Modern day education relies on the principle that "schooling is the key to success." Despite having this belief indoctrinated into them by many teachers and families, nearly half of all college students still drop out before completing their degree every year, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. School budget cuts, economic hardship, laziness, are all examples of the many reasons students lose motivation. This shocking statistic puts America behind most other poorer countries, including Japan, Slovakia, and Poland (Waldron). However, it is important to note that education still provides an important, safe route to gaining a better life. While some of the aforementioned dropouts leave school because they believe in their own capabilities and ability to succeed outside of formal education, many of those who "make it" in their young twenties in the startup era without the help of a degree, often possessed financial assistance or came from middle class and well to do families. For those from low-income households or bad neighborhoods, education, despite its challenges, can provide the best path to a middle-class wage. We have to always remember that there exists a huge divide of economic and educational inequality within society, and that there are many improvements needed to be made to our educational system that better align students’ passions with financial success.
Every year there is an increasing number of students who drop out due to financial hardship, while others try to work side jobs while studying and competing with those from supportive families. According to a Harvard study done in 2011, one factor in high drop-out rates is the rising cost of a college education. The total amount of student loan debt held by Americans is over $1 trillion, and the cost of college has skyrocket since the 1980's (Waldron). In "Lessons from My Year as a Freshman" by Rebekah Nathan, she states that educational funding is decreasing due to the "pressing needs of health care, welfare and prisons. Between 1985 and 1995, states across the country slashed their direct appropriations to universities by almost 25 percent. By 2000" it was "half of the public university budget" (Nathan 133). In result, it leads to less financial aid and fewer chances for every student to be approved. At this point, balancing a job and going to school may be too tough for some. So students drop out, getting stuck working their minimum wage jobs for the rest of their lives. But why are students trying to attend college in the first place? In a large auditorium of college freshman, a motivational speaker asks "why are you here?" (Nathan 136). The speaker was no one famous, but she was good looking, entertaining, and knew how to captivate the students' attention. It was clear that her audience knew the importance of education and had passion. Two issues arose: many of them wanted to continue schooling, but the question of money always became an issue. The trade-off became more obvious when looking at a life time of crippling school loans and a higher unemployment rate. The second issue revolved around that of certain school subjects being higher-paying (medical versus art history). This problem leads to the most talented youth choosing security over developing talent. Education today needs to stress the importance of how it can change lives but at the same time tie to students' interests and motivations. More importantly, federal funding to universities and schools should never be compromised by other factors - each new generation represents the future of a country.
Education should be more personalized and attentive, especially in lower-income neighborhoods where the importance of motivation is the key. With school funding being decreased every year, it's difficult to hire fully qualified teachers who would make an effort in helping their students excel academically. In a PBS documentary called "Precious Knowledge," one of the students at Tucson High School said that what the teachers were teaching "was so interesting. [He] could not stop thinking about it. [He] would go home with articles and [he] would start reading them over and over. [He] started getting A's and B's" (Palos). Even though the classes were based on critical thinking, the methods were fun and interesting. The teachers were funny and they made sure every student got the chance to express themselves in class. It was their way of connecting with the students, and it worked. Sometimes when you're a young teenager, you need that push from either your parents or your teachers to get you through school. It's not until you realize for yourself your goals for the future that you can push yourself to the limit. One of the great, innovative programs today is “Teach for America”, a non-profit organization that recruits graduates from Ivy League and other top universities to teach for a couple of years at very low-income and low-performing schools. Their results so far have been really inspiring; more institutions like this need to be put in place to strengthen our nation’s education system. It’s a sad truth that the most intelligent and gifted students usually go on to more lucrative careers than teaching.
Most students on college campus today can tell you what career they have in mind for the future, but going through with it and putting the time and effort into it is a different story. In “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell uses three success stories - Bill Joy, the Beatles, and Bill Gates - to prove his formula to mastering something, which is about "ten thousand hours of hard practice" because "ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness" (Gladwell 41). Gladwell believes that if you had not invested enough time to reach your goal, you can only go so far with it. To dedicate 10,000 hours though mathematically meant about 10 years of your life. Of course this does not mean that if you are not willing to practice 10,000 hours, then you won't succeed - the formula was meant for outliers. Those that practiced 8,000 hours or even as low as 4,000 hours still was able to land a job that they aimed for. This would translate to a certain amount of years in college, which in return would mean the possibility of earning your degree. It proves to society that you made the effort to study a certain amount of hours to get yourself where you want to be.
The most difficult thing about school is showing up to classes and dreading the hours of lectures. It's hard to learn when the teaching methods are dull. Whenever I got back from Chemistry lecture, I would go on YouTube to find videos of a Chemistry professor to reteach me the material. The professor's videos were organized and many examples were used. If I ever got confused, I could just rewind with a click of the mouse. I believe more classes should start being online with weekly videos implemented in place of showing up to school. Since school funding is decreasing every year, schools should stop trying to build more classrooms. Students will save money and time by not commuting and by watching videos from home. Those who are usually quiet in class will be able to ask questions from home comfortably through email. This in return would require a responsive teacher who can clarify their teachings through videos. It may be an imperfect idea as of now, but a few classes are already doing it - there just needs to be more.
Completing college is still the correct way to land a stable future, but it's not the only option. Sometimes school might not be for everyone. We all have different goals and our own ways of getting there. We are now in the generation of startups, and any idea that can improve or simplify society can one day be a million dollar idea. Every year, the co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel, picks out "24 people under 20 who have agreed to drop out of school in exchange for a $100,000 grant and mentorship to start a tech company" (Miller). Hundreds of people apply, but only a few are approved in attempt to make a difference for the world. Even without Peter Thiel's help, many others are still driven to start their own tech companies every day. Ideas like a picture album app that allows others to only post comments called Instagram was sold to Facebook for one billion dollars. This is the time to bring your simple ideas to life to climb to the top.
Whether it's finding a job you love to do, or a career that earns you a lot of money, you are still your own motivation. We live in a society where we always want more than what we need. It’s what drives everyone to success, but it’s important to do what makes you happy. In the end, it’s still you doing all the work to build a better future for yourself – to be content with where life has taken you.
Works Cited
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little Brown: New York, 2008.
Miller, Claire Cain. "Want Success in Silicon Valley? Drop Out of School." NYTimes.
2011. 2013 May 25. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/want-success-in-silicon-valley-drop-out-of-school/
Nathan, Rebekah. "Lessons from My Year as a Freshman." Reading Culture. Eds.
Diana George and John Timbur. Boston: Pearson, 2012.
Palos, Ari Luis (Director). (2012). Precious Knowledge [Film]. Arizona. Tempe: Dos
Vatos Productions.
Waldron, Travis. “Study:Nearly Half of America’s College Students Drop Out Before
Receiving A Degree.” ThinkProgress. 2012. 2013 May 25.
http://thinkprogress.org/education/2012/03/28/453632/half-college-students-drop-out/
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