I’ve worked in higher education for a pretty long time now. If I count my time as a graduate assistant, it would be more than a decade now. In that time, I’ve continued to be amazed at the ways in which college mirrors everything that is right and wrong about our social system.
Most people who choose to work in education (at any level) do it because they believe in the good. They (I) believe in the power of education to expand minds, provide opportunities and provide a path to a better life. It’s just not that simple, not in grade school, high school or college.
For some students, college is a “given.” For others, going to college is a major achievement. Once in college, differences continue to emerge. Many things shape a student’s experience and the likelihood of being successful, especially in a university. Preparation coming into college, background, economic status, parent educational attainment and many other things affect college students everywhere. Yes, personal characteristics, motivation and drive matter, but these alone do not carry everyone through.
For anyone willing to look, college exposes many existing rifts in our society. Retention studies could give me some current numbers, but I don’t care much for numbers. I think of the faces behind the numbers. Whether teaching, tutoring, advising or just hanging around campus, I have gotten to know a lot of different students. The ones with better preparation coming in AND those with financial support fare better. Period.
So, despite all of the idealistic possibilities, higher education isn’t truly accessible to everyone. Until we can find a way to fix this, I see the system as faulty—but completely broken. The success stories are out there. I just wish there were more of them.
