“The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations.” Noam Chomsky
The cost of higher education is spiking rapidly in the state of California leaving families and individuals with a sense of futility.
Knowledge is power. Sometimes money is the key to obtaining knowledge, but not always so.
Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin said that “dependence will lead to subservience and venality.”
Deprivation of education chokes creativity, confidence and independent thought.
For many these desperate times call for desperate measures.
But I urge everyone ? never stop learning.
Knowledge is necessary. Critical thinking and accurate information are getting more difficult to obtain with the flow of news with ulterior motives, political or social bias, altered and plain incorrect information. The key to the door is education.
My dad started out at City College in New York, it was free then. Now The City University of New York (CUNY) is the nation”s largest urban public university, comprised of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, the Graduate School and University Center, the City University School of Law at Queens College, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, and the CUNY School of Professional Studies. Serving more than 243,000 degree-credit students and 273,000 continuing and professional education students, the University confers 35,000 degrees each year ? more than 1.1 million associate, baccalaureate, master”s and doctoral degrees since 1967. CUNY plays a crucial role in the life and economy of New York City and state.
Gary Dickson told me about “Free U,” it was something he remembers from when he lived in Kansas in the ”70s. It sounded familiar to me too. People shared knowledge and skill sets and taught others in informal settings for little or no money. We should revisit mentoring and sharing at any time possible, in cities and rural areas.
Most institutions of higher learning offer online courses that students of any age can benefit from. My oldest daughter took a semester of college online so she could save money on fuel and work days in a job that was emotionally meaningful to her.
A bright and avid reader pointed me to information about free college courses online. The Internet is changing education. Computers have become standard in classrooms and increasingly more universities are putting their curricula online. That”s excellent news for anyone who wants an education.
Some of the participating schools offering this include, Notre Dame, MIT and Tufts. Not too shabby.
The classes are free but do not count toward a degree program.
But nothing in life is free; right?
Wrong.
Many retirees find after working and paying a lifetime of dues to support families and society, they have dreams that have not been realized and interests that have not been explored. A number of colleges and higher-learning institutions have free programs and some even free degrees.
All of society benefits from those willing to learn, share and keep open minds to our constantly changing world. Generations bond over inspiration and ideas. The depth of community and society as a whole are improved.
“Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.” Eleanor Roosevelt
The rewards of an education and knowledge transcend a diploma or degree.
“While the price of education is astronomical, the cost of ignorance is far higher.” Wes Fessler
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee news editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 Ext. 32.
