Of all the things that Rick Santorum loves to hate, the latest, and also arguably the oddest, is college. The Republican hopeful's curious antipathy to higher education is a recent development. Santorum himself attended Pennsylvania State University as an undergraduate, then the University of Pittsburgh for an M.B.A., and finally the Dickinson School of Law where he was granted a law degree. As a senator, Santorum stated that he was "committed to ensuring the every Pennsylvanian has access to higher education."
Yet he criticized President Obama for suggesting that the same opportunity should be made available for all young people. "President Obama once said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob!" Santorum said to laughter and loud applause at a campaign stop in a Detroit suburb last week.
The candidate was reacting to the president's comment that, "higher education cannot be a luxury; it is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford." A White House statement clarified that Obama wants "every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training."
Whether these idealistic ambitions can be realized in an era when tuitions have risen even faster than health care costs for most of the past three decades is another matter. The modest proposals that the administration has put forward to extend low interest rate subsidized student loans, and to reward institutions that keep tuition rates in check will doubtless still leave millions of lower and middle income families still unable to afford to send their kids to college.
But even these reforms may be too much for Rick Santorum. "Oh, I understand why he wants you to go to college," Santorum said of Obama. "He wants to remake you in his image. I want to create jobs so people can remake their children into their image, not his." What jobs exactly the former senator expects to create without strengthening the education system, which is the backbone of a strong economy, Santorum didn't say.
Thanks to his own college education, Santorum was lucky enough to pursue a career in law and politics. Without those degrees, he might well be working in a coal mine in Western Pennsylvania, as his immigrant grandfather did. He certainly would not have become a comfortable member of the upper middle class, as he is today, nor have risen to a position of national prominence. Not that there is anything wrong with digging coal, or flipping burgers, for that matter. But as Santorum must know, those are the entry level jobs that are available for people without college degrees. Does the Republican hopeful expect to revive our flagging economy by creating lots more minimum wage jobs?
But in fairness to Santorum, he wasn't thinking about the economy when he disparaged higher education. He was thinking of votes. He was doing what he is good at -- playing to the prejudices and fears of the blue collar voters who form his base. The candidate revealed his real motive in an interview with Glenn Beck last Thursday when he remarked, "It's no wonder President Obama wants every kid to go to college. The indoctrination that occurs at American universities is one of the keys to the left holding and maintaining power in America."
Still one wonders whether this rant against college will fly with the voters Santorum is trying to appeal to. America remains a land where most people still wish more for our children than we may have had ourselves. So long as a university education is the key to social advancement and a good career, I suspect that even many amongst Rick Santorum's supporters will prefer Obama's plan to make it a bit easier for their kids to go to college, than Santorum's quixotic desire to prevent them from entering these liberal hotbeds.
And let's not be too hard on the candidate for his absurd remarks. They have put the national spotlight on a crucial issue. Can we afford to give all of our young people the opportunity to go to college without breaking the bank? In an era when the U.S. is falling behind other developed countries in its educational prowess, can we afford not to?
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University settings are often referred to as "the marketplace of ideas" where students can explore ideologies different from their own, work in close contact with other students from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, and assess whether the belief systems they grew up with are still as valid and true to them as they once were. I believe that Rick Santorum fears exposing young Americans to diversity because, often the types of narrow view that he espouses are seen to be limiting after experiencing the world as it is, not as one wishes it were.
We can't all think like Rick Santorum, and as much as I wish he would stop talking, through adversity there is growth and learning, so those he is offending (who find a way to understand his perspective and yet still hold onto their own beliefs) will be coming out of the 2012 Santorum debacle as stronger, smarter people. Which is exactly what he is afraid of.
Evidently, the President believes that our K-12 educational system is so bad that after 13 years of full-time schooling, children who graduate from it need another four years before they can become productive adults.
Before we can consider expanding college programs, we have to ensure that high school graduates are prepared to learn from them.
I found this article interesting. It says there are thousands of decent paying jobs in NY in the blue collar sector. I think many people believe these jobs are below them.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/blue_collar_green_UD5qdMRvgTdmmqDy4SqrvL
As a 9th grade dropout who went on to get a GED, AA, and BS, I actually know what a difference a little additional education can make
I truly believe benefits that are doled out for entitlements should be based on the same kind of principal as disability payments. Credits would be earned for education levels at least through high school and if a child wants entitlements for poor decisions that society did not make those levels of support should be based on a sliding scale. We can no longer afford not to support any form of education, but in the same manner can we can no longer afford payouts for those who did not give education a chance in their lives.they must understand from an early age the consequences.
religion is used as the means to keep the minimally-educated, not-well-read, easily-made-fearful and misinformed populace to do their(power-barons-corporatists) bidding at their own expense. low-educated people live by fear of those not like them, their 'god' with their guns and the oligarchs intend to keep it that way.
during my academic and professional career I have met many highly intelligent, educated people who are also deeply religious for whatever reasons they may have or spiritual awakenings as you described in your case even though I am left scratching my head, perhaps religion has worked it's way into the fabric of mankind's DNA.
I would bet that society has far more need of plumbers and electricians than another Sociology degree.
In the most recent poll on the political leanings of college professors by Young Americas Foundation/TPC Poll released February 6, 2012, 57% of professors stated they were Liberal but only 16% said they were Conservative.
This is especially true at the state college/university level which is where most middle class families can afford to send their children. Can you blame Conservative parents for not wanting to spend the money to turn their children into nice little Liberals?
Odd as it may seem to HuffPost readers who are generally above average in intelligence and fairly well educated, a majority of high school students either don't want or do not have the skills to be successful in a traditional 4-year university. These are children who either don't like school to begin with, want to get out from under parental control by finding a job quickly or are focused strictly on career-related education. If you want to work as a secretary or bookkeeper, you don't see any reason to take two science and two arts appreciation classes.
Rather than encourage square pegs to push themselves through the round holes of a 4 year university, we need more career tracks in high school and extremely inexpensive local community colleges which focus strictly on job related education. No child should graduate from any educational institution--high school, college or graduate school--without being completely job-ready.
with the intellect of a well rounded education why not let them decide for themselves or are you conservatives too scared of that, which explains why the conservative agenda is to suppress voter rights and bash science, arts and higher education.
In the aggregate sense, students in America's public schools these days are struggling like never before with completing just basic courses, especially in math and science. A recent study from Harvard University (“Globally Challenged: Are U.S. Students Ready to Compete?”) found that students in the U.S. have slid -- and are sliding further -- into the abyss of substandard academic proficiency, if not outright performance failure, when compared to their peers in other western countries. (Nice, huh?)
College degrees for everyone, Mr. President, is a tad optimistic, despite Santorum's silliness on the issue.