Can't Reach It, Don't Need It
Do you remember when people were not able to go to high school? Do you remember when attending high school was a privilege and not a right? Yeah, I don't remember either. That is because attending high school for free has been a right for everyone for a long time. Everyone is able to attend a public K-12 school for no charge. Now many people today are asking why a public college education is not offered free of charge. When I ask myself that question, it does make me think. Why not offer a free public college education? If the college enrollment went up, then jobs would increase as well. More teachers would be needed due to the increase in the size of the student body. I am sure that many people would benefit from a higher education, especially if it does not challenge them financially.
Now, all that being said, I still think that a free college education would raise problems. I'm not saying that it wouldn't provide any benefits because I know that a majority of the world's population would benefit from another four or more years of debt-free education. I know I would. However, it would cause some issues. If college was free, there's going to be at least one person who will take advantage of it. They will think, "Well, I'm not wasting my money if I don't attend this one class, so what's the point in going? One simple class I'll not matter". Now, one skipped class may not matter at the time, but what will happen when it turns into three skipped classes? Five skipped classes? College would just end up being like the free app on your phone that just sits there because you never use it.
It's true that a college education today is a privilege. People either have rich parents or family members that pay for their tuition, work hard to earn their own education, or they simply do not attend at all. As of April in 2015, about 70% of Americans did not have a college degree. Among that 70%, there was probably a good mix of people who dropped out of college and those who did not even enroll in a two year or four year college. According to howtoedu.org, pursuing a degree makes it easier for someone to get a job. It's easier to pursue a job when you have something else driving you. To put it simply, I do not think that offering a free college education would be a smart move. There would be too many people that would take advantage of it. The longer people don't have to work for their education, the harder it will be for people to even try looking for a part time job let alone getting a full time career. I am not saying that this would happen to everyone, but I think it could and probably would happen to a lot of people if free college were to be offered.
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