Too Many Kids Go to College

 Too Many Kids Go To College

The Debate held at the Chicago Ideas Week on the question if too many kids go to college was very informational. There were many convincing facts presented by both sides of the debate. Peter Thiel and Charles Murray who argued on the affirmative side of the question presented very convincing information and were concise on their ideas. Peter Thiel argued that the costs of colleges have gone up significantly but the quality has remained the same, he also argued that the out performance of college students has been going down in recent years. Both statements led up to the speaker’s main argument which was that college is seen as an absolute necessity in society when in fact it is not, and this results in too many kids who are not fit for college attending and thus limiting the paths chosen by those graduating from high school. Charles Murray also speaking on the affirmative side of the statement spoke on how a B.A. is not as valuable as it should be. Saying that colleges do not push students to really learn a subject instead of teaching them things they will eventually forget and providing them with a piece of paper that classifies them as an “Educated Person” but with increasing amounts of students earning a B.A. it no longer holds the same value as it used to. The most convincing argument presented was that as a society it is seen as necessary to obtain a secondary education when in fact there are many other options that one can take.

On the opposing side, Henry Bienen and Vivek Wadhwa both presented strong and organized arguments. Mr. Bienen began by stating facts and statistics that say people with college degrees earn more over their lifetime than those with just a high school diploma and also learn social and life skills during the process. He also argues that post-secondary education is required within the workforce in order to obtain a good paying job. Mr. Wadhwa presented a similar argument saying that a college education allows for a more well-mannered, educated society. He also argued that education within the US is highly regarded as the best education one can receive which is why people spend their whole life savings to attend and earn a degree from a U.S. university. The most influential argument presented by the opposing side of the debate was that a college education has been proven to lower rates of unemployment and increase earnings over one’s lifetime so in no can “too many kids” go to college. The arguments presented by the two speakers seemed to be backed up with valid facts and information but also seemed to avoid certain questions presented by the opposing side.