Well, I guess I did leave my last post in a state of confusion.I didn't really state which direction I was going to go in a direction of whether or not parents should pay for their children's education, but I decided that that topic was sort of lame and purposeless. I'm really interested in economics and ethics, so I think my paper is going to go in a similar direction of the analytical essay. Rather than arguing whether or not the state should pay for state universities, I think the state should pay for community colleges. Community colleges have gotten a negative reputation because not only do they rarely offer 4-year degrees, but many people think it's like an extension of high school. I think, though, that rather than having confused students with little knowledge of what they want to do attend state universities and waste money, they can attend community college for two years and figure it all out with a general associates in liberal arts. On top of saving money, this will hopefully keep those students that come to state schools and party all the time from going away to school and going crazy. Since community colleges don't have dorms, there's also a small chance of massive amounts of underage drinking and partying. This topic means a lot to me because in high school, I just missed the cutoff for the NJ Starz program. This would have promised me a virtually free education, but I would have had to attend Mercer County Community College for my first two years. I think this program would have not only given me time to figure out which direction I wanted to go in, but it would have saved me thousands of dollars. I think this program should be open to all state students because in order to stay in the program, you have to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above. This is a small price to pay for a paid education for the first two years. This program just seems like a perfect answer to many problems that have come about regarding state funding for education and decreasing the amount of partying in college, atleast in he first two years.
When I googled this topic, a book called State Funding for Community Colleges: a 50-State Survey.
I can access a little of the book on the internet and it seems like the entire country is trying to figure out how the state should pay for community college. This really works with my topic, but I'd have to research how this would affect partying and the general work ethic of college students with a contingency.
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/lsadocs/Fiscal_Topics/2009/FTRKM005.PDF
this website shows how the tuition of community colleges has become more and more responsible for funding the schools as the years pass.
This topic seems like a lot to take on, but I feel strongly about it so I have a lot more research to do. I am happy that I found a topic though!
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You should check out my comments on this student's blog post regarding a similar topic:
ReplyDeletehttp://kathryn201college.blogspot.com/2010/02/continuing-with-topic-idea.html
I think you could think about "whether or not parents should pay for college" if you frame it as an analysis of the way questions about "who should pay for college" are being framed in public forums and the media as purely a question of what parents and individuals can afford. In other words, it seems that the media is complicit with the forces of privatization.
See, for instance, "Tuition Help: Who Should Pay for College Costs?" -- and my discussion of it in that comment, where I note: "Take the following piece by Jolie Solomon from her CBS Moneywatch blog, where she references a debate on NPR. Look at the way the issue is framed: as purely a private family matter that is between parent and child. As Tad Friend points out, that's not how it always has been. Previous generations saw generous government assistance (in the form of grants and not just loans) to help people pay for college. Having more people go to college was seen as a public good and it got public support. But now the decision of who should pay for college -- at least the way it is framed in the media -- has nothing to do with the benefits to society or the state. According to Solomon, it has to do with your relationship with your child and how much you, as an individual, can afford to pay. In other words, the question of who will pay for rising tuition is being framed in the media as a purely PRIVATE matter. The privatization of college is nearly complete when we cannot imagine another way of discussing the issue."
So I would not so quickly toss that question aside, just consider reframing it.
As for focusing instead on community colleges -- that sounds very good. And you should consider the way community colleges (especially in NJ and CA) are now seen as a stepping stone to four year schools as part of a general state plan of making college more affordable -- as indicated in that planning document you point to (see also Governor Christie's plan, linked to in our Sakai Resources). Is this system working? Can community colleges maintain standards and meet the demands that this scheme places on them?
I have some reflections on that in relation to another student's blog post.
This is a good start.