Education should be accessible to everyone
Dumbledore let’s us know that “’there is a fund at Hogwarts for those require assistance to buy books and robes” (HBP 274) and those students without money do not need to worry about burdening themselves with loans. US universities and pre-schools can certainly take a page from the way Dumbledore runs Hogwarts.
I know one of the greatest struggles I have is how to send two kids to University at the same time. Being a teacher myself I’ve stressed the importance of education to my children. Now that they have done their part, I’m finding that doing my part often means paying astronomical bills, buying new books written by the professor teaching the class (so he gets a cut) and having to choose between paying tuition and getting those needed car repairs or dental work. It’s a shame that in an educated society we don’t offer something to continue educating all.
I agree Doris! One thing I love about the internet is that now it is easier to learn new things if you have the motivation. (Many universities even offer free online classes.) The problem there is that you don’t usually earn a certificate showing what you’ve learned and that is what so many people and employers focus on today.
Other countries have free university and I think we definitely need to make it more affordable, but we also need to stress other educational alternatives like learning a trade. University isn’t right for everybody. As a teacher in university, I see students who might be better off somewhere else. And I’m glad the price is much more reasonable here in Canada than in the USA. I made it through (with smart planning, luck, hard work, and lower tuition) 11 years without going into debt, but that is getting very rare. I wish more people would want to learn for the sake of learning and not to get a certificate at the end, and employers would recognize there is more to ability than a certificate.
Guys it says “EDCUCATION” so either i’m too sleepy, either i’m missing something
Oh don’t get me started on this rant. A big pet peeve of mine is the astronomical costs it takes in order to educate oneself. You’d think government and society would make it easier, you’d think they would want you to better yourself so that future generations would be able to take up work of those who came before them. I put myself through school sometimes working two jobs and attending class full-time. It took me 7 years to get a 4 year degree and now I am in debt up to my ears. I don’t regret it, I just wish it were easier.
My mom has never and could never afford to pay for my schooling. It didn’t stop me from going to college and then to graduate school, but with over 50K in debt, it’s hard to argue (to myself, mostly) that I made the right choice.
I now teach at a community college, where at least half of my students have families, more than one job, and school to tackle — all at once. It’s great to see how many students receive local and regional scholarships, but that funding is handed out in small amounts, not covering all tuition, books, tutoring services, or assessment costs. There are many reasons why my class sizes dwindle as the semester continues: lack of funding shouldn’t be one of them.
My sister went to two or three different schools to get her Associate’s degree. It took her five years, and she now owes about $60,000. It’s things like that make me pretty nervous if I ever have a kid who wants to go to college.
My older sister is in college, my mom just graduated, and I’ll be entering college soon. The costs are just ridiculous, and in this society, in order to get a job you can live off of, you really NEED to go to college. Already our family is in debt, and with my little sister going to college soon after me, things are only going to get worse.
The way our education system is – in regards of cost – it’s like a snake devouring it’s tail. And our system isn’t even that good. The standardized tests have been getting easier for years, to the degree that some of my regular class tests are more difficult than state-wide tests.