Free Higher Education | Teen Ink

Free Higher Education

November 5, 2010
By jordanamalie BRONZE, Olpe, Kansas
jordanamalie BRONZE, Olpe, Kansas
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

In our world today, all we seem to hear about is money. People talk about not having enough money while others talk about having too much money. Either way that’s what it’s all about. Majority of people say they don’t have enough and in a lot of cases that is true. They can’t pay for things like food, shelter or even education. That’s why our public grade schools and high schools are liberated so that everyone can have an education. But what happens when they want to continue their education to college but they can’t afford it? These people have to stop their education and instead go find a job so they can bring in money. This is a sad thing that not everyone can continue on in the path of learning and I think that it needs to be changed.

We need free higher education in the United States for many reasons. One is that there were studies done and scientist found that if a family makes less than $33,000 only 57% of the kids will go on to college. That means that the other 43% is just going out into the world with not the right amount of education, and it’s not because they don’t want to go to college, it’s the simple fact that they don’t have enough money to pay for it. Tuition in colleges has skyrocketed in the past 40 years. This is due to cutbacks in state funding which is the primary revenue source for public colleges. If we could have college set up like our public school systems then everyone would be able to attend and have a better education therefore making our world run smoother because we would have smarter people and endless opportunities.

Many people wonder if the country has ever done anything like this before. The answer is yes. A model for this is the G.I. Bill, which provided access to higher education for 8 million returning veterans after World War II. It paid all tuition and fees. Its impact on the nation has been incredible. More than 40 percent of veterans interviewed who attended college said that they wouldn't have been able to without the G.I. Bill. A subcommittee of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee estimated that the G.I. Bill returned $6.90 in revenue for every $1 spent on educating these veterans, based on the resulting increased income and productivity.

If we could make it free to better our education, things in our country would benefit greatly. We have examples and proof that it helped out our economy too. More people would go and it would be an all around advantage. Daniel J. Boorstin once said, “Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know.” This quote is true. We learn something everyday even if it may be very small. If we can provide the people of our country with free high education then we will be broadening our horizons even more and learning what we don’t know. That’s why I think this movement is a very smart idea on our country’s behalf.


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