The Value of Higher Education in the American Society (Essay Sample)

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The Value of Higher Education in the American Society
The American’s institutions of higher learning face myriads of challenges in their efforts to shape students’ careers, improve quality of life, and change the American society. Americans cannot underestimate the role of colleges and universities in adding value to one’s life. Learning is a process that many embrace as essential in knowledge gain. Primarily, this essay uses different research works to analyze the value of higher education in America. It draws an overriding theme that American colleges and universities are remarkable paths to career growth and value addition in one’s life, but face myriads of challenges in this quest.
First, Faust writes that many American colleges and universities have struggled to meet conflicting demands of society (1). Americans look up to institutions of higher learning to help meet national needs, impart knowledge on learners, add value, and exhibit practicality in learning methods. The contradictory demands have raised other criticisms towards American universities, and in particular, higher cost of college education.
Nevertheless, the significance of American universities abound because they have remained the world’s envy. Faust writes that an international ranking in 2005 included 17 American universities in the top twenty. In essence, American universities continue to attract the best brains in the world. No one should underestimate the effect of the world’s perception of American colleges. For instance, the availability of variety means a diverse student population that work on different research projects and increase knowledge base. Students benefit from interacting with peers from other cultural backgrounds.
Additionally, colleges and universities provide help change people’s perception of issues, such as educational capability of women. It is popular opinion that women are poor in science and math. In fact, Pollitt recounts a press conference by Larry Summers, the Harvard President. Apparently, Summers argued that "tenured women are rare in math and sciences" (Pollitt 1). An interesting reason being that fewer women have the required genetic gifts than men. Such is the perception that clouds society’s understanding of the reality. In effect, higher education lives to provide equal opportunities that prove people such as Summers wrong. Pollitt asserts that gone are the days when knowledgeable women sat home and waited for men to provide. The present society encourages equality of everything, and education is no exception. One can argue that the reason women are underrepresented in math and science is because of the prevailing perception that they are poor in these disciplines. Many prefer an American society that presents equal opportunities to both genders to excel academically, and higher education is one such means.
Moreover, education, especially higher education, was central to the realization of the American dream. Higher education produces a technology-skilled population that keeps pace with the changes in the world. It must be noted that America pioneered a mass college attendance era that the entire world later envied (Faust 1).
Nonetheless, higher education faces many challenges in the quest to improve the American society. The "race between education and technology" (Faust 1) has taken serious toll. It is more worrying that the number of American youth attending colleges has decreased in comparison to other countries. Freedman calls it the ‘new classroom war of teacher against technology. In particular, Freedman refers to an instance between Prof. Ali Nazemi and a college student, Neil Noland (1). The student’s phone rang in class, and the professor smashed it using a hammer. The point is that there is a stiff competition between technology and learning, which lowers the quality of education (Freedman 1). Besides, it is a serious concern because students have the freedom to use phones in the classroom in universities.
Social media is changing the world in ways few people anticipated. Presently, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are pleasant social media platforms that make education seem unnecessary. The case of Prof. Ali shows the extent to which instructors believe that technology ‘harms’ the learning process. That notwithstanding, it is possible to use technology for learners’ gain. University professors are in a constant competition for attention with Twitter, Facebook, and so on. It is no doubt that learners’ concentration is hampered by...