Dad of Divas' Reviews: Book Review - Is College Worth It

Monday, April 22, 2013

Book Review - Is College Worth It

About the Book
Explores the answer to a critical question: Should we keep sending our kids to college?

The American system of higher education comprises some of the best universities, teachers, and students the world has ever seen. Millions of students around the globe want nothing more in their life than to attend an American university. However, many of America’s colleges and universities today have serious academic, institutional, and other performance problems, and it is quickly approaching a crisis point, if it’s not there already. Despite some excellent colleges and quality programs at many colleges, too much of higher education is wildly expensive. Students often graduate having learned little, or don’t graduate at all. They are indoctrinated with liberal politics and subjected to all types of non-academic distractions. For these reasons, many students would be better served exploring other educational alternatives.

In Is College Worth It?, William J. Bennett and David Wilezol assess the problems of American higher education at various levels, from runaway costs to inferior academics to poor graduation rates to political indoctrination, and propose serious reforms and alternative methods for improving higher education so that it better serves our students.

About the Authors
Dr. William J. Bennett is one of America’s most influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and educational issues. Host of the top-ten nationally syndicated radio show Bill Bennett’s Morning in America, he is also the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute. He is the author and editor of more than twenty-five books.

David Wilezol is the associate producer for Bill Bennett's Morning in America. He is also a 2012 Publius Fellow of the Claremont Institute and currently a graduate student in Greek and Latin at Catholic University in Washington DC.

My Take on the Book
As someone who works in higher education I am a proponent for continuing one's education whether it be in a four year undergraduate setting or in some other alternative setting. I went into this book wondering if it would be a diatribe of reasons for not going to college. Especially with the name of the book, and with the media hype recently about a supposed lack of jobs out there. I was pleased to find that the book however was a well laid out argument to truly explore all of the options that may be available to you based on what you might want to study as well as the costs attributed to that dream as well. The book provides some practical advice for anyone thinking of continuing their education, and while some of the data that they present in my view could be looked at in various ways, the information provided within is still invaluable, and the idea of being a savvy consumer is even more relevant in today's higher education race. This is definitely a book I would recommend to anyone looking at continuing their education after high school as it will make you think about your options in a very different way!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

----------------------------------------
New to the Divadom or to Dad of Divas Reviews?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions? Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

No comments: