We Don’t Need No Education

Cops Go Undercover at High School to Bust Special-Needs Kid for Pot

"Californians Doug and Catherine Snodgrass are suing their son’s high school for allowing undercover police officers to set up the 17-year-old special-needs student for a drug arrest. They were 'thrilled' when their son -- who has Asperger's and other disabilities and struggled to make friends -- appeared to have instantly made a friend named Daniel. 'Daniel,' however, was an undercover cop with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department who 'hounded' the teenager to sell him his prescription medication. When he refused, the undercover cop gave him $20 to buy him weed, and he complied -- not realizing the guy he wanted to befriend wanted him behind bars." Continue reading →

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Fed: “Growing concern that college graduates are increasingly underemployed”

"This is not rocket science theory, but it is accurate. Coming out of the Fed, that in itself is unusual. But bottom line: If you are a college grad, who can't find a job, head to the big city. For those of you who haven't yet decided to go to college, it may make sense to take James Altucher's advice, skip college and just travel. Altucher's advice sure worked for David Karp. Forget skipping college, Karp dropped out of high school. At 17, Karp dropped out of Bronx High School of Science and decided to live in Japan. He eventually headed back to the US, founded Tumblr and just sold it to Yahoo for $1.1 billion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed: “Growing concern that college graduates are increasingly underemployed”

7 Teenagers Arrested for End-Of-Year Water Balloon Prank

"This year, a handful of students at Enloe High School in Raleigh North Carolina appear to have plotted perhaps the most unimaginative prank in high school history: tossing water balloons at other students. But thanks to aggression from the school's administration and local police, the prank didn't end peacefully. In anticipation of the prank, school officials called in 'increased security' and teachers held their students inside classrooms. After the balloons flew, seven boys were arrested, at least one handcuffed after being taken down down the asphalt by police. Six are being charged with disorderly conduct, while one is being charged with assault and battery." Continue reading →

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Law Professor Wants To Do Away With Most C’s Because They Make Students Feel Bad

"Hey, why even make the kids take the classes? Let's just give them degrees! With honors! Law schools should 'substantially eliminate' 'C' grades because they're stress-inducing and make it more difficult for students to get jobs, a law professor argues in the University of San Francisco Law Review. Does this prof not realize that if everyone is given a grade of B or better that a college degree becomes even more useless than it now is in judging a graduate for employment? I give the prof an F for failure to understand the real world consequences of his proposal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLaw Professor Wants To Do Away With Most C’s Because They Make Students Feel Bad

How Mapping Student Debt Changes the Debate

"While soaring college tuition and low barriers to borrowing have been widely blamed, the New York Fed's maps indicate that the worst employment environment in a generation has had a powerful effect. In fact, those states with high delinquency rates on student loans are having trouble with all kinds of debt. The regions on the map with the most red ink—the Deep South and Southeast—also have the highest consumer bankruptcy rates, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. The Fed's report further connects the dots between the student debt crisis and the nation's overall financial health. It also gives policymakers contemplating a bailout something to think about." Continue reading →

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Student Loans are About to Cross the Trillion Dollar Mark

"In the first quarter of 2013, students owed $986 billion in student loans, up $20 billion from $966 billion in the fourth quarter. Student-loan balances outstanding have soared 70% in the past five years, thanks to government backing of loan programs---which has done nothing but sent the price of a near useless education soaring. Prices fall and quality improves where the government doesn't intervene (see: cell phones, televisions personal computers). Prices soar and quality fall where the government gets heavily involved (see: the health sector and education sector)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudent Loans are About to Cross the Trillion Dollar Mark

Only Half Of College Grads Work Jobs That Require A Degree

"A college degree might not be worth the hassle and expense, according to a new study. Almost half of four-year college graduates are working jobs that don’t require a bachelor's degree, according to a study by McKinsey & Co. that asked 4,900 graduates about their careers after college. Furthermore, around a third of college graduates said they did not feel that college had fully prepared them for the working world. Over half said they’d choose a different school or a different major if they could do it again." Continue reading →

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Calculating the ROI of a 4-Year College Degree

"People tend to assume that getting a college education is a good financial investment. But a new Brookings report 'Should Everyone go to College?' finds that the actual value of a 4-year bachelor’s degree can vary dramatically depending on factors such as field of study, type of college, graduation rate, and future occupation. The more selective the school, the higher the return on investment (ROI) as calculated by Payscale. The bad schools are pretty bad, as Payscale found that 1 in 5 have a negative ROI over 30 years. The lifetime earnings of a graduate also varies widely with the type of major and subsequent occupation." Continue reading →

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Bankers: College debt bubble mimics housing bubble

"A group of bankers have just dumped two more problems on the Federal Reserve's plate. The Federal Advisory Council, made up of 12 bankers who meet quarterly to advise the central bank, warned that farmland prices are inflating 'a bubble' and growth in student-loan debt has 'parallels to the housing crisis,' which was the primary cause of the Great Recession in the U.S. Bernanke has dismissed parallels between student lending and the subprime mortgage crisis." Continue reading →

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The Bennett Hypothesis: Why College Tuitions Are Out of Control

"Some researchers argue that government subsidies have had the perverse effect of encouraging colleges to increase tuition so as to capture more federal dollars, an effect known in the literature as the 'Bennett hypothesis'. To see how this could work, imagine a school that charged $0 in tuition and fees. Suppose that the federal government then offered $5,000 vouchers to pay for college tuition, but only at schools that charge tuition. Obviously, our hypothetical free school is going to increase tuition to $5,000 a year to take advantage of that money. That’s just money on the table." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Bennett Hypothesis: Why College Tuitions Are Out of Control