annotated essay 3.pdf

8/10/2019 Annotated Essay 3.pdf

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Denson 2

be a well-rounded, driven and intellectual individual who actively sought to excel in school, but I

hardly feel like I’m capable of competing in college, let alone in a globalizing world. As advised

by my school, I took both college prep classes my junior year, but it was nearly two years until I

even saw the college classes that I was preparing for. I could hardly remembering anything from

those CP because they were so long ago, and in all honesty all they’ve done for me was look

good on a college application. Students are being advised to take classes in preparation for other

classes that they won’t have for years, and by the time they tak e the college classes, they will

have forgotten most everything the CP classes taught them. It makes sense to take college prep

classes right before you go to college, but schools advise to take them years in advance,

essentially making them useless. Part of the reason why this nation is falling behind

economically and educationally is because of how the schools are being run.

Cortney Armstrong, a fellow high school overachiever and University of Michigan-

Dearborn student, explained to me that, “High school doesn’t prepare you for college or ‘real

life’ at all.” She went on to say that, “College gives you an insight into what it’s like to be a part

of something highly competitive and important like a globalized world, but students are often

pushed away fr om college,” and comparatively speaking, I couldn’t agree with her more. The

cost of college pushes away many people because of how absurdly high it is, and that was her

main selling point. Nearly everyone in this country who goes to college at the beginning of their

adult life is enveloped by thousands of dollars of debt. In fact, student loan debt is currently at a

whopping 1.2 trillion dollars and is the second-highest form of consumer debt in the nation

(thinkprogress.org). The fact that a person has to put themselves into significant financial debt in

order to compete globally and better their life and country is absurd, and other nations have

already realized that.

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explained to me, "High...

same as above

awk/wdy

good point; well said



Denson 3

Germany recently passed a bill that completely abolished tuition fees; they realize the

importance of higher education in regards to their country. The selfishness of American’s and the

fact that they are, for the most part, unwilling to help the nation unless it directly and

immediately betters their life is what holds us back as a country. We are so focused on profits,

quarterly statements, and our own immediate, personal situations that we refuse to help future

generations and therefor the nation as a whole. The United States government currently spends

about 170 billion dollars a year on subsidizing colleges and student loans, while the total amount

of student debt last year was just below 63 billion dollars (thinkprogress.org). The government is

capable of paying all tuition fees nearly three times over without raising taxes a single cent, but

refuses mainly because of the pressure from private colleges. They would have to lower their

tuition drastically in order to stay competitive if the government paid for all non-private tuition,

so because of a select few corporations the overall knowledge and economy of future generations

and this nation is significantly hindered.

In order to improve our place in the world, we need to better how our schools are run and

how accessible they are. The government needs to stop catering to the wealthy few and look at

the broader picture. Education is the key to a healthy economy in today’s and tomorrow’s world.

People need to look outward to other nations and see that free education is not only possible, but

it is beneficial. Politicians need to focus more on what’s right and best for the nation and stop

worrying about getting elected next term. Being a leader is about making hard decisions that

nobody else wants to make; it’s about doing what is right regardless of how you’d be viewed.

Politicians, the leaders of our once great nation, need to go back to making those hard,

unfavorable decisions for the overall betterment of the country they swear to. Reduced tuition

needs to be pushed more and become a serious topic, even if it angers the wealthy few who

we/punc.



Denson 4

support the politicians. Quality education is a basic human right and needs to go back to being

treated like so.

annotated essay 3.pdf

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