Week 7 Course Project: Argumentative Paper PHIL 347: Critical Reasoning
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Week 7 Course Project: Argumentative Paper PHIL 347: Critical Reasoning
This study source was downloaded by 100000849840424 from CourseHero.com on 10-11-2022 06:09:18 GMT -05:00
Topic: Free College for Everyone
Equality is one of the virtues that is so beneficial to the society and should be given a key consideration in every aspect of the society. The topic selected in week one for this project was meant to discuss the issue of equality as it relates to a college education. The topic on "Free College for Everyone" is open, and one can argue it from whatever end since it has two sides. Some people support this topic as they believe in having free college for everyone and that it would come with so much benefits in the society. There are those who hold the contrary opinion that the concept does not help the society that much and instead has more demerits, so it will do the society more harm than good. I believe that there should be Free college for everyone as this move comes with so many benefits to the current society despite the few demerits that may accompany the move (Powell, 2018).
Supportive Arguments and Opinions
A high literacy level in the society is something that everyone wants because the benefits of achieving this in the society is quite obvious. There are people who are performing quite well at the high school level, and their dreams are terminated when they need to advance their studies to the college level because the colleges are not free for everyone. This results to the society increasing the number of illiterate people not because the people are, or the student are mentally or academically unable to attain their best level of education in the colleges but because they are not in a position to get to the colleges because of the cost. Making colleges free for everyone will, therefore, enhance the level of literacy in the society and facilitate the many benefits that come with it (Kroshus, Paskus, & Bell, 2018). This subject has attracted the attention of many scholars and authors, some of which have strongly opposed it. According to Huber, one of the prominent authors who have discussed
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this subject free colleges for everyone should be given consideration by every authority. Making free college ensures everyone in the society has equal chances of getting to the college level in their academic life despite of the other factors put into consideration. Having equality in the society is an issue that should be given a paramount priority. When there is equality, peaceful coexistence is vital for development. When the society is made up of more elite people, that is, people whose education level is up to the college level makes it easier to make decisions on various issues (Carlson, 2016).
The next point supporting my opinion on this topic of free college for everyone is the accessibility of the colleges for everyone. There are those students who perform very well at the high school level and meet the necessary requirements. At times some of the students are from families that are not in a position to pay for the college fees making it relatively challenging for them to go to colleges. When the colleges are made free for everyone, the students from the less privileged schools will be in a position to access the colleges. Making colleges free for everyone will make these facilities accessible for every student who meets the academic requirement, hence equality in the society (Carlson, 2016).
There are economic reasoning surrounding the whole subject of college education being made free for everyone. This aspect has been discussed in a comprehensive manner by Carlson in the article "The Chronicle of Higher Education." When the college education is made free for everyone to access, the students get the opportunity to focus on other needs in the college. Free colleges would mean the cost of attending the institutions are reduced and so will be at a better position to meet other needs like books, transport, accommodation, among others. Normally when the college is not free, there are some student's basic needs that some students may not afford. This means the students will be discriminated based on their economic backgrounds. The students from the well to do families will be able to afford the basic needs while those who are less privileged will have to sacrifice their basic needs for the
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fees. The policy of making the colleges free for everyone would, therefore, ensure there is no element of discrimination in the education sector, which is so critical for the society. Free college for everyone will, therefore, bring about economic stability and eliminate discrimination in the sector.
The other economic aspect of my opinion on the topic is the fact that the students are in a position to focus on their studies rather than trying other activities to finance their education. When the college is not free, and some financial factors are attached to it, the less privileged students find it quite hard to go through their education system. With free colleges, the students have all the time to focus on their studies rather than working to raise money to finance their college education. The critics to this idea claim that financing college education to make it free for everyone will mean the citizens will have to be taxed extra. This does not hold water that much, considering the majority who go through college education become more productive in the society. The low- and middle-class levels will not have to suffer, considering the federal government can find other places to source funds to finance the free colleges.
My next argument to support the topic is connected to the social aspect of the society considering the level of education is connected substantially to the social belief and culture. When the majority of the people are educated in the society, they get to be more relevant and productive in the societal social context. For example, an educated person with a concrete college education can reason better socially than an individual who has not attained a college education. A free college education means there will be more productive people in the society who have been enlightened by the education that is available freely for everyone. Free college education for everyone looks at the bigger picture in the society. This ensures everyone who has the ability and the qualification is not compromised by the financial factors and can find the academic gains freely.
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Development is vital for the society as it helps everyone and all the aspects of the society to grow. Free colleges for everyone have been supported by many scholars to be some of the major motivating factors that can ensure the society develops. A free college education is paramount in development as it brings more of quality labor or workforce to the society. Supporting the majority in the society to acquire college education would ensure the society has many people, and there is no deficit of people with sharp minds that would facilitate development in the society. The human resource factor is integral for society's development; free colleges for everyone increase the number of critical human resources who increase the level of development in the society.
Critics or Contra arguments
Any issue that is subject to discussion normally has two sides; there are opinions that seem to conflict my argument on this subject. Some of the scholars who have conducted research on this subject have evaluated the two sides of the subject on many occasions. One of the arguments that object my opinion in this issue is that free college education will increase the government's burden. This is so since the government will have to finance the education for both those who can and those who can afford the education since it is free for everyone. This argument is not so solid since the free colleges will only be available for the students who have qualified for the education. Therefore, it is not logical to deny someone who has qualified for the education a chance because those who have qualified and are in a position to pay will also enjoy the benefit (Huber, 2017).
The other argument is that free education at the college level will encourage dropouts at the tertiary level of education since the students will not feel the loss after all the education is given freely. I do not believe this argument is substantial; there is no need to deny the people benefits of free college due to the fear of some people in the group dropping out. Afterall if they dropout, the funds will not be spent and will remain at the level they dropped
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out. School dropouts are subjects of so many factors, and the main one lacks funds to continue, so making it cheaper will instead discourage dropouts due to lack of funds to continue with the education (Demir, 2018).
The next argument by the critics of free colleges for everyone is on the fact that the bright students will settle for less competitive courses in the colleges because they are freely available than going for more competitive courses in the same institution. The same students settling for the less competitive courses would otherwise go without any form of education beyond high school since they are not able to afford it. This idea is about making the college education available and accessible for any student who has qualified and wants to not those who have qualified for the higher courses. It is not logical, therefore, not to prove college education on the opinion that some students will settle for less (Free College - Top 3 Pros and Cons, 2020).
Conclusion
Education is a vital element in the society, and college education makes the benefits even more. Free college for everyone is a broad topic of discussion that would attract the attention of many people. Scholars have discussed the subject on different platforms, some supporting it for the many benefits it would bring to the society, whereas others criticize it. Either way, my opinion and stand on the subject are clear as free colleges are more beneficial to the society than the critics it faces in the society.
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References
Carlson, S. (2016). Should everyone go to college. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Demir, S. B. (2018). Pros and cons of the new financial support policy for Turkish researchers. Scientometrics, 116(3), 2053-2068.
Free College - Top 3 Pros and Cons. (2020, July 03). Retrieved July 12, 2020, from https://www.procon.org/headlines/free-college-top-3-pros-and-cons/
Huber, M. T. (2017). Is College for Everyone?.
Kroshus, E., Paskus, T., & Bell, L. (2018). Coach expectations about off-field conduct and bystander intervention by US college football players to prevent inappropriate sexual behavior. Journal of interpersonal violence, 33(2), 293-315.
Powell, K. (2018). To Be Free or Not to Be Free… That Is the Question. The Idea of an Essay, 5(1), 21.
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