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Analysis Of Charles Murray's Essay 'Are Too Many People Going To College'

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People go to college to get a good paying job, have job security, and get a degree. Well at least that’s what it should be about. That’s what Charles Murray believes in his essay “Are Too Many People Going to College.” Murray counters the argument of Sanford Ungar who believes colleges should have a more liberal approach towards its classes and have students actually learn a broad range of real life skills instead of just going into a career just because it pays well. In Ungar’s essay he explains the misperception that Americans have on obtaining a liberal-arts degree and how they believe it doesn’t translate well to the real world. Despite Ungar’s points Murray’s essay touched on many valid points such as a liberal education should be learned …show more content…

Ungar thinks more students should major in liberal arts because it’ll make them well-rounded and have a better set of skills than someone who specializes in a certain major. While a liberal arts degree isn’t a bad choice that just doesn’t fit every person that wants to go to college. First of all, even if someone wanted to have a liberal arts degree and specialize in a certain major that’s going to take even more time depending on the major. That’s a long time in school and most importantly that’s a lot of money being spent if you’re paying for it out of your pocket. Then, a liberal arts degree doesn’t fuel the economy as much as the science, technology, engineering, and math majors (STEM). There are advantages to this though, someone who gets a liberal arts degree might be better at certain things such as comprehension, problem solving, and critical thinking. Many of those skills are wanted by employers when they are looking to hire a college graduate. On the other hand, Murray believes pursuing a liberal arts degree is a waste of time. Murray, claims are mostly valid because on average it takes longer for a liberal arts graduate to find a job, and they start off making less than the average professional career. He believes people are looking for innovators not just

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“The New Liberal Arts” is written from the author's point of view. The author, Sanford J. Ungar, writes strongly on “Misperception” of Liberal Arts. He writes down each misperception and gives his reasoning, backed up with facts as to why he, the author, considers each one a misperception. The author writes about each misperception by numbering them and also gives reasoning. For example, “Misperception NO. 1: A liberal-arts degree is a luxury” and reasoning, “families can no longer afford… depths of the recession” (p. 227).

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He mentions that people think this affects the young generation and their political views. Nonetheless, Ungar reiterates that the Democratic views have nothing to do with a liberal education, besides the fact that students may choose to pursue a degree in political science. However, having a liberal arts education could be considered a good thing because it prepares students for life by not teaching one single ideology and encourages them to find a solution to a problem in various ways. Ungar also indicates that this technique could benefit students today because they usually only seek information from sources they trust and agree

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Summary In chapter three “In the defense of a Liberal Education” author Fareed Zakaria opens up what he believes to be “central virtue of liberal education”(72). He writes that it teaches one how to think critically and clearly. He explains that thinking is the stronger advantage one could have in writing well. Before writing it helps first people to think in a critical sense so work should be using simple language in a well comprehendible way.

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In Sanford J. Ungar’s article, The New Liberal Arts, he mainly talks about how hard and difficult it is for people to achieve a Liberal Arts Degree. Ungar mostly uses Logos and Ethos, and lists seven common misperception about liberal arts education. Then he precedes to explain why they are not so. Ungar is the President of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the author of “Fresh Blood: The New American Immigrants” and “Africa: The People and Politics of an Emerging Continent.”

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As we participate in liberal arts we accelerate in our learnings and opportunities. In order to pay to go to a college, to either participate in liberal arts or not, we need money to get

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Ungar in his work The New Liberal Arts highlights seven misconceptions of Liberal Arts degrees from the point of view as a Liberal Arts College President. The misconceptions he discusses range from an economic, social and political standpoint. Misconception number one states the argument that Liberal Arts degrees have become too expensive for most working class families, however Ungar argues these degrees make for a well-rounded individual, thus creating a long term investment in oneself that focuses on collaboration and oral and written communication. Next, Misconception two states fresh graduates sport a difficulty finding jobs, but this is not due specifically to their field of study. In fact, Ungar states that most employers look for a Liberal Arts degree in recent graduates for critical thinking and problem solving skills to be used in the workforce.

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Barber bases his egalitarian claims on evidence for the conventional American view. He uses history as proof that higher education is a necessity for all citizens recalling “Jefferson and Adams both understood that the Bill of Rights offered little protection in a nation without informed citizens. Once educated, however, a people was safe from even the subtlest tyrannies”(Barber 5). Barber understands the genuine purpose for educating a public and that it endows people “the competence to participate in democratic communities, the ability to think critically and act with deliberation in a pluralistic world, and the empathy to identify sufficiently with others and to live with them despite conflicts of interest and difference in character.221;(Barber 6). Barber’s claim is sound because it agrees with the noble ideals set by our founding fathers and can be applied universally as every country naturally wishes to have a peaceful and educated society.

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In United States, going to college has become an expectation of teachers, and parents for students to attain a successful life and thrive in their field of study, no matter the circumstances, after graduating high school. In this article “Are Too Many People Going to College,” written by Charles Murray, he mentions that everyone is not the same. It is not meant for everyone to earn a college degree; However, society thinks otherwise. According to Murray you also must be “in the top 98th percentile” in order to even apply for a higher education. (Murray 238)

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In my opinion, I agree with Murray’s claim that four year college is not worth, job satisfaction for intrinsic reward, and the dark side of the Bachelor's degree. In my view, Murray’s is right, because college requires student to take 32 courses in four years or longer and not all courses are relate to the field they study with. More specifically, I believe that four years college will take more time to achieve our goal and knowledges doesn’t teach us how to make a living in our society. Murray described in his article, “More people should be getting the basic of a liberal education. But for most students, the places to provide those basics are elementary and middle school” (235).

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In “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray offers his opinion on the number of students that pursue a B.A. He believes that two year or four year colleges are not needed for a majority of students who could instead pursue other life paths. He discusses the ability for the general knowledge needed to be learned in primary and secondary school, and for a lessened need for a “brick-and-mortar” institution the problems with the current secondary and higher educational issues including the lessened need to acquire a B.A. All members of society need certain skills in order to be productive members of society. They need to know general facts about the country they live in, general history, and general geography.

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Even though people may be earning more with a college degree, they still suffer the burden of paying off extraordinarily high debts. This means less money is being saved for themselves. Another negative is that people may not have chosen the correct major. In Source F, only, “55%,” of people believed that their major helped them. This concludes that a high percentage of people did not believe their major was useful.

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Going to college for many students is just a normal part of life. It is what will enable them to get an education that eventually will lead to get a well-paid job and the resources and the status to live a comfortable life. But for college professor, Andrew Delbanco, the American college has a higher purpose. In the article “College at Risk”, Delbanco states that colleges should be promoting critical thinking among students, through knowledge of the past and the interaction with each other; as well as, help them discover their talents and passions and figure out what they want to do in life. This type of education is called liberal arts and for Delbanco, it represents the ideal education.

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Murray believes that students need to learn more about science, history, art, music, and literature than they’re being taught now. His argument is that they need to be taught this information before college, so that in once they become a freshman they can immediately begin focusing on their intended major (Murray 225). As a college freshman at a liberal arts school, I can confidently say that my previous schooling has prepared me well for a liberal arts education. I am continuing to learn things in my freshman year that I believe will prepare me well for my future endeavors. I am able to focus on my current major while still learning how to write better, solve difficult problems, and learning more about culture and the world which we live in.

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Ungar he says “the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that more than three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommended that college bound students pursue a liberal education… 89 percent said they were looking for the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing… and develop better critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” (228). Since more employers is looking for employees with skills that a liberal education provides they would have a better advantage over the employee who didn’t gain those similar

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