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Has anyone else noticed we're living in a time of massive education inflation?

Shrink726

The tolerant left? I'm the intolerant left.
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When I was a kid having a college degree was a really significant achievement. Having a GPA over 3.0 was similarly a considerable source well-deserved pride. I graduated college with a 3.54 GPA magna cum laude and felt that this was a significant accomplishment.

Now I see kids with BA's - - often in what can only be described as meaningless fields - - who are utterly and almost completely unable to express themselves in written form and whose breadth of vocabulary is profoundly impoverished.

As we move forward with this educational inflation, I wonder where this will all end. When people move on to all get masters degrees I'd say we're running out of runway room. Eventually this will probably extend to Ph.D.'s and, at that point, there's no more room for any further inflation (unless we start making up new degrees).

There was a time when one's educational accomplishments were a reliable differentiator of intellect and aptitude. While still true to a significantly attenuated extent, that is now waning.

Certainly, to a large extent, society is to blame in its mad push to send every kid to college while trivializing and, in some cases, denigrating, the importance of trade schools and educating skilled workers. But something has to be done to stem this rising tide of meaningless college degrees being handed out like 'participation trophies' to undeserving recipients.
 
Now I see kids with BA's - - often in what can only be described as meaningless fields - - who are utterly and almost completely unable to express themselves in written form and whose breadth of vocabulary is profoundly impoverished.
Yes.

Hear tell some college instructors are at their wit's end because so many of their students simply cannot write a coherent sentence, let alone a whole paragraph.

If one wants to write decently, one must do one thing: read, read, read.

Many young people do not read. They are too busy texting on their smartphones.
 
When I was a kid having a college degree was a really significant achievement. Having a GPA over 3.0 was similarly a considerable source well-deserved pride. I graduated college with a 3.54 GPA magna cum laude and felt that this was a significant accomplishment.

Now I see kids with BA's - - often in what can only be described as meaningless fields - - who are utterly and almost completely unable to express themselves in written form and whose breadth of vocabulary is profoundly impoverished.

As we move forward with this educational inflation, I wonder where this will all end. When people move on to all get masters degrees I'd say we're running out of runway room. Eventually this will probably extend to Ph.D.'s and, at that point, there's no more room for any further inflation (unless we start making up new degrees).

There was a time when one's educational accomplishments were a reliable differentiator of intellect and aptitude. While still true to a significantly attenuated extent, that is now waning.

Certainly, to a large extent, society is to blame in its mad push to send every kid to college while trivializing and, in some cases, denigrating, the importance of trade schools and educating skilled workers. But something has to be done to stem this rising tide of meaningless college degrees being handed out like 'participation trophies' to undeserving recipients.



You wanna get really depressed?


This fundamental lack of, and interest in, general knowledge is why people vote against their best interests.
 
When I was a kid having a college degree was a really significant achievement. Having a GPA over 3.0 was similarly a considerable source well-deserved pride. I graduated college with a 3.54 GPA magna cum laude and felt that this was a significant accomplishment.

Now I see kids with BA's - - often in what can only be described as meaningless fields - - who are utterly and almost completely unable to express themselves in written form and whose breadth of vocabulary is profoundly impoverished.

As we move forward with this educational inflation, I wonder where this will all end. When people move on to all get masters degrees I'd say we're running out of runway room. Eventually this will probably extend to Ph.D.'s and, at that point, there's no more room for any further inflation (unless we start making up new degrees).

There was a time when one's educational accomplishments were a reliable differentiator of intellect and aptitude. While still true to a significantly attenuated extent, that is now waning.

Certainly, to a large extent, society is to blame in its mad push to send every kid to college while trivializing and, in some cases, denigrating, the importance of trade schools and educating skilled workers. But something has to be done to stem this rising tide of meaningless college degrees being handed out like 'participation trophies' to undeserving recipients.

Hi, Shrink726.

Let's start with what purpose our colleges are now expected to serve. For many, they are considered as little more than job training schools. We see article after article dealing with how much each type of degree is worth, with the metric one of dollars. In addition, the ability to do high-level scholastic work, like many of the characteristics of us h. sapiens, probably approximates a bell curve. Opening the school of higher learning to more students has a price to be paid in terms of the rigor of the education.

We would perhaps do well if our colleges would specialize in either a classical or a vocational education. That, in a society which believes itself egalitarian, is a remote possibility.

Regards, stay safe 'n well.

[Disclaimer: I'm the product of a classical education coupled with a degree in the sciences, along with graduate work in several fields. This has structured my ways of thinking as well as my weltanschauung. ]
 
When I was a kid having a college degree was a really significant achievement. Having a GPA over 3.0 was similarly a considerable source well-deserved pride. I graduated college with a 3.54 GPA magna cum laude and felt that this was a significant accomplishment.

Now I see kids with BA's - - often in what can only be described as meaningless fields - - who are utterly and almost completely unable to express themselves in written form and whose breadth of vocabulary is profoundly impoverished.

As we move forward with this educational inflation, I wonder where this will all end. When people move on to all get masters degrees I'd say we're running out of runway room. Eventually this will probably extend to Ph.D.'s and, at that point, there's no more room for any further inflation (unless we start making up new degrees).

There was a time when one's educational accomplishments were a reliable differentiator of intellect and aptitude. While still true to a significantly attenuated extent, that is now waning.

Certainly, to a large extent, society is to blame in its mad push to send every kid to college while trivializing and, in some cases, denigrating, the importance of trade schools and educating skilled workers. But something has to be done to stem this rising tide of meaningless college degrees being handed out like 'participation trophies' to undeserving recipients.
It's the for profit post secondary education system. They pass out degrees like free concert tickets because the higher their graduation rates are the more students they attract.
 
When I was a kid having a college degree was a really significant achievement. Having a GPA over 3.0 was similarly a considerable source well-deserved pride. I graduated college with a 3.54 GPA magna cum laude and felt that this was a significant accomplishment.

Now I see kids with BA's - - often in what can only be described as meaningless fields - - who are utterly and almost completely unable to express themselves in written form and whose breadth of vocabulary is profoundly impoverished.

As we move forward with this educational inflation, I wonder where this will all end. When people move on to all get masters degrees I'd say we're running out of runway room. Eventually this will probably extend to Ph.D.'s and, at that point, there's no more room for any further inflation (unless we start making up new degrees).

There was a time when one's educational accomplishments were a reliable differentiator of intellect and aptitude. While still true to a significantly attenuated extent, that is now waning.

Certainly, to a large extent, society is to blame in its mad push to send every kid to college while trivializing and, in some cases, denigrating, the importance of trade schools and educating skilled workers. But something has to be done to stem this rising tide of meaningless college degrees being handed out like 'participation trophies' to undeserving recipients.
I have to agree.

And we ARE making up new degrees all the time right now (which might be a fun thread to start and list)

I'm all for making college more available to more people - but let's not dilute the value of the degree in the process, or its importance.

And I'm equally for more emphasis on "trade" schools. Not everyone should go to college, even if they've the aptitude. A college education should lift no one's nose above that of a quality skilled trade education. Some people are simply wired one way and others another. And both are important - critical in fact - as we're about to find out with the burgeoning dearth of skilled people in the latter.

I am very concerned for example that the construction industry is about collapse - for a variety of reasons, but not the least of which is skilled, motivated workers.
 
It's the for profit post secondary education system. They pass out degrees like free concert tickets because the higher their graduation rates are the more students they attract.
If we removed the for profit part there would be less people graduating with degrees.
 
If we removed the for profit part there would be less people graduating with degrees.
But those that have them would have earned them rather that buying them.
 
When I was a kid having a college degree was a really significant achievement. Having a GPA over 3.0 was similarly a considerable source well-deserved pride. I graduated college with a 3.54 GPA magna cum laude and felt that this was a significant accomplishment.

Now I see kids with BA's - - often in what can only be described as meaningless fields - - who are utterly and almost completely unable to express themselves in written form and whose breadth of vocabulary is profoundly impoverished.

As we move forward with this educational inflation, I wonder where this will all end. When people move on to all get masters degrees I'd say we're running out of runway room. Eventually this will probably extend to Ph.D.'s and, at that point, there's no more room for any further inflation (unless we start making up new degrees).

There was a time when one's educational accomplishments were a reliable differentiator of intellect and aptitude. While still true to a significantly attenuated extent, that is now waning.

Certainly, to a large extent, society is to blame in its mad push to send every kid to college while trivializing and, in some cases, denigrating, the importance of trade schools and educating skilled workers. But something has to be done to stem this rising tide of meaningless college degrees being handed out like 'participation trophies' to undeserving recipients.
A large part of the blame belongs to the profit motive and the absurd costs of education today.

1. Colleges view students as an opportunity for profit. They have a perverse incentive to accept as many as they can possibly support, and to offer every degree imaginable in order to attract them. As far as they're concerned, it doesn't matter if the degree is useless.

2. I don't know how old you are, but from your tone I'm guessing you could pay your tuition with a part time job. No offense, but the consequences of failing a student were less back then. If a student failed, it was a decent life lesson that the student could learn and easily recover from. You fail a significant number of students today, and you are literally destroying lives. They have to drown themselves in debt just to make an attempt at an education, and if they fail many will spend decades crushed by that debt. Professors know this, and they're not sadists. I'm pretty sure it has an influence on their grading policies, and I can't blame them.

Just a couple reasons why the "socialist" European model of education is much better.
 
I blame corporate America, which makes getting a degree a prerequisite for jobs even though many jobs could be performed by a high school grad with appropriate training. Colleges and universities have also made the transformation from being places where you could be around interesting people and basically become a different kind of thinker, to being a place where you learn skills.

There's a difference between a skilled person and an educated person. I know plenty of people who are highly skilled at doing certain kinds of things, like graphic design, website development, maybe even coding and what not. But that doesn't make them broadly educated. I know highly successful, sharp, innovative marketing and business types who know what they do exceptionally well, but they're ignorant about the world around them outside of their domain. I suppose I am guilty of this as well to some degree. It's the society we've lived and evolved in I guess.
 
But those that have them would have earned them rather that buying them.
No more earning them then the people buying them now. Its still the same classes and same grading system
 
Following up on my previous post, it could be that the great resignation is what finally upends the higher ed bubble. As companies face unprecedented demand for labor, they just need people who can do the work and I suppose some employers are willing to train.

 
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