The Existential Imperative: Going to College

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As we encourage many millions of our undereducated offspring, who were never weaned from Huxley's Glass Teat, to attend college, and pour billions of dollars into a "qualification," and despite poor performance in their public institutions, most of our little mediocre progeny, of which we -who are also mediocre- are so proud, with little foresight of how they'll survive, are again forced into the same situation they have just come from and do not make it. Many flush their life savings and financial lifeboats down the drain, and eventually end up in jobs they could have easily done without a Bachelor's degree.

Most college-bound humans, those who are properly ejected from our, according to many reviews, defunct, high school systems, have NO idea who they are or what they want to do with the rest of their tiny, pitiful, wasted, fleeting lives. Few of them I have come across can actually maintain a love relationship, let alone a meaningful JOB.

According to many sources, such as TIME Magazine, the 2009 class is going to be the biggest college-bound class on record, and I would just like to know how many will graduate.

The problem with the college system - especially undergraduate- in my institution, is the general courses incoming freshmen are required to take. Called GEs [general ed], many of these courses are redundant or irrelevant, especially Racism & Sexism in the US (while I did do well in the class, my grade came from previous understanding of society and not necessarily from class material), and some social science courses (one is necessary, instead of two). History courses cover things that are inconsequential to current events: Often the course ends before, at, or soon after WW1, leaving many important developments unexplored. I am not at all arguing that history before WW1 is inconsequential (no it certainly is not!), but if the goal is to turn babes still sucking on the Glass Teat into intelligent human beings who can continue the American tradition, a course devoted to US history, and a course devoted to modern history is required. Science classes are rigorous, but too much attention to facts is paid, so that minimal attention is given to methodology and creative experimentation, leaving students, without any notion of what science is, open to pseudoscience and dishonest PR campaigns from the far-right. Of all GE requirements, the most worthless is Music Appreciation. Most college students are not interested in classical music, and those that are (such as myself) do not wish to take tests on the composers and periods. My rationale for not liking the class is that I listen to contemporary classical music on my own time, and in place of listening to it in class, we should be learning about why the Middle East is having so many problems. Enjoyment or knowledge of classical music is completely inconsequential to one's quality of life, unless a question involving Chopin ends up on Double Jeopardy. But something so trivial should have no place influencing one's academic standing.

As degree inflation takes hold, the struggle for the top saps more and more money, and colleges only make completion more difficult by adding course and credit requirements.

The solution? Many high-end institutions advocate taking a year off, which truly gives potential college students the time to "find themselves" and watch TV. This cuts down on, for those who decide to continue their education, time dawdling and dabbling in a variety of majors, and reducing the time it takes to finish successufully. Also the process might eliminate the competition many underachievers with pushy parents present.