Dontcha Bet WTS is Pouring Over This TIME Article Against College?

by OnTheWayOut 18 Replies latest jw friends

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  LongHairGal

  OTWO,

  I have to agree with the article and you are right that the religion will jump on this and try to justify their stand against higher education. Truthfully, they are against ANY education other than their literature. They would also be against somebody working as a skilled tradesman (even if this person didn't get college) if they are making a lot of money and if he/she isn't spending all that time in service or donating their money to the religion.

  Although I believe in education for the sake of education, we do have to be practical here. I do believe that in this country, education is a big business and they keep 'raising the bar' just to keep themselves employed. I am sure that influential persons in colleges are partly responsible for the fact that certain jobs now require a college degree whereas years ago they did not. Also, unfortunately, because of a glut of applicants seeking so few jobs, employers are using a degree to simply weed out the excess people.

  I don't know if anybody has read the news lately but there is a plan to graduate high school sophomores who pass 'certain exams', thereby allowing them to get their h.s. degree two years earlier. I know I am a little older than some on this forum but I remember that there was a lot of stuff packed into my four years of high school. So, I am not convinced that these students are not being cheated to some degree out of necessary education. Unless, this is a plan to compel people to pay for college to learn what they would have ALREADY learned in high school either for free or much less money. Some might argue that it gives students a two year head start on college and that may be so but I wonder WHO is really benefiting from this?
• 

  maninthemiddle

  I have to agree with the premise of the article, however I do believe it is the quality of high schools in the USA that is the cause of so many who are unprepared for college. There are also many worthless degrees out there, and we only need to many lawyers and MBAs.
  
  The USA is losing the tech sector so fast because of this. Collage graduates are responsiable for the CDC techs working on protecting us from H1n1, and despite all the hype around Bill Gates he didn't write any of the 50 million lines of code for vista. If high schools sent kids to college with decent math and science skills there would be more oppertunities for these students.
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  Beta Male

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcx9BJRadfw
• 

  leavingwt

  George W. Bush earned an MBA at Harvard Business School.

  _____________________________ <------ Create your own punchline.
• 

  zarco

  A couple of points, the article is discussing a liberal-arts education. A general education is self-enriching and many times will lead to employment, but since the degree is general it does not lead to a specialized career (with high wages). Generalist type jobs at times are hard to come by, especially in this economy.

  A degree in engineering, medical fields, the sciences, teaching and similar areas almost always leads to high paying employment. I think the article and the Watchtower many times makes statements based on averages without digging a little deeper into the subject matter.

  Obviously there are many successful folks who did not go to college. And if a person has a good skill that matches a market need without going to college then they should pursue it. For those without such a gift college is often necessary.

  zarco
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  daniel-p

  None of this negates the fact that college, in general, is a good thing, worthy of pursuing for the right person in the right circumstances. The society's position is that college should not be pursued under 99% of circumstances. This article merely shows that there are problems, and the college experience is not for everyone.
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  OnTheWayOut

  Good points, Zarco. Good points, all.
• 

  WTWizard

  College is necessary because the Establishment wants to narrow people's thinking more. Medical school forces people to spend 4 years studying allopathic medicine, and crams it in to the extent that outside research on alternative medicine is very difficult. Then, they spend additional years specializing their education. With the stress, sleep deprivation, and intense years of studying, they have no chance to learn anything except drug therapy. And guess who pays for this? The drug companies--effectively advertising their own products to the doctors-to-be!

  You see this everywhere else. The Establishment pays for college curriculums, so that future engineers are taught that competing technology is simply impossible (and they will not have a market unless they have that college degree). Thus, we have highways that are still stuck in 2D instead of having a 4D system (or more dimensions) being engineered. You still have oil based energy instead of developing those nuclear fusion power plants and car engines that run on water and emit helium. You still have expensive and unreliable lines transmitting power instead of gravity. You have limitations imposed in physics, chemistry, and biology because the Establishment pays to suppress true innovation in these fields.

  But, that is not the point. College should not be forbidden. Even with these limitations, getting away to college signifies that parents need to let go of children and that children need to make their own decisions in life. Witlesses that do not go to college lose out on that benefit. Scam or not, college does help people get better jobs (better paying ones, that is) that might actually pay their bills in a 40 hour work week. It also allows them a better chance to compete when we get recessionsDEPRESSIONS like this one, and people are being laid off and not rehired.

  Yes, people should be allowed to make a living without college. Innovators sometimes do better without college (of course, these days, they are regulated out of the market). There are singers and actors that dropped out of high school (let alone went to college)--Billy Joel and Kenny Loggins, both very successful pop stars, both dropped out of high school. But, the Jehovah's Witlesses and their Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger have no business in forcing children to stay out of college. If they see fit to go directly to work or independently study chemistry, physics, and biology right out of high school (or while still in high school), they should be able to do that. But, those who wish to go to college for whatever reason, should not be stopped from doing so by a damn religion.
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  Simon Morley

  I would suggest that many are missing the point of the article: It is more about the cost and the underlying issues such as K-12 programs are no longer prepping kids for life - especially to study and learn. However, rest assured that this will be misquoted/taken out of context in future CA,SAD and DC parts along with appearances in WT and Awake! in various ways to say "told you so". How many R&F teenagers contribute to the 40% drop out rate by sacrificing their lives to pioneering in the last years of high school?

  What was of interest were the suggestions for alternates to the traditional: Online learning, certification tests and occupational licensure could be relaxed to create opportunities for people without formal education. Which means more R&F not plugging the WTB$ meter. Therefore, there will be study articles that demonize these forms of education eventually. University and College courses have become more accessible not less and the increasing access to scholarships makes it easier for increasing numbers. In fact, given my high school grades, I would not be able to get into the University where I (long before becoming a JW) recieved my degree.

  If they (WTB$) quote Time magazine, do you think they will also allow quotes from other articles such as JFR being called a "pontiff' or WTB$ fallability?