Let's talk about whether college is worth it....
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What does the recent Gallup poll reveal about Americans' views on the importance of college?
Well, howdy there, internet people, it's Belle again. So today we're going to talk about whether college is worth it. Some data that came out last month is getting a lot of exposure online right now based on polling. And because of that polling, people might need to look at the actual numbers rather than people's feelings. Then we're going to dive into something a little more philosophical about it. The polling data came out from a Gallup poll last month that said only 35% of Americans believe college is very important. In 2019, 53% of Americans felt college was very important. In 2010, 75% thought college was very important. You don't need a college degree to see there's a marked trend showing a collapse in the belief that higher education is important.
If you break it down by political party, the results are what you would expect. Only twenty percent of Republicans today think higher education is very important. While forty eight percent of Democrats do.
How do income and wage growth statistics compare between college graduates and high‑school graduates?
The decline is more pronounced on the Republican side of the aisle. But both parties trended down. When you look at the social media conversations, people equate worth it to an economic return. It's the US dollar into idolatry. Everything is about money. And because of anecdotal stories online, people feel college isn't worth it economically anymore. I'm going to give you the numbers, but just to start, that is plain wrong. The median income in a household headed by someone with at least a bachelor's was $132,700. Headed by a high school graduate? fifty eight thousand four hundred ten dollars.
Why is judging college’s value solely by money considered a societal problem?
College pay is also increasing at a faster rate. High school grads have seen their wages increase by three percent. And for college grads, it's double that. One of the comments I saw said they were going to take their college fund and invest in stocks and bonds instead. Stocks return eight percent on average, bonds return four percent. College twelve percent. The data just doesn't show that college isn't worth it anymore economically. But looking at it through the lens of money is actually part of an illness affecting the United States. Education Sure, it's job training. But it's also about expanding your way of thinking and ability to process information. So let's do that for a second. Do you think public high schools are producing better educated graduates today than they were twenty years ago?
What does recent data on high‑school reading and math proficiency suggest about the quality of K‑12 education?
Probably not, right? In fact, 2024 was the lowest average score in reading proficiency since the National Assessment of Education Progress started doing assessments in 1992. Math wasn't much better, with forty five percent of high schoolers scoring below basic. So If high school isn't producing basic education and college isn't sought after, Do you believe the future of the US will be educated? Or will they just have the bare basic skills to be good little worker bees for the kids of the people telling them that education isn't important today? Now, education doesn't have to occur in a classroom, and it doesn't have to be a formal education. There are tons of methods of study. The problem is that we're not seeing that be widely used.
Will the United States have an educated future workforce if both high‑school and college outcomes keep declining?
We're seeing slogans and talking points replace critical thinking. Education is worth it economically. And it's worth it because you aren't supposed to build your life around what's useful to your betters. Education is important to you outside of work. Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What does the recent Gallup poll reveal about Americans' views on the importance of college?
0:01–1:14
2
How do income and wage growth statistics compare between college graduates and high‑school graduates?
1:14–2:01
3
Why is judging college’s value solely by money considered a societal problem?
2:01–3:01
4
What does recent data on high‑school reading and math proficiency suggest about the quality of K‑12 education?
3:01–3:59
5
Will the United States have an educated future workforce if both high‑school and college outcomes keep declining?
3:59–4:23
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Belle of the Ranch
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