Credentialing vs Educating

The article “Credentialing vs. Educating” by Jane Jacobs showed the credentialing’s purpose in higher education and how the credentialing affected Americans’ perspective of their future’s life. Additionally, she gave explanation about the appearance of “credentialing [as] an indirect legacy of the Great Depression of the 1930’s” because people noticed that credentialing was the vital prerequisite from rising out of poverty. (pg. 167) People wanted to get a degree for a better job. Jacobs illustrated that education was truly significant and undoubtedly acted as an investment for the students’ prospect in 1920’s. During that time, everyone’s life was good. Children were educated and adults had jobs. Then, the author described the “Great Depression” of the 1930’s to show why people became so concerned in education and perceived college as a stepping stone to getting a remunerative job. However, the education shifted to the aim of credentialing in 1940’s. As the result of World War II and the Korean War, people were getting jobs easily due to the demand of workers in manufacturing powerful weapons. These wars enlarged the job market, which increased the economy of America. All people were happy to be employed, and they earned money for going to school. It was because they realize the importance of obtaining a degree that would probably guarantee them getting a high salary job. Furthermore, Jacobs posited that the United States’ government supplied financial support to veterans in the 1950’s, especially the young men who showed great enthusiasm in learning as they knew the importance of credentialing to their future. In contrast, most students of the 1960’s felt uneasy because they didn’t get close interaction from their professor as they were place in a study environment which possessed hundreds of students per lecture hall. This situation proved that credentialing was progressively becoming a trend which resulted in students’ indifference towards