上大學(xué)的價(jià)值是否被高估了?

閱讀 : 次

That more people should go to college is usually taken as a given. People with college degrees make a lot more than people without them, and that difference has been growing. But does that mean that we should help more kids go to college--or that we should make it easier for people who didn't go to college to make a living?

應(yīng)該讓更多人上大學(xué)往往被視為理所當(dāng)然。有大學(xué)學(xué)位的人比沒(méi)有大學(xué)學(xué)位的人掙錢多得多，而這種差距還在擴(kuò)大。但這就意味著我們應(yīng)該幫助更多孩子上大學(xué)嗎？或者，我們應(yīng)該讓未上大學(xué)的人更容易謀生嗎？
學(xué)歷低

We may be close to maxing out on the first strategy. Our high college drop-out rate--40% of kids who enroll in college don't get a degree within six years--may be a sign that we're trying to push too many people who aren't suited for college to enroll. It has been estimated that most people in their 20s who had college degrees were not in jobs that required them: another sign that we are pushing kids into college who will not get much out of it but debt.

在第一條策略上我們幾乎盡了全力。我們大學(xué)的高輟學(xué)率或許表明我們?cè)诮吡ν苿?dòng)太多不適合上大學(xué)的人入學(xué)——40%的讀大學(xué)的孩子在6年內(nèi)沒(méi)拿到學(xué)位。據(jù)估計(jì)，在擁有大學(xué)學(xué)位的20多歲的人當(dāng)中，大多數(shù)人并未從事與專業(yè)相關(guān)的工作。這也表明了我們?cè)诎押⒆觽兺七M(jìn)大學(xué)，而他們除了債務(wù)卻幾無(wú)所得。

The benefits of putting more people in college are also oversold. Part of the college wage premium is an illusion.

使更多人讀大學(xué)的好處也被過(guò)分頌揚(yáng)了。大學(xué)畢業(yè)生工資提升有一部分屬于假象。
People who go to college are, on average, smarter than people who don't. In an economy that increasingly rewards intelligence, you'd expect college grads to pull ahead of the pack even if their diplomas signified nothing but their smarts.

讀大學(xué)的人一般比不讀大學(xué)的人聰明一些。在一個(gè)日益獎(jiǎng)賞才智的經(jīng)濟(jì)體制下，你總會(huì)期望大學(xué)畢業(yè)生成為同齡人中的佼佼者，即使他們的文憑除了意味著其聰明外別無(wú)其他。

College must make many students more productive workers. But at least some of the apparent value of a college degree, and maybe a lot of it, reflects the fact that employers can use it as a rough measure of job applicants' intelligence and willingness to work hard.

大學(xué)必須使許多學(xué)生成為更具生產(chǎn)力的工人。然而，在大學(xué)學(xué)位的表面價(jià)值中，至少有一些——甚至更多——能夠反映這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)：雇主們可以把它作為一個(gè)粗略標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，衡量求職者的聰明才智和積極肯干精神。

We could probably increase the number of high school seniors who are ready to go to college and likely to make it to graduation. But let's face it: college isn't for everyone, especially if it takes the form of four years of going to classes on a campus.

我們可能會(huì)增加愿意讀大學(xué)的高中生人數(shù)，他們也很可能成功讀到大學(xué)畢業(yè)。但我們必須直面一個(gè)問(wèn)題：大學(xué)不是為所有人開(kāi)設(shè)的，尤其是以在校園里上4年課這樣一種形式。

To talk about college this way may sound élitist. It may even sound philistine, since the purpose of a liberal-arts education is to produce well-rounded citizens rather than productive workers.

如此談?wù)摯髮W(xué)也許聽(tīng)上去有點(diǎn)精英主義的味道。它甚至顯得庸俗不堪，因?yàn)槲目平逃哪康氖窃炀腿姘l(fā)展的公民，而不是生產(chǎn)性的工人。
But perhaps it is more foolishly élitist to think that going to school until age 22 is necessary to being well-rounded, or to tell millions of kids that their future depends on performing a task that only a minority of them can actually accomplish.

但是，也許更加愚蠢的經(jīng)營(yíng)論調(diào)是，認(rèn)為在學(xué)校讀書讀到22歲是全面發(fā)展所必需，或者告訴無(wú)數(shù)孩子，他們的未來(lái)取決于完成一項(xiàng)事實(shí)上只有少數(shù)人才能完成的任務(wù)。

The good news is that there have never been more alternatives to the traditional college. Online learning is more flexible and affordable than the brick-and-mortar model of higher education. Certification tests could be developed so that in many occupations employers could get more useful knowledge about a job applicant than whether he has a degree.

令人欣慰的是，傳統(tǒng)大學(xué)之外的選擇現(xiàn)在前所未有之多。網(wǎng)絡(luò)教育比傳統(tǒng)的高等教育模式更靈活，更負(fù)擔(dān)得起。可以發(fā)展多種證書考試，這樣在許多行業(yè)中，雇主們就能了解與求職者有關(guān)的更多有用信息，而不只是看他是否有一紙文憑。

Career and technical education could be expanded at a fraction of the cost of college subsidies. Occupational licensure rules could be relaxed to create opportunities for people without formal education.

可以擴(kuò)大職業(yè)與技術(shù)教育，而其花費(fèi)僅相當(dāng)于大學(xué)補(bǔ)貼的一部分。可以放寬職業(yè)許可證發(fā)放規(guī)則，給沒(méi)有接受正規(guī)教育的人創(chuàng)造機(jī)會(huì)。

It is absurd that people have to get college degrees to be considered for good jobs in hotel management or accounting--or journalism. It is inefficient, both because it wastes a lot of money and because it locks people who would have done good work out of some jobs.

實(shí)屬荒謬的一點(diǎn)是，只有獲得大學(xué)學(xué)位的人，才能有機(jī)會(huì)得到酒店管理、財(cái)會(huì)——抑或新聞行業(yè)的好工作。這是一種低效之見(jiàn)，因?yàn)樗壤速M(fèi)了大量金錢，也將本能干好某些工作的人擋在門外。

The tight connection between college degrees and economic success may be a nearly unquestioned part of our social order. Future generations may look back and shudder at the cruelty of it.

大學(xué)學(xué)位與經(jīng)濟(jì)成功之間的緊密聯(lián)系可能是我們社會(huì)秩序中幾乎不受質(zhì)疑的部分。當(dāng)后輩人回首時(shí)，可能會(huì)對(duì)它的殘酷性不寒而栗。