Try as I might I can't add anything to this. In one sign (though crudely crafted) we learn both the frustration of the Occupy Wall Street movement and, at the same time, we can appreciate the response of the "get a job, hippie" reactionaries. When it comes to OWS everyone is on the side of the angels. As always, answers and resolutions are harder to craft than sympathy for the participants. The fault, dear readers, lies not in our stars but in ourselves.
Our cultural ethos since World War II is that everyone who wants to (and many who don't), should be able to go to college. From the time we all slouched into high school, our relatives and family friends all asked the same question..."where do you want to go to college?" Unless a child shows signs of being a music or art prodigy (in which case it's off to Julliard or the Sorbonne) all roads are suppose to lead to the ivies or dad's alma mater or the school that cousin Roscoe attends. If you hear a small explosion emanating from your local junior high school, it's probably the horrified reaction of some parent being counseled that little Justin or Rachel doesn't appear to be college material. Even parents who suspect that their offspring are not academically inclined still treat the news like a doctor's report of a serious illness. "What will my family and friends say if little Ebenezer isn't recruited by Yale or Stanford?". "We'll have to move." Parents whose kids choose a trade or, God forbid the military, feel the need to investigate witness protection.
This well-intentioned farce was fine when kids could attend a college for a few thousand dollars and expect to pay back any student loans within a year or two of graduation. Parents could point with pride to their progeny at graduation and think "My work here is done". It didn't much matter what little Brittany chose for a major because being a college grad was enough to apply for practically any office job in the country. Once hired by the Acme Widget Company, her career was launched and all those quaint college courses in Geology and Art History were a charming memory.
Fast forward to 2011. Most private university costs have increased 440% in 20 years. Good luck gaining admission to your state university. Students can expect to graduate with a degree and a serious six-figure debt. (Our girl in the picture above is actually on the low side.) Jobs in the private sector which once required a BA or BS can now hunt quite successfully for MBA's. An estimated 19,000 college grads are currently parking cars...and not their own. 300,000 are employing their expensive degrees as waiters and waitresses. A society crying for scientists and engineers probably has more Medieval History majors than it can ever support. Clearly a new paradigm is in order.
OK, with apologies to Bill Maher, we need New Rules.
Rule One - Not everyone can, or should be encouraged to, go to college. This should not be viewed as a death sentence. Intellectually we all know that different kids have different skills. Musical instrument companies have made untold millions selling accordions and recorders to kids who will never be able to tell B# from Cm. We don't force our kids to play instruments for which they are clearly unsuited (after the first two years of expensive lessons) so why force them into an academic career? Schools should abandon the "college track for smarties and wood shop for dummies" programs. Real efforts should be made to determine what little Guido is good at and elevate his pursuit of excellence regardless of skill set. Seriously, you may think that college is the only goal for your little genius but do you want an Archeology major fixing your transmission? Kids who are good with their hands should be praised as possibly the next NASA engineering wiz. We act as though the only possibilities are Nobel laureate or ditch digger. That needs to change.
Second Rule - If you want to go to college there will be restrictions. If your family can afford to send you to Whatzamata U. to study The Influence of Homosexuality and Lesbianism on Fourteenth Century Haberdashery, knock yourself out. If you work your can off throughout high school and can hook yourself a scholarship in say, The History of the Color Yellow, congratulations. If, however, you plan to borrow the money for school, there will be a few codicils. Your major course of study will be based on demonstrated attributes and diligence as well as the available job landscape for your chosen discipline. (Example: if you had to look up "codicil", Law and English might not be for you.)
Lenders (read, Uncle Sam) will not lend you the cash to study Marine Biology merely because you saw Free Willy four times and want to get a job where the preferred mode of dress is a bikini. Minimally demonstrated attributes might include 1) knowing that oceans are near the beach; 2) being able to swim; or 3) knowing that port is left and starboard is right. We simply cannot train 10,000 Geologists to fill 26 jobs. The net result of that policy is 9,974 disillusioned kids occupying Wall Street.
Rule Three - If you change your major, your loans are immediately due for payment and you must reapply for funds in your newly chosen field. An addendum to this rule is "five years to graduation or you're out".
Rule Four - None of the other rules apply if you want to give science, mathematics and engineering a try. We all know that most American students suck at science and math but part of the reason is that these fields are nerd-centric and buzzkillers with the opposite sex. Yeah, I know, Bill Gates and Steven Jobs made nerdness cool but ask them what high school was like. We need to isolate any sixth-grader who can add up a golf score card and nurture his or her God-given talent. Like Lebron James, we should throw money at these kids (and their parents) to attend MIT and CAL Poly. Companies should be able to recruit them out of high school and ensure that college Calculus and Quantum Physics are taught by swimsuit models.
All kidding aside, we can all sympathize with the sentiments of young people for whom the American Dream isn't turning out like it did for their parents. It's easy and cynical for Herman Cain to tell Occupiers to "get a job". His kids can always work in the pizza business. We encourage our young people to study and pursue knowledge for its own sake. Most universities require courses in language, philosophy and the arts. It shouldn't be all about career. Even accountants and pre-med students take film courses once in a while. Nevertheless we cannot be blind to the fact that we are training a generation of citizens wholly unsuited for the business and social environment of the 21st Century. I'm all in favor of studying Hispanic Lesbians but there needs to be a job of some sort waiting at the end of the academic road. No academic pursuit, regardless of its obscurity, should end with a cardboard sign in Zuccotti Park.
