Levine’s Vision on Education in the Future Is Incorrect
Danielle Zanzalari
Dr. Oguine
ENGL 1201-ZLE
Exploratory Essay
September 21, 2006
Levine’s Vision on Education in the Future Is Incorrect It is obvious that Arthur E. Levine’s article, “Sure Changes for Colleges in the Future,” wrongly suggests that the future of education will be questionable. Levine writes that “educational passports” (283) will be needed to track down a student’s educational records. He also questions whether “faculty will become increasingly independent of colleges” (282), and whether “degrees will wither in importance” (283), because of the variety of new ways degrees can be earned. All these points that Levine speculates on seem to be far fetched and inaccurate in describing the progress education is making in our world. It is misleading to say that “degrees will wither in importance,” when employers are constantly choosing people who have a better educational background than others. Furthermore, “Educational passports” (283) are not a good way to record a student’s educational achievements, because they fail to record the learning that happens outside of a classroom. Likewise, would students actually watch faculty members on “weekly PBS programs”(283)? It is almost impossible to believe that Levine’s “Sure Changes for Colleges in the Future” is written with considerable concern for education in the future, because of the extreme improbability of degrees withering in importance, educational passports replacing degrees, and faculty becoming more popular than their colleges. Although Levine proposes that the easy availability of degrees from online websites, community colleges, or even local high schools lessens the value of degrees from accredited colleges, certainly, the accessibility of degrees is not something that will lessen the value of degrees from accredited colleges. For instance, a working mother is now able to take care of her kids and still take online courses to improve her education, thus opening up doors
Dr. Oguine
ENGL 1201-ZLE
Exploratory Essay
September 21, 2006
Levine’s Vision on Education in the Future Is Incorrect It is obvious that Arthur E. Levine’s article, “Sure Changes for Colleges in the Future,” wrongly suggests that the future of education will be questionable. Levine writes that “educational passports” (283) will be needed to track down a student’s educational records. He also questions whether “faculty will become increasingly independent of colleges” (282), and whether “degrees will wither in importance” (283), because of the variety of new ways degrees can be earned. All these points that Levine speculates on seem to be far fetched and inaccurate in describing the progress education is making in our world. It is misleading to say that “degrees will wither in importance,” when employers are constantly choosing people who have a better educational background than others. Furthermore, “Educational passports” (283) are not a good way to record a student’s educational achievements, because they fail to record the learning that happens outside of a classroom. Likewise, would students actually watch faculty members on “weekly PBS programs”(283)? It is almost impossible to believe that Levine’s “Sure Changes for Colleges in the Future” is written with considerable concern for education in the future, because of the extreme improbability of degrees withering in importance, educational passports replacing degrees, and faculty becoming more popular than their colleges. Although Levine proposes that the easy availability of degrees from online websites, community colleges, or even local high schools lessens the value of degrees from accredited colleges, certainly, the accessibility of degrees is not something that will lessen the value of degrees from accredited colleges. For instance, a working mother is now able to take care of her kids and still take online courses to improve her education, thus opening up doors
Cited: Collins, Billy. “The Trouble With Poetry.” http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=6478 Levine, Arthur E. “Sure Changes for Colleges in the Future.” The McGraw-Hill Reader. 9th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003. 280-285.