To choose to be a student right now in the UK is to place yourself in a very precarious situation. You can go the university route, where high tuition fees will hopefully be offset by strong career prospects, or you can go the technical college route as a means of earning a vocational skill which will result in more practical and accessible work experience.

Alternatively, you can choose to study abroad for the sake of your resumé, you can study part-time and find part-time employment to avoid incurring massive student loans, or if all else fails then you can take a gap year from your studies and attempt to find significant work experience which will potentially guide you onto the right academic path at a later date.

However, do a little asking around and you will soon find that a lot of people at different ages in these various positions are struggling to answer the question of, ‘Is education, in this day and age, and in this economic climate, even worthwhile?’.

What it all comes down to is all the statistics you have heard before: fees are up, the job market has narrowed, those already in employment are putting off retirement by a few more years, and so as a result the next generation of professionals are cast somewhat adrift.

Danielle Lavery, 24, attended both Belfast Metropolitan College and University of Ulster, and had the following to say about the attitudes of the staff in each institution:

When it comes to Uni, I think they get paid for nothing … [College] is a different story. They are dying to help in any way possible. I would study there forever.

This comment about being ‘paid for nothing’ is an echo of a point raised by many in the past – do university students get their value for money? Even before the fee increase became an issue, the majority of undergraduates were paying over £3,000 per year in tuition for less than a dozen hours of taught class per week.

At postgraduate level, the fees are higher and the taught class hours per week are lower, a structure which by its very design is becoming increasingly unappealing to younger students just starting out in higher education. Charlotte Hart, 18, is in her first year at Manchester Metropolitan University and said:

Joys = Getting to choose what you learn about more so than in previous education, and getting to move away (some people). Pains = lack of money.

Thus, the financial problem persists. Universities may offer a range of clubs and societies, and some may be developing world-class facilities, such as Queen’s University Belfast’s (QUB) McClay Library, but if students are not being compelled to make the most of these then the focus again turns towards the tangible benefits which students are receiving in turn for their tuition fees.

To go from a first year undergraduate to a PhD student, Amanda Krentzel, 23, spoke of the challenges and responsibilities that come from the mere development of one’s academic career. Having finished her undergraduate degree less than a year ago, Krentzel now finds that:

Suddenly, in the eyes of undergrads, you’ve aged a decade.

This point brings to light the academic hierarchy which is not nearly as well-documented as the financial burdens of student life. Pursuing academia through all of its stages means finding yourself becoming a relatively senior figure before you have reached your mid-20s. That routine of simply going to class, doing assignments, complaining about exams, and partying in the student union?

That is forgotten very quickly as the ‘student’ becomes a more active participant in the university community. Now, add together the personal responsibility and the workload, as well as the financial challenges, and the full extent of the pressures of student life become more apparent.

All this, however, is not to downplay the fundamental love of education that many students, even those in dire financial straits, manage to maintain. Sarah McBride, 25, is a postgraduate student at QUB and explained:

I’m pro-education. I’m here for the love of learning, not just for the job prospects.

Therein may lie the reason why so many young people continue to apply to higher education courses when they are well aware of the complete lack of guarantees of finding jobs: a love of learning.

In a year where recent graduates have emigrated from Europe to the United States, and vice versa, there are still plenty who believe that the student experience is still an invaluable and ultimately fulfilling endeavour to pursue. Yet for those who have emigrated to pursue their studies, the reasons are equally persuasive. James Hughes, a QUB graduate, moved to Maastricht to do his MA, and lists his motivations for doing do as:

The cheap fees, the potential employment prospects and the international atmosphere of the student body. Chance to live in another country is appealing and, for Maastricht specifically, it’s a great central ‘hub’ for travelling.

For those who remain at home, it remains to be seen whether the joys of education will continue to outweigh the pains, as another year goes by with more graduates than ever fighting it out for that one, elusive, perfect dream job.

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National School Choice Week has concluded, marking the largest celebration of education reform in American history. The Week featured more than 400 events spanning every US state, attracting tens of thousands of participants and galvanizing tens of millions of Americans around the need to provide effective educational opportunities for all children.

Events included everything from rallies, to movie screenings, to roundtable meetings and town hall discussions. Everywhere from big cities to small villages, citizens from across the country used National School Choice Week to celebrate the need for, and benefits of, educational opportunities for families—including greater access to public district schools, public charter schools, magnet schools, virtual schools, private schools, and homeschooling.

The governors and state legislatures of 28 states and territories—along with US House Speaker John Boehner, several members of the US House and Senate, and the mayors of Phoenix, Las Vegas, Indianapolis and Denver—officially recognized the week, marking an unprecedented, diverse demonstration of bipartisan support for an issue often deemed intensely controversial.

“This Week demonstrated that, working together, parents and individual citizens—not special interest groups—are the single most powerful advocates for transforming our education system to focus on the people we are called to serve: the next generation of young Americans,” said Andrew Campanella, vice president of public affairs for National School Choice Week.

“We’ve seen everyone from Bill Cosby, to James Carville, to Joe Trippi, to Dick Morris, to Juan Williams, to Michelle Bernard – and so many others — stand up and strongly support the rights of parents, and that’s a good thing!”

Organizers said that National School Choice Week should be a starting point for parents, teachers, and individual citizens who seek better educational options for their children every week of the year.

According to Lisa Graham Keegan, a senior advisor to National School Choice Week and the former superintendent of public instruction in Arizona, there are five things that parents and citizens can do to immediately improve their children’s chances of success in their current schools—while researching and demanding other educational options, if necessary:

1. Research your child’s school online at www.greatschools.net and learn how your child’s school ranks in terms of academic achievement and discover what other parents have to say about the school.

2. Commit to visiting your child’s school more often and request more interaction with your child’s teachers.

3. If you are unhappy with your child’s school, find out if you can switch your child’s school by calling your local school district, your state legislators, and the state’s department of education.

4. Look into virtual and digital educational options that can augment your child’s classroom learning, at home.

5. If you think new programs should be passed to enhance parental choice, write letters to the editor and contact your state leaders by email, fax, mail, and telephone.

Keegan said that parents and citizens should also connect with local organizations in their states to demand reform 52 weeks out of the year.

“Parents are the driving force behind increasing the educational options available to children across the country,” Keegan said. “There is no doubt that parent activism is driving the expansion of school choice around the country. The more parents push, the more excellent teachers are able to develop and expand effective schools.”

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/schoolchoiceweek

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Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell announced on January 9 an expansive education reform agenda for the 2012 legislative session that is poised to significantly expand educational options through creation of a scholarship tax credit program for the state’s low-income families.

The American Federation for Children—the nation’s voice for school choice—praised the governor’s plan, which places a strong emphasis on providing all children with educational opportunities, including  private school choice and robust charter and virtual school options.

McDonnell has long been a strong supporter of expanding educational options for children.  The scholarship tax credit program has also been championed in the legislature by Delegate Jimmie Massie and Senator Mark Obenshain in recent years.

“We’re grateful that Gov. McDonnell has included scholarship tax credits for children in low-income families in his 2012 legislative agenda. The Governor and legislative supporters are putting children first by offering hope to thousands of struggling students throughout the Commonwealth,” said Betsy Devos, chairman of the American Federation for Children. “The governor and legislative leaders have pledged to stand with parents and reformers to ensure that every child in Virginia has access to a quality education.”

Called “an effective choice” by the governor, the scholarship tax credit program would allow businesses to donate money to non-profit organizations that provide scholarships to children from low-income families to attend the school of their parents’ choice.  Last year, legislation for a scholarship tax credit program passed the House 54-45 before failing in the Senate.

In addition to scholarship tax credits, the education reform package focused on creating an “opportunity to learn agenda” through expanded charter and virtual school opportunities. These initiatives include making it easier for charters to form and operate in the state, ensuring local school boards make unused buildings available to charter schools, clarifying the funding formula so that funding “follows the child,” and allowing additional accreditation options for virtual schools.

Governor McDonnell also pledged to focus on raising standards of college and workforce readiness, reducing mandates on local school districts, and enhancing teacher quality.

Virginia residents have expressed strong bipartisan support for school choice, with 64 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of Republicans, and 66 percent of Independents favoring creation of a scholarship tax credit program, according to a 2009 poll conducted by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/vadot/

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