS OF WHAT SOCIETY MAY THINK THEY BELIEVE. BUT MOST OF WHAT YOU LEARN IN COLLEGE YOU WON'T USE IN YOUR CAREER. I THINK WHY SO MANY COMPANIES WANT TO HIRE COLLEGE GRADUATES ISNT BECAUSE IT SHOWS THEY ARE SMATER, BUT THAT IT SHOWS THEY ARE MORE DRIVEN TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
“Education is about personal and intellectual growth, not about winning some race to the top.” (Menand) ALTHOUGH THIS MAY BE THE CASE, I DON'T FEEL THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ENTERING COLLEGE SEE IT THIS WAY. NOWADAYS PEOPLE WANT A COLLEGE DEGREE SIMPLY TO GET A BETTER PAYING JOB.
“college is where people can be taught what they need in order to enter a vocation. A college degree in a non-liberal field signifies competence in a specific line of work.” (Menand) HIGHER EDUCATION FOR A SPECIFIC JOB/CAREER.
“But the system keeps pushing them through the human-capital processor. They attend either because the degree is a job requirement or because they've been seduced by the siren song “college for everyone.” (Menand) PROF. X. COLLEGE MAY HAVE USED TO CARE MOSTLY ABOUT HIGHER EDUCATION. YET NOW I THINK THEY CARE ONLY ABOUT MONEY. THAT'S WHY THEY HAVE MADE IT SO ACCESSABLE TO PEOPLE. I THINK PROF. X HAS A VALID POINT THAT THERE ARE CARREERS OUT THERE THAT REQUIRE A DEGREE THAT YOU SHOULDN'T NEED A DEGREE TO WORK AT.
What are reasons this essay offers to support its argument
” Students have to demonstrate intellectual ability over time and across a range of subjects. If they're sloppy or inflexible or obnoxious--no matter how smart they might be in the I.Q. sense--those negatives will get picked up in their grades.” THE BETTER YOU DO IN COLLEGE (AND WHICH COLLEGE YOU GO TO), THE SMATER SOCIETY SEES YOU.
“Professional schools and employers depend on colleges to sort out each cohort as it passes into the workforce, and elected officials talk about the importance of college for everyone.”(Menand) COLLEGE HAS BECOME SO IMPORTATNT BECAUSE THE JOB MARKET HAS VASTLY MADE IT A REQUIREMENT.
“In 2008, the average income for someone with an advanced degree (master's, professional, or doctoral) was $83,144; for someone with a bachelor's degree, it was $58,613; for someone with only a high-school education, it was $31,283.”(Menand) PEOPLE GO TO COLLEGE TO MAKE MORE MONEY. HAVING PERSONAL AND INTELLECTUAL GROWTH IS A BONUS.
General information on colleges
“In 1932, Yale received thirteen hundred and thirty applications, and it admitted nine hundred and fifty-nine--an acceptance rate of seventy-two per cent. Almost a third of those who enrolled were sons of Yale graduates.”(Menand) IT USED TO BE ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNEW. NOT JUST ANYONE COULD GO.
“Public colleges are much less expensive--the average tuition is $7,605.”(Menand) MORE AFFORDABLE FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON LOOKING TO GET AHEAD.
“College is broadly accessible: sixty-eight per cent of high-school graduates now go on to college (in 1980, only forty-nine per cent did)”(Menand) MORE JOBS ARE REQUIRING DEGREES FOR EMPLOYMENT.
“Sixty per cent of American college students are not liberal-arts majors, though. The No. 1 major in America is, in fact, business. Twenty-two per cent of bachelor's degrees are awarded in that field. Ten per cent are awarded in education, seven per cent in the health professions. More than twice as many degrees are given out every year in parks, recreation, leisure, and fitness studies as in philosophy and religion. Since 1970, the more higher education has expanded, the more the liberal-arts sector has shrunk in proportion to the whole.”(Menand)
“Large new populations kept entering the system. First, there were the veterans who attended on the G.I. Bill--2.2 million of them between 1944 and 1956. Then came the great expansion of the nineteen-sixties, when the baby boomers entered and enrollments doubled. Then came co-education, when virtually every all-male college, apart from the military academies, began accepting women. Finally, in the nineteen-eighties and nineties, there was a period of remarkable racial and ethnic diversification”(Menand) IF IT WASN'T FOR THE G.I. BILL I WOULDN'T BE IN COLLEGE RIGHT NOW.
Connections to previous readings
Higher education discourse - word list for this topic (see I&C 18 “Discourse” for more on this)
Citizenship, Cohort, Episodes, Meritocratic, Democratic, Token
For each essay, set up a worksheet with the following categories. Note: not all categories will be filled for all essays. These notes will form the basis of your essay: the more detail the better
At the top of each set of notes, write a works cited entry. Remember that all works cited entries begin with the author's last name and then the title, etc. Follow the directions on how to set up a works cited entry (See table of contents I&C) for specific instructions - or “Citing Sources” from the Links menu on the home page.
Works Cited
(Friendly assist for first readings) Both Menand's and Gutting's essays are from blogs. See #8, page Error! Bookmark not defined. I&C.
Menand, Lewis. “Why We Have College.” The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 6 June 2011. Web. 7 September 2012.
List all the different ways this essay identifies and describes the role of college in America
VERY GOOD DETAIL, BUT NEED SOME KIND OF MARKING/COMMENTING SO YOU CAN QUICKLY PICK OUT RELEVANT QUOTES. MORE WORK SEPARATING ROLE FROM REASONS WOULD HELP AS WELL.
“Society needs a mechanism for sorting out its more intelligent members from its less intelligent ones, just as a track team needs a mechanism (such as a stopwatch) for sorting out the faster athletes from the slower ones. Society wants to identify intelligent people early on so that it can funnel them into careers that maximize their talents. It wants to get the most out of its human resources. College is a process that is sufficiently multifaceted and fine-grained to do this.” (Menand)
“College is, essentially, a four-year intelligence test.” (Menand)
“In a society that encourages its members to pursue the career paths that promise the greatest personal or financial rewards, people will, given a choice, learn only what they need to know for success. They will have no incentive to acquire the knowledge and skills important for life as an informed citizen, or as a reflective and culturally literate human being. College exposes future citizens to material that enlightens and empowers them, whatever careers they end up choosing.” (Menand)
“It's a way of producing a society of like-minded grownups.” (Menand)
“Professional schools and employers depend on colleges to sort out each cohort as it passes into the workforce, and elected officials talk about the importance of college for everyone.” (Menand)
”There is now a seat for virtually anyone with a high-school diploma who wants to attend college.” (Menand)
“College is broadly accessible: sixty-eight per cent of high-school graduates now go on to college (in 1980, only forty-nine per cent did), and employers continue to reward the credential, which means that there is still some selection going on. In 2008, the average income for someone with an advanced degree (master's, professional, or doctoral) was $83,144; for someone with a bachelor's degree, it was $58,613; for someone with only a high-school education, it was $31,283.” (Menand)
”There is also increasing global demand for American-style higher education. Students all over the world want to come here, and some American universities, including N.Y.U. and Yale, are building campuses overseas. Higher education is widely regarded as the route to a better life.” (Menand)
“The theory that fits their situation--Theory 3--is that advanced economies demand specialized knowledge and skills, and, since high school is aimed at the general learner, college is where people can be taught what they need in order to enter a vocation. A college degree in a non-liberal field signifies competence in a specific line of work.” (Menand)
“As work becomes more high-tech, employers demand more people with specialized training. It also explains the explosion in professional master's programs.” (Menand)
What are reasons this essay offers to support its argument
CONNECT REASONS TO A SPECIFIC POINT FROM ABOVE
“In 2008, the average income for someone with an advanced degree (master's, professional, or doctoral) was $83,144; for someone with a bachelor's degree, it was $58,613; for someone with only a high-school education, it was $31,283.” (Menand)
“It is sometimes pointed out that Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were college dropouts. It is unnecessary to point out that most of us are not Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg.” (Menand)
“Until the twentieth century, that was the way it worked here, too. In the nineteenth century, a college degree was generally not required for admission to law school or medical school, and most law students and medical students did not bother to get one.” (Menand)
“Large new populations kept entering the system. First, there were the veterans who attended on the G.I. Bill--2.2 million of them between 1944 and 1956. Then came the great expansion of the nineteen-sixties, when the baby boomers entered and enrollments doubled. Then came co-education, when virtually every all-male college, apart from the military academies, began accepting women. Finally, in the nineteen-eighties and nineties, there was a period of remarkable racial and ethnic diversification.” (Menand)
“Suddenly, the door was open: to vets; to children of Depression-era parents who could not afford college; to women, who had been excluded from many of the top schools; to nonwhites, who had been segregated or under-represented; to the children of people who came to the United States precisely so that their children could go to college.” (Menand)
General information on colleges
“Before 1945, élite private colleges like Harvard and Yale were largely in the business of reproducing a privileged social class. Between 1906 and 1932, four hundred and five boys from Groton applied to Harvard. Four hundred and two were accepted. In 1932, Yale received thirteen hundred and thirty applications, and it admitted nine hundred and fifty-nine--an acceptance rate of seventy-two per cent. Almost a third of those who enrolled were sons of Yale graduates.” (Menand)
“In 1948, through the exertions of people like James Bryant Conant, the president of Harvard, the Educational Testing Service went into business, and standardized testing (the S.A.T. and the A.C.T.) soon became the virtually universal method for picking out the most intelligent students in the high-school population, regardless of their family background, and getting them into the higher-education system. Conant regarded higher education as a limited social resource, and he wanted to make more strait the gate. Testing insured that only people who deserved to go to college did. The fact that Daddy went no longer sufficed. In 1940, the acceptance rate at Harvard was eighty-five per cent. By 1970, it was twenty per cent. Last year, thirty-five thousand students applied to Harvard, and the acceptance rate was six per cent. Almost all the élite colleges saw a jump in applications this year, partly because they now recruit much more aggressively internationally, and acceptance rates were correspondingly lower. Columbia, Yale, and Stanford admitted less than eight per cent of their applicants. This degree of selectivity is radical. To put it in some perspective: the acceptance rate at Cambridge is twenty-one per cent, and at Oxford eighteen per cent.” (Menand)
“But, as private colleges became more selective, public colleges became more accommodating. Proportionally, the growth in higher education since 1945 has been overwhelmingly in the public sector. In 1950, there were about 1.14 million students in public colleges and universities and about the same number in private ones. Today, public colleges enroll almost fifteen million students, private colleges fewer than six million.” (Menand)
“The City University of New York (my old employer) has two hundred and twenty-eight thousand undergraduates--more than four times as many as the entire Ivy League. The big enchilada of public higher education, the State of California, has ten university campuses, twenty-three state-college campuses, a hundred and twelve community-college campuses, and more than 3.3 million students. Six per cent of the American population is currently enrolled in college or graduate school. In Great Britain and France, the figure is about three per cent.” (Menand)
“The sticker price at Princeton or Stanford, including room and board, is upward of fifty thousand dollars a year. Public colleges are much less expensive--the average tuition is $7,605.” (Menand)
“College is broadly accessible: sixty-eight per cent of high-school graduates now go on to college (in 1980, only forty-nine per cent did), and employers continue to reward the credential, which means that there is still some selection going on. In 2008, the average income for someone with an advanced degree (master's, professional, or doctoral) was $83,144; for someone with a bachelor's degree, it was $58,613; for someone with only a high-school education, it was $31,283.” (Menand)
Connections to previous readings
Higher education discourse - word list for this topic (see I&C 18 “Discourse” for more on this)
Menand: Citizenship, experience, naïve, commitment, fortunate, system, business, society, mechanism, ability, informed, workforce, elite, selectivity, accommodating, anyone, potential, goals, demand, expense, modern, pursing, institutional, vocation, human, motivation.
GREAT WORD LIST