Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ My university degree was life-changing. Putting them out of reach is elitist and wrong

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

When I was young I made a life-changing decision: I wouldn't worry about student debt. "They can't take the knowledge back from me," I reasoned. I was saddled with this debt until I was well into my forties. But my education (not my degree, which I barely valued at all) made all the difference in the world. Most people wouldn't make the decision I made, especially now that the size of student debts has soared. And that's the point of this article. "Putting this education out of reach for students who are already economically insecure is elitist and it is wrong. It will make us a smaller, meaner and stupider society." Every time tuition increases, every time the cost of books increases, every time a new barrier is put into place, we become a little smaller and a little meaner.

Today: 0 Total: 1760 [Direct link] [Share]


Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

Copyright 2024
Last Updated: Nov 03, 2024 3:01 p.m.

Canadian Flag Creative Commons License.

Force:yes