In Defense Of Liberty And Education For

All Essay, Research Paper

In Defense of Liberty and Education for All

How does a society become socially free and have equal opportunity for all its citizens. According to the conventional democratic American belief, all people should be granted the same educational opportunities so that everyone has the fair chance to succeed in society. However, in William A. Henry’s essay, “In Defense of Elitism,” he argues for the archaic belief that society should limit higher educational opportunities because most people do not have the capability to compete in college. Henry wants to scale back the number of college students in America to an accomplished few. As such, Henry contends that the educational standards will ultimately rise, which will make college more prestigious. Upon inspection though, Henry’s views and beliefs are rendered false because his evidence is exaggerated, distorted and inappropriately compared and contrasted to support his claims. In reality, Henry’s beliefs clash with America’s true intentions for a democratic society, which are depicted in Benjamin R. Barber’s essay, “America Skips School.”

The journalist and critic, William A. Henry III, criticizes the egalitarian American view regarding education, which he believes degrades the value and accomplishment of receiving a college degree in an American society. Henry tries to argue this by explaining that there are too many students enrolled in college and that the standards and requirements of courses will as a result decline. The essay argues that obtaining a college education has become too commonplace and that the prestige and honor of higher learning has diminished. Essentially, he thinks the American society has allowed too many unqualified people a chance to earn a degree and he criticizes the public educational system in order to bring back elitism in education.

In America, the number of students achieving University education has grown substantially in recent decades. Henry has noticed this trend in America and that “Half a century ago, a high school diploma was a significant credential, and college was a privilege for the few,” but now, “Nearly 30% of high school graduates ultimately receive a four-year baccalaureate degree”(Henry 122). He believes “30%” is ridiculously high compared to the “typical 10% to 15%” of other first world nations (122). Henry further criticizes the American education system claiming that today “high school graduation is virtually automatic for adolescents… and college has become a normal way station in the average person’s growing up. No longer a mark of distinction or proof of achievement”(Henry 122). Henry’s claims exaggerate the evidence in an attempt to reestablish stringent university admissions criteria, and call attention to the depreciating value of a college education. He distorts the truth by considering education, now days, as effortless or “automatic,” when truly, it always takes a great deal of hard work to learn and become educated for anyone (122). Unlike Henry’s claims, the amount of persistence, dedication, and endurance it takes to finish four years of higher education is universal and will always be considered a “proof of achievement,” because college is always a personal long-term investment and does not depend on how many people actually attend. In addition, Henry’s method of supporting his claim is lopsided because he does not mention the visible positive aspects of the “30% of high school graduates” who earn a degree. Obviously, the recent rise in university attendance undoubtedly shows an overall increase in adolescent concern for higher education and self-improvement. Overall, Henry’s claims about the devaluation of the college degree and the overabundance of college students fall short of convincing because he only addresses the negative aspects of educational opportunities and uses hyperbole to render his argument conceivable.

Aside from Henry’s crude remarks about higher education, he also claims that depriving more people of education can benefit our country in the long run by restoring “general [educational] standards”(Henry 125). He proposes that the standards of education have dropped with the rise of college students over the years. Henry illustrates his point by maintaining that there is a “sheer decline in the amount of work expected in class…. [because the] influx of mediocrities relentlessly lowers the general standards at colleges to the levels the weak ones can meet”(125). Henry bases his claim on the fact that in the 1940’s, at the all girls Catholic Trinity College in Washington, “A course in Shakespeare meant reading the plays, all 37 of them”(125). He uses that information and compares it to the fact that at a particular “fancy” college, a professor recently told him that in his Shakespeare class students only read four plays and “anything more than one a week… is considered too heavy of a load”(125). Henry’s claim is extremely unconvincing because his method of unfairly comparing and contrasting the evidence only explains the “general standards” at two different schools at different time periods (125). It could be true to a certain extent that standards have decreased with larger class sizes, but Henry does not support his claim correctly because of several fatal reasons. Henry describes the standards at Trinity College in the 1940’s but does not compare it to the standards at Trinity College in the pr