if an institution or organization purports to be existing for the purpose of furthering its clients' (students') knowledge and wisdom in their respective fields, then their prioritization should be centered around that; education and access to that for the most amount of people should be central. however, just going through the process of getting loans, paying tuition, and other absurd fees (which at time, i feel as though i'm the only one that see these prices as completely ridiculous), have shown me that what is central to this institution, or any university for that matter, is money. these "educational institutions" are really businesses with the goal of gaining capital and nothing more. a wise brotha calls it "dissent management".
i can't recall where i saw this, but there was a study done on graduating college student's knowledge (ability to form strong opinions, growth of their knowledge of events going on around the world; of people and countries around the world; of their histories, etc.) to see what they had gained from their college experience, and the majority of students showed that their knowledge had very little growth compared to their knowledge upon graduating high school. the main reason being is that many students take classes they know they'll pass, skipping over the more difficult courses for fear of not passing (which i'm sure has something to do with financial aid and it being removed if you fail or drop below a certain number of credit hours), as well as professors becoming extremely lazy with their curriculum and failing to offer their wisdom in ways that ensure the student is learning and soaking up knowledge as opposed to simply remembering enough to pass the next test.
everyone is here simply to get a sheet of paper that says they are smart enough to do A, B, or C. and quite honestly, i believe the majority of people on this earth are comfortable with that. but where is the...respect/appreciation for the student that comes here to learn? and not just in the area of business and engineering? but learn about the world? about people that inhabit it? about our links to them? about the concept of a "link" and whether or not this is dependent on the idea of reality, identity or even a god? where is the space for those that want to dig deeper?
i paid $80 the other day to attend an orientation in which i received an ID card, registered for class, and learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! i didn't even get a campus tour, a speech about the different resources the school offers, etc.....NOTHING. i wouldn't have attended were it not mandatory. but again....$80!? and i've just learned that to get a parking pass...to park at least a mile away from my classes is $205!!!!!!! WHAAAAAAT!??
my school is about 80% white and middle/upper income, so this could possibly be the reason that they expect all their students to pay these absurd fees as if we all have money for these things, but i don't understand this. it's as if they figured that people cannot refuse to pay these fees, not the majority of students away, so why not amp up the pay?
a fee i can understand, but $205? i cannot understand this type of capitalistic bullshit. i cannot.
and what is the option of not choosing to get at least a Bachelor's? there isn't much of one.
and i don't even want to get on the student loan agencies and their evil tactics because i might break something. is it just me (and my minimum wage earning salary) or is this just the most ridiculous foolery type shit you have ever heard?
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