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What college brings us? 大学给我们带来了什么？ 1 The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. There has been a general consensus that all high school graduates ought to go to college because college will help them get a job, earn more money, become "better" people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don't go. However, given the huge cost of attending a university and the shrinking job market, should we not re-examine the case for college? 受大学教育已毫无疑问被不只一代人接受了。普遍的共识是所有的高中毕业生都应该上大学，因为大学会帮他们找到工作，挣更多钱，成为“更好的”人，并学会如何做一个比那些不上大学的人更负责的公民。可是，看看上大学的昂贵费用和日益萎缩的就业市场，难道我们不应该重新审视一下是否应该上大学这个问题吗？ 2 The reality is that college has never been magical for everyone. Now that close to half our high school graduates are attending college, those who don't fit the pattern are becoming more numerous. Excess college graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis. 现实情况是大学并不是对每个人都有神奇的作用。由于近一半的高中毕业生都上了大学，那些不适合大学模式的人也变得更多了。过多的大学毕业生在卖鞋和开出租车。 3 Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that we revise our attitudes and reform the system. College may not be the best, the proper or even realistic place for every young person after the completion of high school. Critics suggest we may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences. 一些富有探索精神的教育家和校园观察者已开始公开建议我们改变看法，改革大学体系。他们觉得大学并不是对每个完成高中学业的年轻人来说都是最好的、适宜的、甚至现实的地方。批评家暗示，我们可能是凭借自己记忆中那段大学经历的玫瑰色光环，把所有的调查和统计都看颠倒了。 4 Many students confirm that they feel compelled to go to college because of pressure from parents and teachers and stay there because it seems to be an alternative to a far worse fate. They quiver at the thought of the army or a dead-end job, and almost anything is better than staying at home. Potential college graduates say that they don't want to work "solely for the money" and that they want to do work that matters. Their motive is to help people and save the world, but the numbers are stacked against them. Not only are there not sufficient jobs in the world-saving fields, but in the current slowdown it has become evident that there never are enough promising jobs, presumably never will be, that require a higher education. 很多学生都证实：他们觉得不得不上大学是因为来自父母和老师的压力，呆在大学也是因为这似乎是能逃避更糟的命运的唯一选择。他们想到参军或做没前途的工作就不寒而栗，又觉得做任何事都比呆在家强。有潜力的大学毕业生说他们不想“只为赚钱”而工作，他们想做有意义的工作。他们的动机是帮助别人，拯救世界，但形势并不乐观。不但在那些拯救世界的领域里没有足够的工作，而且很显然在当今经济衰退的情况下，那些要求有高等学历的有前途的工作从来就不够，可能永远都不会够。 5 Let's acknowledge the facts. The New York Times reports close to 80 percent of new jobs can be performed by someone without a college degree. The US Department of Education estimates that only 62 percent of those enrolled in four-year institutions had earned a bachelor's degree six years later! This dilemma means that 38 percent have likely wasted time and accumulated debt! In addition, in the US, the cost of college has risen tenfold over the last 30 years, a ratio that is three times as much as general inflation over the same time period. It is clear, from an objective point of view, that many more students should be attending technical schools or two-year colleges to prepare for the jobs that will actually be available to them. 让我们来承认这些事实。《纽约时报》报道近八成的新工作可以由那些没有大学学历的人来做。美国教育部估计在四年制大学的学生中只有62%的人六年以后能拿到学士学位。这种窘境意味着38%的学生都浪费了时间，积累了债务。另外，美国的大学费用在过去的三十年内涨了十倍，这个比例是同期通货膨胀的三倍。从客观上来说已很清楚，更多的学生应该上技校或两年制学院，为他们能找到的工作做准备。 6 Of course, for many jobs a higher education is absolutely necessary and required. So, for some people, obtaining a bachelor's degree is but the first step of lifelong learning. For them, a university degree is essential. 当然，对许多工作而言，高等教育学历是不可或缺的。所以，对一些人来说，拿到学士学位只是终生学习的第一步。对他们而言，大学学位是必不可少的。 7 There is little doubt that attending college has the potential of exposing young people to new ideas and relationships and helps promote their critical thinking skills. It also accords them a relatively safe environment for experimentation and exploration. Nevertheless, many college graduates report that what they learned on campus was better described as personal rather than academic development. Likewise, they report that the real value of college has more to do with developing their identity and practicing social skills than anything to do with the college curriculum. If you accept that the prime reason for going to college is to provide a period for pure learning and maturation of a young person, the decision is made easy as it becomes a question of affordability for the individual student. 毫无疑问，上大学能让年轻人接触新思想，建立新关系，且有助于提高他们的批判性思维能力。大学还为他们提供了一个相对安全的环境让他们从事实验和探索。然而，很多大学毕业生反映，他们在校园所学的东西，与其被称为学术发展，不如说是个人的发展。同样地，他们说大学的真实价值与发展他们的个人特质及社会技能更密切相关，而并非与课程有关。如果你认同这一看法，同意上大学的首要原因是为了给年轻人提供一段纯粹的学习和成长成熟的时间，那么做这个决定会很容易，因为是否上大学仅决定于个人是否有能力承担大学的费用。 8 Whatever college graduates want to do, most of them are going to have to adjust. During the upcoming years, according to the US Department of Labor, the biggest demand will be for jobs that do not need a university degree. Those students who have gone to college to become urban planners, editors, and college professors will have a hard time to find jobs related to what they have learned. They may well find that the only jobs available are sales agents, carpenters, mechanics or cable installers. In fact, having a university degree may be a barrier to getting these jobs. On the other hand, students who have graduated in specialized fields often find that they have learned a lot of things in classrooms that they will never use. One gloomy architecture student, who had already designed and built houses, said, "I don't want to appear cynical. It's more the degree you need, not the breadth of knowledge you learn getting it." 无论大学毕业生想从事什么工作，大多数人都不得不进行调整。据美国劳工部报告称，在未来几年里，劳动力市场最大的工作需求并不要求大学学位。对于那些上大学是为今后成为城市规划者、编辑和大学教授的学生来说，会很难找到与他们所学相关的工作。他们可能发现唯一有空缺的工作是销售代理、木工、机械师或电缆安装工。事实上，有大学学位可能会成为找这些工作的绊脚石。在另一方面，从专门领域毕业的学生常发现他们在课堂上学到的很多东西永远也用不上。一位已从事过设计和造房的建筑专业的学生沮丧地说：“我不想显得愤世嫉俗。但人们更看重的是你的学位，而不是你在拿学位过程中所学的渊博知识。” 9 College is an outstanding place for that rare breed, those young adults who love learning for its own sake, who would literally rather read than bother to eat, and who like nothing better than writing research papers. But they are a minority, even at the famous colleges which attract and recruit the intellectually oriented. 大学对那些凤毛麟角、为学习而学习的年轻人来说是一个重要的地方。真的，他们甚至宁可读书，也不愿费心去吃东西，他们最喜欢做的莫过于撰写科研论文。但他们毕竟是少数，即使在那些吸引和招收注重学术研究人才的著名学府也是如此。 10 In brief, our high school graduates need to evaluate the college equation more closely and critically, calculate it as a consumer product, and decide if the value proposal is worth the very large investment each student and family must make. 简言之，高中毕业生需要更仔细审慎地评估上大学的综合因素，要把上大学作为一个消费品来核算，然后决定上大学这个价值主张是不是值得每个学生及家庭进行大手笔投资。 |
