Answer:
Explanation:
Education is seen as the golden ticket to a better life, however this ticket is not being taken by many young individuals at the perfect age to pursue higher education. For various reasons, students have no drive or interest in the benefits of the institutions that surround them. In the New York Times article “Bottom Line: How State Budget Cuts Affect Your Education,” Sarah Brown demonstrates how state spending to universities has dropped dramatically nationwide since 2008 and the numbers presented are staggering; some universities are experiencing cuts of more than 50%. The implications of what is happening here are dismal - spending cuts are “forcing many public universities to lay off faculty and staff members, postpone in new facilities and raise tuition fees.” Due to these massive reductions to funding colleges and universities, education is becoming less available to the general public due to increased cost. There seems to be no reasonable stance which successfully argues that education should not be provided to all individuals in a society. There is a plethora of research showing correlation between educational attainment and quality of life; it should be common understanding that education is no longer a privilege, but rather a right and a necessary resource. Students must realize the potential that surrounds them and the benefit that is provided by it.
Spending cuts and subsequent financial burdens are causing our country and its citizens to experience a major issue - many students are having education withheld from them due to the increasing cost of becoming educated. Education is an invaluable tool in liberating the minds of individuals to an elevated state of understanding and potential. It allows one to question and analyze the various going-ons of the world and its inhabitants. Education allows one to approach controversy and to form strongly validated, persuasive views. When a nation’s citizens become educated, they see a general improvement in quality of life and an improvement in their society. Education is of utmost importance in enhancing the lives of the individual and for allowing a society to develop and flourish.
Education is currently greatly privileged, with financial burdens serving to be a limiting force for many potential students. The ultimate tool to really increase the abundance of educational opportunities begins at lowering if not removing entirely, the tuition of college and treating it as a common good. Free college is not some mystical fantasy, as it has indeed existed in the past and still does exist in small institutions scattered across America. The notion of free college can only exist in the public institutions, however, as the cost of tuition is remarkably lower than that of private institutions.
Economic Growth and Stability
Many economists agree that education is directly correlated with economic growth and stability. Countries thrive when their educational systems thrive. In “Education and Economic Growth,” the authors greatly encourage school reform in order to improve education because it strengthens national economic competitiveness. They cite the National Commision on Excellence on Education in stating that “in order to keep and improve on the slim competitive edge we still retain in world markets, we must dedicate ourselves to the reform of our educational system.” The improvement of educational stances in countries promotes its economic standing and stability.
We can all understand that educated individuals bring in bigger paychecks than those who are lacking in their education. But are we aware of education’s true implications? George Schultz and Eric Hanushek write in the Wall Street Journal that education has tremendous economic ramifications. The more educated the citizens of a country are, the more likely their personal and societal economies are to develop and succeed. Essentially, “educational outcomes strongly affect economic growth and the distribution of income.” According to economists at Harvard University, the 60% to 70% rise in wage inequality is based on the degree of education for high school and college graduates. Education benefits entire countries as well. Schultz and Hanushek explain that the more educated the citizens of a country are the more the country experiences economic growth. Both on personal and national levels, education has been shown to increase economic growth and stability.
