Unlock Life's Opportunities With a College Education - Essay Sample

Introduction

Mumbai-born writer Mahtab Narsimhan writes, "A good education is the greatest gift you can give yourself or anyone else" (qtd. in Murphey and Lenskold). A college education is the all-mighty key that opens for young people many doors by providing them with a universal intellectual toolkit, teaching them to think critically and work efficiently. It proves to them the importance of being hardworking, consistent and responsible. It allows them to feel the taste of victory won in a fair battle for knowledge. It boosts their self-esteem, conscious attitude to life choices and motivation. Education opens their mind and enables them to change the world, make a difference. Today, when the civilization is facing a global challenge that has affected all spheres of human activity, it is high time to change the perspective and define the true values humanity is in need of to survive and develop. Education is one of such values, it has shaped the modern intellectual landscape and will go on doing so. So, probably, one of the most important steps in the times of the worldview crisis and revision of the fundamental principles of human co-existence would be to reconsider the general education paradigm. In this essay, I will argue that in the XXI century free college education would be the best possible solution to defeat financial inequality and build a more tolerant, cultured society.

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The main problem with the college education is that it is something that many people are in need of, but not everybody can get, or more truly - afford. The American system of higher education is facing multiple difficulties caused by the population explosion, economic factors, rapid development of technology, etc. The constantly rising cost of tuition occupies the foremost place among them. Some Americans go on paying out their student loans even after their own children have gone to college (Selingo 50). According to the data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, today undergraduates pay approximately 39 % more in public institutions and 27 % more in private colleges than students did fifteen years ago ("Tuition Costs of Colleges and Universities"). Apart from tuition and course fees, there are accommodation, board and travel expenses, as well as money spent on materials, books, and equipment. Even a student loan is not a solution anymore. Increasing student loan debt has a ripple effect on the whole economy. Young people, desperately trying to pay out a sizeable school debt, are less likely to accept further financial responsibilities. As a result, fewer college graduates buy houses, get married and have big families, while more and more of them return to their parents' house, delay marriage and have fewer children. What is more, graduates often have to delay medical and dental care ("15 Surprising Side Effects") which seriously affects public health. Such a situation requires drastic measures. While free college education is certainly not a simple solution, in its beneficial effect it is, probably, very close to a magic bullet.

First and foremost, higher education is an enormous value and a blessing for any society. In his book illuminating College (Un)Bound, Jeffrey J. Selingo writes that "Higher education is the key to the United States emerging from the current economic doldrums and building a strong, innovative, and growing economy for the long run" (Selingo 174). In the absence or insignificant share of free higher education, the country is doomed to political, economic and cultural death. Capable people are born equally in families that are able and willing to pay for tuition and in low-income families with many children, where tuition can become an unbearable burden. When higher education is expensive, it ceases to be a social elevator for young people, and access to it for talented but low-income youth is very difficult. But social mobility is one of the key factors that define the dynamic development of any country. Free college education allows children from financially challenged families to get access to high-quality training and reveal their intellectual and creative potential. It increases the competition and consequently boosts motivation. As a result, the system of higher education will produce more competent, motivated, talented professionals, which will have beneficial effects in all spheres of human activity.

Another important point is that free college education is vital for the formation of a more tolerant and cultured society. The more young people get an education, the less misunderstanding and tension there will be in the society, the more effectively and smoothly it will function, the higher civic consciousness will be. At college, young people are taught to be leaders and to work in a team, to be emotionally intelligent, to define goals and to work hard. In her inspiring TED-talk, Liz Coleman says that the purpose of the college education is to provide students with the "flexibilities of mind, the multiplicity of perspectives, the capacities for collaboration and innovation" necessary to drive a real change in the society (Coleman). Colleges have always been the home to the social change, scientific revolution, and creative experiment. Today more than at any other time higher education is viewed and promoted as a pro-active pursuit which teaches students to be responsible and industrious citizens. Modern colleges encourage pro-social behavior, which refers to "voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals" (Eisenberg & Mussen 3). College students become the change they wish to see in the world, because, in Mahatma Gandhi's words, "if we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change" (qtd. in Morton). So, being a college graduate makes young people a part of this revival and helps them do something that matters. This is why free access to college education is so important for society: in the long run, it shapes the future of the country and its possibilities for further dynamic development and social progress.

Free higher education has one more advantage that is a little less obvious. The college education is received not only by yesterday's schoolchildren, but also by adults, as well as people of the so-called third age, and their share among students of higher educational institutions will grow as the population is gradually aging. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) offers striking data, stating that "around the world, two persons celebrate their sixtieth birthday every second - an annual total of almost 58 million sixtieth birthdays" and stressing that "with one in nine persons in the world aged 60 years or over, projected to increase to one in five by 2050, population ageing is a phenomenon that can no longer be ignored" (UNFPA 12). Thus, the government and other stakeholders need to employ a set of policies and actions among which life-long learning seems to be one of the key strategies to turn modern society into an age-friendly space. Involving older citizens into a life-long learning system will lead to both economic and health care benefits. First, it will help extend working lives and increase employment rates among older workers, which can be viewed as a long-term economic investment. The UNFPA reported that out of 164 countries with a statutory retirement age, 43 increased the age between 2002 and 2009 (UNFPA 58), while the focus has been placed among other things on education, occupational training, and career counseling. College study can also be regarded as a means of enhancing older persons' social involvement, which will lead to better health and longer life. According to UNFPA, "a review of the effectiveness of health promotion interventions in North America and Europe, targeting social isolation and loneliness among older people, suggests that educational and social activity interventions for specific groups can alleviate social isolation and loneliness among older persons" (67). Thus, free college education which is accessible for all ages is obviously advantageous both for the older citizens and society.

The opponents of a free college education would argue that the absence of the tuition fee will somehow devalue the choice that the prospective college students are making when choosing their major and making other career choices in the course of their studies. Ideally, the need to pay for a college education should contribute to a more informed choice of profession. In reality, first of all, a person does not always act rationally. Secondly, higher education is not always obtained in order to later work in this profession. Self-awareness and the correct choice of a profession are an issue more related to the career guidance system than to the paid / free higher education. The economic behavior of a person when choosing goods and services is often irrational and is influenced by a number of factors: advertising, fashion, existing stereotypes, fear of risk, illogical judgments, and so on. So, one can hardly say that the introduction of free college education will exacerbate the situation.

After all, it is a college education that teaches young people to think differently and approach everything creatively. It helps challenge the outdated stereotypes, put different paradigms in dialogue with each other, learn how to become proactive and procreative. Education is still a game-changing strategy in the modern world, but only if it is accessible to everyone. Hopefully, the humanity will be able to win the battle the virus and deal with the political, economic, social and psychological consequences, but, unfortunately, this pandemic is not the last global threat. The system of education has to be ready for the upcoming challenges. Free college education is a strategy that will empower the students allowing them to take ownership of their own life choices.

Works Cited

Coleman, L. "A call to reinvent liberal arts education." TED, TED, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/liz_coleman_s_call_to_reinvent_liberal_arts_education/transcript?language=en

Eisenberg, Nancy, and Paul Henry Mussen. The Roots of Prosocial Behavior in Children. Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Murphey, Casey, and Jenna Lenskold. "Education: The Greatest Gift." Global Campaign For Education United States Chapter, 4 Dec. 2012, campaignforeducationusa.org/blog/detail/education-the-greatest-gift.

Selingo, Jeffrey J. College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

"Tuition Costs of Colleges and Universities." National Center for Education Statistics. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences National Center for Education Statistics, 2016, https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76>

UNFPA and HelpAge International. Ageing in the twenty-first century: a celebration and a challenge. New York: United Nations Population Fund, 2012.

"15 Surprising Side Effects of Rising College Costs - OnlineUniversities.com." OnlineUniversities.com, 2011, http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2011/11/15-surprising-side-effects-of-rising-college-costs/>.