Schaunaman 1

Elijah Schaunaman
Mrs. Lohmeyer
ENGL 101- Composition I
6 September 2016
Are Too Many People Going to College
Is college even worth it? Is the question that is asked when reading throughout this
article. The author investigated on an ongoing trend, college. Within his article he defines E. D.
Hirsch Jr.s rules in Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs

to Know, but a step further

into college. Exploring the ideas: how the internet is affecting how knowledge is obtained, the
academic learning before college, the ticket to a better job and when getting that job is
satisfactory, then finally possibilities of being without a B.A. Overall describing what is in place
for a post-secondary schooling.

The author, Murray, uses Hirsch's ideas within Cultural Literacy: What Every American
Needs to Know. Those rules outline the article:
Full participation in any culture requires familiarity with body of core
knowledge This core knowledge is an important part of the glue that holds the culture
together K-8 are the right years to teach the core knowledge, and the effort would get
off to a running start in elementary school (234, 236).
By entertaining these ideas, everyone has the right to go to college, liberal education.
Within the grades of K-8, the education would be focused on the main courses such as history,
English, math, science, etc. Upon entering high school it would more encompass the ideas of
generals that are introduced in college. Finally, when in post-secondary, students enter the

Schaunaman 2
courses that are pertaining to their dream job. Murray points out, that students in the higher
percentile will enter college and success. While in the lower percentiles, students will still go to
college, but might not make it past the second year and drop out just for a B.A.
The four-year brick-and-mortar college meets the requirements of having a physical
library, colleagueship, and the interaction between scholars and professors. Since there is new
technology being invented which allows the student to research on their own, finding any
resource on the internet which is basically defeating the purpose of hands on learning. The
student could not learn hands on, communication between the two is mostly limited to email, and
sometimes not allowing the student to fully comprehend what is taught. Now that there is the
idea of distance learning, such as classes online, for instance, the student is not physically
present. Not all students can connect the lesson to the homework assigned.
No worries, there is a ticket to getting a better job. It is called the B.A; although, it is
highly unachievable. Most jobs today would not hire someone without a B.A. and will most
likely not put you up as a possibility, no matter what you learn: Employers do not value what
the student learned, just that the student has a degree. (245).
After learning the vocational studies that the scholar was interested in, it is important that
they follow through on their decision. Murray uses an electrician as an example; it would mean
more if the electrician stuck with his job instead of being promoted to manager. He may not
know what the job may follow up to, and find boring. While if the electrician was able to work
up to something like the electrician that was promoted up to within its field, being more
satisfactory.

Schaunaman 3
Finally, when the student achieves the milestone of obtaining the B.A. in which others
could not before hand. Most jobs before the 18th century, most of the highly successful figures
did not have a B.A. As time went by the popularity of getting one grew, and those who had one
were immediately accepted into the job. This trend grew and now you cannot get a job without a
B.A. Nowadays, college is a place where B.A.s are handed out, (251). The B.A also serves a
type of class division (252) those who do not have a B.A are considered lazy and likely to fail.
Going to college might seem like a poor investment to some, no matter what the rankings
in the grade. Murray stated the flaws that belong in the system that is currently in place.. He
believes that if we were to follow the model that belongs to Hirsh. Charles Murray deals with the
themes of, obtaining academic knowledge, how the internet is affecting four-year
brick-and-mortar colleges, and the B.A. What I have just described is the system that we have
in place. (253).

Schaunaman 4

Works Cited
Murray, Charles. Are Too Many People Going to College? They Say, I Say with Readings. Ed.
Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. 3rd ed. W. W. Norton & Company Ltd, 2015.
234-53.