The issue of Free College and Higher education dates back to the early beginnings of America to the very first public secondary school. “In 1635 the Boston Latin School was opened, but in the nineteenth century most of the schools were religiously affiliated and only the wealthy could afford to continue. For many years in US history the general population was illiterate and less educated than the economy would prefer. Thomas Jefferson believed that the country had a responsibility to educate all of the children and started the common school movement that founded several public schools in the 1840s. Then as the country moved to an industrial economy, in 1862 Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land Grant College Act which gave lots of land to …show more content…
Yes they have some fairly good points into how beneficial it can be for students. “While education remains a value unto itself, it can also be viewed as a national investment in the future. This is a significant investment --the United States spends roughly $536 billion, or just under $9,000 per student, educating students through the 12th grade--on a per capita basis ahead of most, but behind Switzerland and Norway. (Source: U.S. Department of Education).” (Kingsley, Vance). While this is a lot of money invested already other countries have pulled ahead and invested already in making higher education more attainable. We now live in a time were a highschool diploma is not enough, “The world has grown sufficiently complex that 16 years of education--once viewed as a luxury affordable by only a tiny elite--have become standard preparation for the type of jobs that are growing in number, such as high tech computer programming jobs, rather than those that are shrinking in number.” also a fact to support this “Students clearly recognize the value of more than 12 years of schooling. More than 90% of high school students expect to at least start college; 70% expect to earn a degree.” (Kingsley,