Lowering the Bar :: College Education School Essays

Lowering the Bar We have reached an era where everyone is expected to go to college, and educators are forcing this goal upon unwilling individuals to their great detriment. According to Barbara Schneider and David Stevenson in The Ambitious Generation: America's Teenagers, Motivated but Directionless, only fifty percent of twelfth graders surveyed in the 1950s expected to attend college, but by the 1990s, that number had increased to 90% (5). Much of this can be attributed to the increasing complexity of the American workplace—machinery has replaced most of the blue-collar jobs that existed five decades ago, and nearly every job requires some degree of technical sophistication. Much of it, however, cannot. Almost half of teenagers expecting to attend college â€Å"hope to get degrees that exceed the credentials needed for the occupations they want† (Schneider 6). Schneider calls this an example of misaligned ambitions, as the majority of teenagers â€Å"have high ambitions but no clear life plans for reaching them† (7). In the 1950s, high school students were segmented into different programs—vocational, commercial, general education, and college preparatory—but now, 95% of high schools in America are considered comprehensive (Schneider 113). This situation provides a difficult dichotomy, as high school graduates now are better educated than those who graduated in the 1950’s were; but where our grandparents could expect that a high school diploma would gain them a job in a company where they could advance for the rest of their career, current â€Å"adolescents believe the college diploma is the basic credential needed to obtain meaningful work† (Schneider 52). What 80% of college bound students do expect, however, is a professional occupation after college, compared to only 42% of previous generations (Schneider 5). So, while more people expect to go to college than before, more of those who expect to go to college also expect to be better rewarded for it than students in the 1950s. This is another example of misaligned ambitions, but were the majority of those students successful, it could be overlooked. Instead, what we are finding is that today’s students are not prepared to succeed in a university environment. Only 34% of students who were freshmen in 1989 finished their bachelor’s degree in four years, with an additional 24% finishing in five years. To look at these numbers on a smaller scale, my freshman suite can be considered as an example.

Killing Animals for Food

#13 Fajardo, Jeanne Dagny ENGLCOM WC C39 Process of the Argumentative Essay Animals should have rights too. I do not mean the same rights and morals as a human being, but a right to be free from harm by human beings. Animals just like humans experience emotions and pain. In the wild, they must protect themselves, but when up against human beings, they do not have the power that we do, and often lose their homes or get killed without any other choice for survival. We should treat animals, as we would want to be treated.Animals cannot have the same rights as humans. They cannot enter our society or make moral choices. They do not know right from wrong, as we do. Killing animals for food is something we have practiced for many of years to survive. Many people like this is a part of our survival, just as animals do. There are several areas where there has been a lack of natural predators, to control the animal population, causing safety concerns by hunting. Many hunters feel they can con trol the ecosystem by hunting.Once hunters obtain a permit, there is no cost, they can hunt for food, or enjoy it as a sport without paying any money. However, humans are just another species of animals and should share the right of freedom. Animals are defenseless and we control them. Even if animals are being hunted or used in slaughter homes, they should be able to live a natural life during their limited lifetime. Animals do not volunteer to tests that can be done using alternative methods. Using an alternative method will also speed up the process, allowing drugs to be approved faster, as well as using fewer animals.Animals should be treated with love and compassion. Many people get pets for their children or maybe it just sounds like a good idea at the time. Animals that people receive for free are more likely to get abandoned because the people thinking they have nothing to lose. When you bring an animal home, you are bringing home a life, a living creature. This is a big com mitment that you should be willing to make. Animals require just as much love and attention as children do.When people leave their pets outside, this is unfair when people keep them locked up on chains outside, they cannot go and find a warm place to sleep when it is cold, or a safe place to stay, they cannot use their natural instincts when we restrict them. Animals are just like humans experiencing the same pain and emotions. They rely on us for the comfort and safety. We should not harm animals. They should have the right to freedom, just as we do. Animals should not be used in testing. They should not be hunted, and should be treated with love.

Media Bias on Women’s Issues - 700 Words

Media Bias on Women’s Issues Detecting bias in news media is a challenge that every person who watches, reads, or listens to the news should accept. Subtle changes in the details of a story can change the entire focus of an event and affect all members of the audience. Applying the gender-based critique analysis process to the media coverage of the 2004 March for Women’s Lives in Washington, D.C. provides an excellent exercise in identifying news bias. The article, â€Å"Muting the Women’s March: Media Lose Focus When Women Protest in Washington† by Julie Hollar provides the background for the following information. Source of the Bias The source of the bias that has been identified in the news reporting at the time is sexism based on†¦show more content†¦This reporting discrepancy downplays the importance of the event, causing discouragement for supporter and detractors disregarding the issues. The coverage by media outlets was limited, a comparison of the 2004 march and the coverage of the Promise Keepers march in 1997 show that Promise Keepers, an evangelical, anti-feminist, anti-gay men’s organization had roughly three times the media coverage (Hollar, 2004). By limiting coverage, news media effectively controlled how the march was viewed and remembered by not only the United States audience but the world media audience. Because of this bias the official points of the march were overlooked almost entirely (Hollar, 2004). This is a tactic that is used over and over to control women and the supporters of women’s rights. Bias on the Production Side The identified concept that might be used to identify bias on the production side of this issue is gender-based critique. According to Denis McQuail (2010) gender-based critique was originally about the stereotyping and marginalization of women, however in the more current environment this critique is more about challenging the continuing sexism of the media. The bias can be displayed as the misogynistic content of many media stories that portray women as somehow faulted for supporting rights of women like abortion, health care, education as well as the concerns of women of color (Hollar, 2004).Show MoreRelatedAlternate Theories On Women s Underrepresentation917 Words   |  4 PagesAlternate Theories on Women’s Underrepresentation Initially it was thought that women were underrepresented in politics and elected office because they were underrepresented in the â€Å"eligibility pool† (Welch, 1978, 372). The idea was that women were socialized to believe that their duty was in the home raising children. As such, there were very few women in the â€Å"eligibility pool,† the typical jobs that have a tendency to lend themselves to a future in public office: law, business, and medicine amongRead MoreWomen s Waterworks : Evaluating An Early Intervention For Incontinence Among Adult Women1688 Words   |  7 PagesTitle: Women’s waterworks: evaluating an early intervention for incontinence among adult women Urinary incontinence is a significant public health problem and can have impacts on the psychological, physical and social wellbeing†¦ It occurs in women more than men. However, there has been little research on interventions to prevent incontinence. A few interventions such as Pelvic floor muscle training, and bladder training. The aim of the this study conducted by Lee, Johnson and Chiarelli (2005)Read MoreEssay On Gender Inequality1049 Words   |  5 Pagesemployment in Asia countries. Also, this essay will focus on the how to improve gender equity in Asia countries. 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The only way to change that is to increase access to capital, increaseRead MoreGender Bias - Mountains On The Playing Field Essay1279 Words   |  6 PagesGender Bias - Mountains On The Playing Field â€Å"97% of everything you know about yourself and about your country comes from the male perspective† (â€Å"Miss Representation†).That is according to NBC news anchor Carol Jenkins. This is an indirect example of sexism in our society. Sexism has changed since the 20th century. We’ve gone from women strictly being classified as housewives to women being discriminated against in leadership positions. Much of the discrimination that women face is closely related