by Oronte Churm

Sam Walton—huckster, billionaire, icon of the self-made movement—is proof that a representative democracy with a market economy permits class movement if you sell enough discounted panties. The late Walton’s embarrassment of riches was amassed, of course, by providing the appearance of prosperity to the masses, a cornucopia of goods at apparently affordable prices. Just as it’s hard to turn down Ol’ Roy Hearty Loaf dog food (recalled) at just 38¢ a can—it’s so available! and everybody’s buying it!—who wouldn’t want their kids to get what everybody labels “an education”? Higher ed is seen as opportunity in our culture, and it’s available in record numbers. Like Wal-Marts (3,702 Discount Stores, Supercenters, Sam’s Clubs and Neighborhood Markets in 2005 in America), Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) are everywhere for easier access. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1949-50 there were 1,851 IHEs (excluding branch campuses, which were not accounted for). By 2004-05, there were 4,216 Title IV-eligible IHEs (including branches). And if lobbyists for other sorts of technical, business, and trade schools get their way, there soon will be thousands more.

Other numbers tell the story even better: In 1919-20, only 48,622 people received bachelor’s degrees in America. In 1929-30, it was 122,484. By 1949-50, it was 432,058. And in 2005-06, it was projected that 1,431,000 students would receive bachelor’s degrees. That’s a 2943 percent increase in less than a century. (By comparison, the national population has grown only 286 percent since 1919.) If our citizens were being truly educated in these numbers, wouldn’t we be...smarter in our choices as a society right now? Going to college has always been a rite; now it’s nearly a right. A recent NY Times article, “Can’t Complete High School? Just Go Right Along to College,” reports that “many colleges—public and private, two-year and four-year—will accept students who have not graduated from high school or earned equivalency degrees.” I’m not a fan of jumping through hoops, but it might be useful to demonstrate basic competency before moving up.

Welcome! The article you'd like to read is available to Adjunct Advocate subscribers, or to non-subscribers for purchase with AdjunctNation Passport credits. Your AdjunctNation Passport credit purchases compensate the writers directly!

If you like, visit our secure online store to purchase AdjunctNation Passport credits or subscribe. PLEASE NOTE: If you're already registered, you don't need to register again to read the article! You need to login, go to our secure online store, and purchase AdjunctNationCredits.