Nathan Wu WRIT 140, Section 64550 Fall 2011 AMST 100 Writing #1 The Insidious Effect of Education in American

Dream Despite being only eighty years old, the term American Dream seems to have been an integral part of the United States since its independence. The American Dream is the belief that all citizens should have an equal chance to rise out of poverty to achieve success and wealth through hard work. Countless number of immigrants comes to America yearly, hoping to get a taste of the American Dream. Although America boasts itself as a country of freedom, citizens have been constrained by the tradition to attend school, contradicting with the nations own ideology. Not only is education not necessary to accomplish the American Dream, it is also detrimental to the progress of America in that it obliterates equality, an indispensable basis of the American Dream. Colleges in America have done such a good job at advertising the necessity of college that a majority of the population jumps on the bandwagon to follow this myth. The shocking truth is that college is excessive. Because of its ridiculous popularity, colleges have been perceived as the only stair that will bring people one-step closer to the American Dream. Those who are deeply entrenched in the colleges trap of lie will likely argue that a college degree is essential for a decent job. Unfortunately, that is true; however, it is not the knowledge people gain from college that is essential, it is simply that piece of paper that acknowledges their presence in college for the past four years that is essential for a job today. Peoples blind notion that college is important has unnecessarily leveled the societys standard. College degree is as superficial as the peoples thought that supports it.

In fact, because a college degree is perceived as a given, employers usually require prior work experience or internship in addition to the degree. This absurd requirement reveals how colleges dont teach practical skills that are useful in the workforce. The senselessness of college education doesnt stop here. For the pre-med students who have already dedicated four years of their valuable life to college and studying an amazingly large range of irrelevant knowledge, are required to spend four more years in med school, and another three years to complete their residency. Thats at least eleven years after their high school graduation until they can start on their path towards the American Dream. Putting college education aside, even K-12, which is mandatory by law, is futile and wasting time. Children are put into school since they are five to learn the same subjects like Math, English, Foreign Language, and Science over and over again until they graduate from high school. And in most cases, they are required to go over those subjects for another semester to fulfill their colleges general education requirement. Its great that children are gaining a wide range of knowledge, but in todays fast paced society, K-12 education is not efficient enough. Its too limited to allow students to explore their interest fully, and its too broad to help prepare students for their future career. Many students go into college not knowing what they want to major in or change their majors multiple times. What exactly have these people been doing for the past 12 years then? Education doesnt even help build students characters or morals, traits that are vital to being a good citizen. Education is not a shortcut to success and wealth. Its a long detour to the American Dream.

Defying the American Dream ideology of poor rising out of poverty, education is the biggest weight that skews the scale of equality again poor Americans. The college system in America fabricates the myth that college education leads to higher paycheck, which in turn means wealth and success. The untold story behind the faade, however, is that college education leads to lifetime debt for poor college students, who need to take out student loans to afford college education. Advocates of the education may claim that many colleges offer financial aid to help financially disadvantaged students pay for college, but financial aid, in most cases, is simply an enormous trap that ensnares these students in the bottom of the social class for the remainder of their lives. At most colleges, financial aid includes a large portion of a student loan. A study shows that the nation's total student loan debt now sits at about $830 billion (Professor X). Often, underprivileged students will find themselves spending the rest of the lives repaying their loans. Only middle and upper class students can manage to afford the pricey college education today. How are the students with huge debt supposed to rise out of poverty as dictated in the American Dream? The poor students are at a disadvantage even during K12 as they are constantly required to help out their family financially by working parttime. These students GPA may be affected because they dont have time to spend on studying. Education has been discriminating against those impoverished and it clearly has hindered the nation from upholding the American Dream. The idea to create educated individuals within the society is plausible, but the expensive and ineffective education of America needs to be adjusted. Nowadays a large sum of the tuition fee is going to superfluous facilities that are not important to a quality education. The government should limit the amount of money college can spend per year.

In turn, colleges will be forced to spend their money wisely on the fundamentals and not on making themselves look like a palace. Colleges should aim to bask students in an intellectual environment, not in a luxurious atmosphere. Moreover, there are more practical methods that can ensure students to be competitive candidate for their occupation. Instead of wasting time in traditional schools, students should be encouraged to do internships, apprenticeships, and vocational training, where useful skills are taught (Professor X). This way students arent just wasting time learning useless subjects, but are being efficiently prepared for their profession. In City of Quartz, author Mike Davis proposes the paradox that Los Angeles is both a utopian and a dystopian society. Its a utopian society for the white people because they actually have equality and a chance to become rich, but its a dystopian for minorities because they are constantly discriminated against. Education, like Los Angeles, is also a paradox. While it may allow a utopian environment for those who can afford college with minimal student loans, it creates a dystopian atmosphere for those who cant. The American Dream of the poor is shattered by the weight of their financial burden. The American Dream is what makes America unique and a place where people all over the world desire to be at. It is imperative to maintain equality, on which the American Dream sets its foundation. People need to stop confusing education as a part of the American Dream. Those who came out of wealthy family may only see the positive side, of education, but what they dont see are the millions of people forced to the ground by the burden education has created. Making education, especially college education, a societys standard defeats the intention of the American Dream and undermines the

greatness of the country. People should open their options to many more effective alternatives to education. Open-minded citizens can stimulate the growth of a nation.