Michael Petrilli's Essay 'College Isn T For Everyone'

In his essay, "College isn't for Everyone. Let's Stop Pretending It Is," Michael Petrilli uses the title of his article to clearly state the opinion that college is simply not for everyone. He supports this opinion on the statistically low college graduation rate of lower income students. He links this low rate of graduation to poor performance in high school, which leaves students unready for college upon completion of twelfth grade. On the job technical training is presented as a viable alternative to college, where a skill can be obtained to provide a career. This choice, he argues, is more likely to provide financial security and a bridge from poverty to middle class. He also recommends stricter Common Core standards in high school as a way to better prepare students for college. In conclusion, Petrilli suggests early education reform to assist in improving college preparedness as well as creating alternative paths to dependable careers for those who do not attend college. However, his assessment is full of negativism and uncertainties, and lacks factual evidence to support his views. By compartmentalizing a large portion of youth in our society today, and linking post high school

Yes, a career that raises one out of poverty is an undeniably positive achievement, but the benefit of knowledge as the end goal should not be discounted and can surely be prized regardless of the possible resulting income bracket. He goes on to ask the question "what if encouraging students to take a shot at the college track - despite very long odds of crossing its finish line - does them more harm than good," but fails to answer that question by naming even a single harm that college aspirations cause. This is because there isn't one. Encouraging students to continue learning is only beneficial and college assists people in that