In the article, Bryan Caplan warns against the current trend where students fail to learn intensively to build lifelong skills while in high school and college in college, citing the harshness of the current job market. He asserts that employers are cognizant on education because it is through it that they can establish the required intellect, work ethics, and conformity. Indeed, most employers use the superficial traits among the job seekers. However, presently, some employers have begun emphasizing on the motivation of the worker in an attempt to uncover the capability of the employee and utilize his skills effectively. While some employees aspire for high remuneration, others are motivated by advancement in the chain of command, feelings of accomplishments and working autonomously. After knowing the capabilities of employees, the employers concentrate on redesigning the work to get the best out of the worker.
Caplan also argues that labour markets recognize good grades and fancy degrees. Indeed, most employers tend to prefer students with good grades when seeking to fill vacancies in their organizations on the assumption that such students have a higher likelihood of possessing valuable skills and other attributes. In the current situation where low and middle-skilled jobs are waning. Indeed, concentration on credentials rather than the ability to do a job is true because it saves time and avoid missing out on few outstanding workers. Fishing for new workers is infrequent because replacing consumes a lot of time and money. Given the credentials, therefore, enable the students to gain in the short run because they got the jobs in the first place. However, given that many college graduates earn simple jobs such as waiters, the experts that advise them to take arcane subjects year after year are right.
Interestingly, Caplan also asserts that some subjects such as higher mathematics, foreign languages, poetry, and history are less essential subjects in careers. To him, employability is based on numeracy and literacy levels which encompass the person's ability to apply logic, solve problems and work independently in the workplace. In light of academic majors, the author criticizes easy A's where students focus on high grades with minimal effort which is reflected in the choice of easy rather than useful subjects. Modern jobs including informal jobs such as agriculture require understanding about mapping systems, technology tagging and data collection and interpretation.
However, when the author asserts that some subjects are unimportant, he fails to acknowledge that some careers that are associated with them are highly rewarding, For instance, the people that study poetry and history can turn out to be great writers while those than learn foreign languages become interpreters in the increasingly globalized world. In regard to class cancellation and refunds, Caplan is wrong because the modern education system, cancellation of a class does not necessarily imply that the syllabus is disrupted. With a variety of learning mechanisms including online platforms, professors can create a makeup time and hold the classes virtually, thereby ensuring that the students do not miss out on valuable lessons.
The author also points out that academics and administrators fail to use the required amount of effort to curb cheating among students which not only rips off the employers but also taints prospects of peers that toiled for their degrees. The argument is unsound because most colleges and universities are strict on cheating and the consequences of the action are severe. In fact, some schools can expel students that are caught cheating. Caplan also criticizes the tendency of having less important courses and more important ones towards the end of the college years. In my opinion, Caplan's argument is invalid because a curriculum with a good foundation is essential for effective learning. In light of this, a syllabus should prepare a student adequately in the beginning. Therefore, it is unsound for a curriculum that prepares the student adequately.
What is more, he blames the generous support for education by the government is responsible for the inflation of credentials in the job market but fails to admit that such funding is important for students from financially-challenged backgrounds. To him, the ideal educational austerity is enhanced when serious on-the-job learning begins in high school rather than after college. Indeed, curricular that are stuck in the past are retrogressive because they can be waste the time of the learner. That said, it is essential for colleges to track industry trends rather than chasing for funds from a wide variety of kitties. More precisely, instead of basing their funding on regional, nationals local skills forecasts, the colleges focus on student demand, which often results from adverse career advice from experts. Therefore, aligning college financing with economic priorities is essential for the college system to economical.
Ideally, despite that some ideas of Caplan are controversial, most of them are true. For instance, it is true that most students pursue education because of its expected payback. Moreover, most employers prioritize on high grades when they are hiring, which gives students that excel in school a higher opportunity of securing well-paying jobs. Moreover, indeed the modern world demands emphasis on some skills such as science and math. However, it is illogical to claim that subjects such as poetry and history are irrelevant. Similar to other subjects, people can land in well-paying careers as writers, and interpreters when they major in such subjects. Despite that public funding is responsible for the influx of credentials, it enhances the students from lo-income backgrounds to advance their studies. Therefore, regardless of the perspective of the reader, Caplan’ work is partially convincing.
