What’s Different Now
Race to the Top
By Amanda Abramson
The question of why one attends college today is complex, and not easily answered. There are many reasons why so many people choose to gain a higher education. In 2004 alone 84% of people ages 25 or older completed at least high school and over a quarter of that population has achieved their bachelor’s degrees (Bergman 2005). Walking around Keene State College and asking students why they felt the need to attend college was extremely interesting and the statistics were quite intriguing. Using the quota sampling system one hundred students were chosen. They ranged anywhere from freshman to graduates and everywhere in between. The responses ranged anywhere from expanding ones mind to getting a good job where money could be made. It is not news to any citizen of the United States that this country is driven by a need for money and most citizens will go to many lengths to be the one who has the most. It is said to be a “dog eat dog” society where everyone is attempting to climb up that economic ladder and will pull those down above if given the chance. With this in mind, some of the responses from students followed suit and others were a bit less money driven.
Of the one hundred students interviewed over half, 56% said that they were attending college because of personal reasons. Some of those personal reasons consisted of getting away from home, getting a better education therefore getting a better job, some was merely to get more money, one commented that it was an honor being only the second person in the family to attend, over all the majority wanted to attend college to expand their mind and attain a better education. In getting this better education it seemed that most felt it would lead to a better job and better pay. They are not wrong in thinking that better money will be had with a better education. The US Census Bureau released information in 2004 that explained, “College Nearly Doubles Annual Earnings” (Bergman 2005). It is no wonder that since the cost of living is going up that people wanted to have a successful life are choosing to have a bachelors degree at least.
This race to the top can be exhausting and some are doing it against their own will. At a staggering 33% most people were in college because they felt like society pressured them into doing so. They are not in college to better themselves only because they feel like it is just something you do, a social norm. Whether it is for personal reasons or societal pressures the numbers of college graduates or attendees has risen in significant ways in the last decade. In 2003 Nirmala Kannankutty published some statistics in the National Science Foundation that explained, “The total number of college graduates in the Unites States rose from 40,621,000 in 2003 an increase of 40% in the decade between 1993 and 2003”. College just seems to be the thing to do whether one enjoys it or not.
The last group of people that only reached 11% were the students who explained that they were only in college to please their parents. Parental pressure is huge and no kids really want to let their parents down. It seems as if the classic saying, “make me proud son” is in the minds of students all across the United States. One student I interviewed said they would never have gone to college if it were up to them and that they were absolutely 100% at this establishment to please her parents. Another student, a foreign exchange student from England explained that if he did not attend college his parents would never be able to go out to another dinner party because he would have disgraced and embarrassed them too badly. Attaining a higher education for a few of the students interviewed wasn’t even something they thought about it just happened. It seems that the logical next step after college for the majority of students is college and after that getting a well paying job.
Maybe in our fast pace globalized world, today’s education is a necessity and the reason one attends is of no importance. How sad?
References
Bergman, Mike. 2005. “College Degree Nearly doubles Annual Earnngs, Census Bureau Report” US. Bureau News. Retreieved March 23, 2008. www.ansus.gov/press-release/www/releases/archives/educatio/004214.html
Kannankutty, Nirmala. 2005. “2003 College Graduates in the US workforce: a profile” National Science Foundation. Retrieved March 23, 2008. www.nsf.gove/statistics/infbrief/nsf06304.html
Family Changes
By Kathleen Barnard
Families have changed since the generation of the nuclear family. The idea of the traditional four and a half member family, which included a father, mother, son, daughter, and dog is slowly dwindling away. Some reasons for the huge change are new stages of life and responses to medicine, technology, and nutrition. Since all of these have come around people are living much longer. People are also making more money, and since you have the extra money to spend on medicine and other essentials, they give you the chance to expand your survival. One example of this would be pre-mature babies. We have so much technology to ensure their survival, even when infants’ lungs have not fully developed to breathe on their own. Years ago if a pre-mature birth occurred, the baby almost had a lower chance of survival and was almost guaranteed to die. Another example if the new stages in life would be that as the mortality rate goes down, the divorce rate goes up. The reason being is now you have a longer life so you spending more time with your spouse. Now your more likely to have problems because you marriage length increases.
Surprisingly to some, now we have stronger ties with our children. Sociologists have observed that middle class adults look at children differently now than in previous generations. We have different expectations of them. We try to let them enjoy childhood and experience adolescence to the fullest — shielded from the burdens of the adult world. Another stage that is more recent is we are almost all expected to become grandparents. You’re older, you live longer. Who’s going to take care of you? Most likely your kids or maybe even your grandchildren will bear the responsibility. People are also ill prepared for death now — it doesn’t happen as often (unexpectedly) due to longer life expectancy. All the new medicine is making death not such a harsh reality.
One of the main and most interesting new stages of life is how we look at children. Years ago, as soon as children were old enough they were put to work. There was unfair widespread child labor in the United States. Children were sometimes born to help work and keep businesses going. Well, times have changed we look at childhood as special now. We think of children as innocent and we should shield them from adulthood. Most middle class children are now carefree and have no responsibility aside from school and enrichment activities. Their ambition is to have fun and enjoy leisure time like play games and go on vacation. As a child you should have the least amount of responsibility, our culture seems to imply.
Adolescence is also a fairly new concept,. It’s a time where you experience puberty, education, and you may even rebel. You start to create your own opinion. Young Adulthood is a new idea as well. It’s considered to be a transition period, you may go to college and be on your own, but you still have no real responsibility. Then you reach adulthood and have real responsibilities like a job and a family. Now that we are living longer, men have a mid life crisis, which is a new phase as well. Men may buy a nice new sports car to make them feel young. Women may have plastic surgery. Lastly, we also look at our elderly differently. Our society overlooks the elderly and many think of them as a financial burden. Even the media portrays them negatively. I think these things needs to change. The elderly should be appreciated and they should share their wisdom with our youth.
All these new ideas have changed the idea of the family. All of these concepts re-assure how our society works. New stages of life are developing, so people form a family differently.
mwalsh @ April 10, 2008