A Counter-Argument to 10 Common Reasons College is Overvalued

     College is not cheap. Many people graduate with thousands - sometimes hundreds of thousands - of dollars in debt. This sparks the question: "Is college worth the heavy price tag?" Many have answered with arguments why college is overvalued. In what follows, I list the arguments, and I offer a rebuttal to those arguments.

1. Colleges judge your work with scores. Scores are irrelevant in real life.

Scores are a reflection of how hard we worked. When there is an upcoming test, the score does not simply show how you did on your test. It shows how disciplined you were in studying. A high score proves that you worked hard before the test and did your best. Striving for high scores involves studying hard. Developing discipline in college and high school by studying and preparing for tests is a skill that carries over to day-to-day life. So, the score reflects your discipline and shows you what you need to improve. That is very relevant.

2. In following your passion, you work to magnify your strengths. School, by contrast, attempts to suppress your weaknesses. 

School does, in fact work to magnify your strengths. School offers different majors based on what your passion is. If you did not choose a major that reflects your passion, you are at fault. Classes that are focused on your major are taught by people who have a passion about what they are teaching. The electives are classes that can supplement your major in building on your strengths, or assist in suppressing your weaknesses, based on what electives you choose.

3. College teaches you to think for yourself, but totally ignores the idea of teamwork.

First of all, teamwork is not vital to success. It is up to you to make yourself a success. If that involves surrounding yourself with people who will work with you, then that is up to you. Second, school does promote teamwork. In various classes, you may have group research projects. On campus, there exist many student organizations that are all about teamwork and assist in helping you become a better person.

4. Money is a good thing. Colleges promote a scarcity mindset that downplays the value of money.

The entire point is invalid. The whole selling point of universities is that you will make more money with a degree than without one. The price tag of the college proves it. Tuition is at an all-time high. Colleges know the value of money, and want to help you make more money in your career.

5. In college, you have to ask permission for everything. In life, you should not have to ask permission for anything. 

The second sentence is true. In life, you should not have to ask permission for anything. But we need to learn to be respectful of those in authority. Raising your hand to ask teachers for assistance or use the restroom shows that you value what they are teaching, and you do not want to blatantly interrupt them. When we value what others have to say, we become more likable.

6. One does not have to always follow the rules or conform to the norm.

Let me say. If everyone thought this way, the world would be in anarchy. The established rules that colleges, workplaces, and governments have are there because they sustain order. These rules have worked for many, many centuries. By learning to follow rules, you learn what rules are good and bad, preparing you for a possible leadership position down the road.

7. It is okay to fail. College teaches you otherwise. 

Yes. It is okay to fail. School does not condemn failure. It teaches you to learn from it. Did you not get a good score on your test? Study harder next time. School teaches you not only to avoid failure, but to achieve success. Studying, taking notes, and listening in class are ways you can practice preparing for success. 

8. College teaches you to accept what you have been given, and no more.

If anything, college is a way you can achieve better than what you have been given. You may have gone to school, leaving a bad situation at home or your career may be stuck in a rut. School allows you to overcome how you were raised. It opens many doors and develops many skills to advance your career. 

9. School teaches us that logic is more important than emotion. We are emotionally-driven beings and cannot operate this way.

This answer is up to you. Two main philosophies exist about life: Epicureanism and Stoicism. The Epicureans teach to live life based on what your emotion wants now. Stoics teach you to avoid excessive comfort in favor of a lifestyle based on productivity and contemplation. If you are a Stoic, by all means go to college and learn. If you are an Epicurean, college may be kind of hard for you.

10. College is expensive. 

Yes. It is expensive. You are paying for a place to stay, for food to eat, and you are paying your teachers. They work hard every day to benefit you. They are investing in you. You are paying for knowledge that might be otherwise inaccessible outside the classroom. You are paying for lifelong friends you may meet. You are paying for memories.

Mitch McConnell's Comeback

Mitch McConnell Will Make a Huge Comeback

     Despite what seems like loss after loss for the Senate Majority Leader and increasing pressure 

from an impatient President, Mitch McConnell is not-at-all down for the count. 

     

     He hit the ground running when Trump became President. He held off Obama's supreme court 

pick Merrick Garland for an entire year without the public batting an eye, and after Trump became 

President, he had Gorsuch confirmed promptly. This big win gave Trump the momentum that he 

needed.

                                         Mitch McConnell gave Trump momentum.

     President Trump clearly laid out his agenda. He wanted to get health reform accomplished before

the August recess. The Senate Majority Leader fought tooth and nail to get some sort of bill passed

through, but to no avail. 

   
     The first repeal bill McConnell introduced was right in the centre of the political spectrum, so it

took heat from both sides. That is what Mitch wanted. He wanted input from all sides about how

he could make the bill better and make it appeal to all sides. 

   
     After amending the bill slightly, he introduced the revised version. Within hours of the bill being

released to the public, four conservative senators refused to support it. Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, Mike

Lee and Rand Paul would not put their support behind the bill.

                                         Ted Cruz refused to support the bill. 

     Ted Cruz proposed his own amendment, which would allow insurers to offer at least one

ObamaCare-complicit plan, and then offer as many of their own plans as they want. This received

applause from the right side of the aisle. When McConnell agreed to take on that amendment to the

bill, three other senators from the center took their support away: Shelley Capito, Susan Collins, and

Lisa Murkowski.

   
     McConnell realized than an attempt to repeal and replace ObamaCare was hopeless, so he went

straight to the Senate with a repeal-only vote, which failed 49-51. Collins, Murkowski, and McCain

were the three Republican defectors. 

   
     Trump was furious at this failure. Repealing ObamaCare was going to be the centerpiece of his

first year as President. He immediately punished McConnell with his favorite weapon: Twitter. 

   

   

     The President let the public know clearly

what he thought of McConnell's leadership. He

took to Twitter to bash the Senate Majority

Leader's ability. Many polls reveal that the

majority of Republicans support Trump's bashing

of the Majority leader. McConnell later vented

about how tired he was of Trump bashing him. Many Senate Republicans came to McConnell's aide,

claiming that he was the best leader they have ever worked under.

   
      Despite all the fire and fury, McConnell has a plan. He always has a plan. He is lying low now.

He and his super PACs are quickly raising money for the upcoming midterm senate elections.

Already he is showing his influence in the Alabama special election. Because Jeff Sessions was

chosen as Attorney General, someone needs to take his place in the Senate. McConnell saw a clear

opportunity here. He wants to reign in his caucus, to make it more controllable. He needs

establishment senators who will follow through with his agenda.

   
      He endorsed Luther Strange, the man who Jeff Sessions chose to temporarily replace him in the

Senate. McConnell and his super PAC showed just how powerful they were when they ran attack ads

and invested millions of dollars into Strange's campaign. After the first primary, they managed to

push Strange into the runoff, which will be much closer. You can count on it that McConnell will not

sit idly by and let the election happen. He will be

investing even more in attack ads and

fundraising for Strange. He needs every victory

he can get.



   
     If he can push Strange through to a victory,

this will give him momentum going into the

2018 midterm elections. He will have demonstrated that his political machine is not-at-all rusty.

This is all a part of his comeback that he will make. He is, after all, Mitch McConnell. And his game,

is the long game.