I posted a review of the book “Academically Adrift” by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa that paints a very bleak assessment of the quality of education in both our high schools and colleges. High schools are doing a poor job of preparing students for  life or further education and colleges are accepting more of them regardless of their high school grades. The colleges then, on the average, allow students to run up huge amounts of debt while they focus on enjoying their social lives and doing as little studying and attending class as little as possible to maximize the fun they are having. It seems many colleges enable this behavior by providing classes that require little studying, reading, or writing to attain high grades. The students want to live the good life and the colleges want them to continue paying tuition.

My first college class was English Literature taught by an eccentric female professor who would become one of my favorite professors. She opened the first class by telling us she had no intention of noting who was or was not in class. She also had no intention of calling on students with questions to determine who had or had not completed the assignments. She explained that we had paid to take the class, she appreciated that she had a good job as the result of those payments, and it was our choice whether to attend class or do the assignments. I had saved all of the money earned doing odd jobs that had been spent on tuition and books, and thought it would be a good idea to attend class, listen to the lectures, and do the assignments. I was suspicious that students who chose differently had parents paying the bills.

I’ve posted comments previously that it is time to rethink who should attend college. President Obama disagrees with me. He has said that “…we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college.” Consistent with that approach, 30 percent of high school graduates with a C grade average and 15 percent with a C- or less are admitted into four-year colleges. Many first year college students are required to take remedial classes to prepare them for college level classes. Many college professors agree with the statement “Most of the students I teach lack the basic skills for college level work.”

I question the “college for all” policy if it is automatically assumes the college is of the four-year variety. Community colleges offer two year degrees with tuition cost in the vicinity of $2000/year. I’ve seen data that the average cost at public four-year colleges is at or above $7000/year and more than $20,000 for tuition and fees at private four-year colleges. My suggestion is that those students who had low grades in high school but want to continue their education in a quest “to find themselves” research local community colleges or junior colleges. I know that some four-year colleges limit the classes that can transfer and be credited toward graduation requirements, but I would say that disadvantage is offset by the significantly lower cost.

Some students want to attend college with the primary purpose of socializing and having fun, and I understand  that those are high priorities for most if not all young people. However, it shouldn’t be difficult to find like-minded people who would be willing to share an apartment with someone near those community colleges or junior colleges. The savings in tuition would pay for significant amounts of fun activities. Perhaps the two years of exposure to education will even lead some students finding that, as is written in “Academically Adrift” that the real mission of schooling is “…developing a love of learning for learning sake.” I have personal knowledge of a student who was “academically adrift” until taking a class from a demanding professor. The professor was also an excellent teacher, the student became engaged, and was proud of the B from the class. The student learned to love learning and found it easy to earn high grades.