Get a Major in Wizardry Arts

Get a Major in Wizardry Arts

(Photo by Andy Welsher on Flickr Creative Commons)

The New York Times featured an article called Taking the Magic Out of College written by a very mature and intelligent high school senior, Lauren Edelson. Edelson writes about her experience on college campus tours. She is growing tired of hearing college comparing themselves to the fantasy world of Harry Potter that her generation grew up with and adores. Yes, this smart young lass is a Harry Potter fan, but she is no fool for the smoke and mirrors world that is being marketing to her.

New York University now offers a class called “Guitar Heroes: Music, Video Games and the Nature of Human Cognition.” While many students are excited about the class, many parents are upset by paying for something that their kid has most likely mastered outside of school in the first place. Have schools gotten lazier? Are there not enough underpaid adjunct professors willing to actually teach something that kids won’t learn on their own?

Offering trendy classes in college is

Facebook For Dummies

Are these pop culture classes worth paying for? That’s debatable.

Many people (including myself) think its kind of a cop out. Its time filler. What else can you throw in a four-year general education? I can just imagine the professors coming up with these classes. “I’ll teach a class that is timely, easy, and will make grading papers fun.”

In Kentucky, author and professor Ken Keffer really enjoys walking. He came up with the class “The Art of Walking” (which also happens to be the title of his book.) The course offers a mixture of lectures and walks around the Danville, Kentucky area including strolls with his dog through nature preserves, battlefields, cemeteries, the nearby Shaker Village, campuses and farms.

I’m not saying that college classes need to be boring and hard. But come on! Twitter and Facebook classes? Seriously? Maybe if you live under a rock. But for most of us, what a waste of money.

He analyzed four hypothetical scenerious to determine lifetime disposable income of 18-year olds:

1)      One who borrows $30,000 a year to attend a four-year college.
2)      One who borrows $15,000 a year for four years.
3)      One who graduates debt-free.
4)      A high school graduate.

Student Loan Debt

What Kotlikoff found:

Using the starting salary of $45,000, all the college graduates ended up with more disposable income than workers with just a high school diploma. (This study does not include those who went to a tech school or obtained an associate’s degree or apprenticeship somewhere.)

The college graduate who borrowed only $15,000 a year ended up with 4.4% more spending money than the one who borrowed $30,000 a year.  (Obviously, the more you borrow the more you will pay back-with interest.)

The college graduate who graduated debt-free had nearly 9% more disposable income than the one who borrowed $30,000 a year. (Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had access to a free education or at least a rich grandparent?)

But get THIS…

If the heavy borrower earned the same median income as a high school graduate immediately after college, which is $28,000, the graduate’s spending power would be 16% lower than that of the high school graduate!

Kotlikoff’s final conclusion…

Because it’s nearly impossible for a borrower to discharge student loans through bankruptcy, the debt just keeps accumulating –even if the borrow can’t make payments. “It’s like a debtor’s prison for life,” he says.

Famous fans

They are not known for their punting skills, they are not star linebackers, and they have never scored a touchdown in their life. Nonetheless, these fans enjoy a celebrity status alongside some of the most well-known football players.

Mike “Big Dawg” Woods is considered the ultimate Georgia Bulldogs fan. This popular Athens native does all the usual fan stuff like wear the team logos and colors. But his signature trademark is on his head. His wife paints a bulldog on his bald head for every game. In 2007, he won the Lincoln Financial “Super Fan” award. Big Dawg Woods has his own following with about 1000 fans on his facebook page.

Nathan Davis is an Alabama Crimson Tide fan who has the most college football tattoos ever documented. His entire body is inked with Crimson Tide pride including a large tattoo of Paul “Bear” Bryant stretched across his back. Though he never attended the University of Alabama, he paints his face red, dons a kilt, wears white eye contacts, and proudly holds a flag at every game. Nathan Davis has gotten the attention of nationwide media for his dedication and appearance.

Extreme tailgating fans

Tailgate parties are almost a required ritual for serious college football fans. Many fans prefer to conglomerate in parking lots and driveways rather than get a seat at the stadium during the game. Drinking, grilling meat and innovative displays of team loyalty is a tradition for fans at tailgate parties.

The most famous college tailgate party takes place each year in October in Jacksonville, Florida. The football match is between two notorious rivals; The Florida Gators and The Georgia Bulldogs. Dubbed “The the World’s Largest Cocktail Party”, fans show up at the stadium parking lot as early as Wednesday for a Saturday game and continue to party as late as Sunday afternoon. This tailgate event is estimated to have a $25 million economic impact on the local economy.

On tailgating.com, a website devoted to the art of tailgating one fan describes the experience at the University of South Carolina;

“The University of South Carolina has the ultimate tailgating setting. A developer bought a large number of the cabooses from the railroad when they discontinued using them and parked them on a deserted track by Williams-Brice Stadium and formed the “Cock-A-Boose Railroad”! Supporters bought the “Cabooses” and lavishly restored them with plush carpet, marble trim wet bars, closed circuit TV of the games and sun decks on top. The party atmosphere is unbelievable and unequaled anywhere in college football.”

~Gene, a Gamecock Tailgater from South Carolina

Die hard college football fans

Sometimes the passion that college football fans have for their teams gets out of control. Fatal injuries and even death are the result of some unfortunate college football fanatics.

In November of 2006, James Walter Quick, 42 and Richard Allen Johnson, 43 drank beer all afternoon and watched the South Carolina -Clemson football game at Johnson’s home. After a bitter argument over a $20 bet on the game, James Quick, a Clemson fan, fatally shot his friend with a high-powered rifle.

An argument between college football rivals Alabama and Louisiana State University turned deadly for a south Alabama couple at a game on November 8, 2008. Dennis and Donna Smith, Tigers fans, were shot to death following a heated dispute over the game. Michael Williams, a devoted Alabama Crimson Tide fan, was arrested and charged with murder.

Fans who take their college football pride to the grave

For some college football fans, living, eating and breathing the game is simply not enough. They want to die by the school’s colors too. Extreme fans leave huge sums of money to the school’s football department in their will, their ashes get sprinkled on the playing fields, and some are loyally buried in logo-themed “shrines”.

{Photo by Collegiate Memorials}

In November, 2005 Christopher Noteboom, 33, of Tempe, Arizona claims he was only honoring his mother’s last request when he ran onto the turf of Lincoln Financial Feild holding a plastic bag during Sunday’s game. He left a cloud of ashes behind him as he ran toward the 30-yard line, dropped to his knees and made the sign of the cross before getting handcuffed and arrested. His mother was a life-long Eagles fan.

Spreading ashes on college football turf is (technically) not legal. But many people do it anyway. There are a few colleges that actually welcome ashes. Notre Dame University has Cedar Grove Cemetery where catholic fans of the college can be cremated and laid to rest.

Collegiate Memorials located in Macon, Ga, is the first and largest company to specialize in a line of college themed memorial products. College football fans can express their loyalty to their alma maters with an urn, a solid wood casket, or even a monument adorned with the logo of their favorite college football team.

This article was written for apartmentguide.com

Photo by: Ed Brambley from Flickr's Creative Commons

# 1 Smith College Dorms (Northampton, Mass.)
Tuition & Fees:  $37,758 / yr
Room & Board: $12,622 /yr
Weekly tea parties & Candle-lit dinners with teachers: Priceless

As an all-girls college, it makes perfect sense to focus on romance and creature comforts.  This liberal arts college woos the ladies with intimate housing arrangements. Students live in spacious wood-frame or brick houses on a beautifully landscaped campus – “complete with a pond and a waterfall”.  It is a tradition at this school to have weekly tea party socials and candle-lit dinners with faculty served in the comfort of their homey dorms.

#2  Loyola University in Maryland Dorms (Baltimore,MD)
Tuition & Fees: $36,240 / yr
Room & Board: $9,740 /yr
Food catering service: Priceless

As with most universities, there is no such thing as a “school cafeteria”. Students get “dining services.” Perhaps what makes these dorms special -aside from the unusually large walk-in closets, is the dining options. There are over 10 full-blown restaurants spread out on this campus. Students can chose between Sushi, Indian, Italian, or southwestern cuisine along with American delis. This Jesuit-based college offers catering services if you would like to host a study group.

#3 Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Dorms (Needham, MA)
Tuition & Fees: $37,900 / yr
Room & Board: $13,485 /yr
Required to live on campus: Pricey

In addition to high-tech data ready connectivity of their residences, there is a homey feel too. Students enjoy fireplaces in the residence hall lounges, private baths, air conditioning, and cable. This college also features "Just-In-Time Cooking,” a service where dining faculty prepares food to order. The eclectic and varied menu in the dining hall includes vegetarian, vegan, and healthy choice selections. Unless given an exception from the Dean of student life, all students are required to live on campus.

#4 Scripps College Dorms (Claremont, CA)
Tuition & Fees: $37,950
Room & Board: $12,600
Sea foam graduation gowns: Priceless

According to their website, #4 on their “Top Ten Reasons to Attend Scripps College” is the designer chimney tops on the campus buildings. Designed by architect Gordon Kaufmann, the chimney tops were crafted “with individuality in mind”. Their top ten list of reasons to attend this all-female college also include: the secret gardens (#7), fresh baked cookies (#9), and the sea foam graduation gowns (#10).  As far as dorms go, Students enjoy rooms with balconies, walk-in closets, private bathrooms and community living rooms with a grand piano and fireplace.

#5 Bennington College Dorms (Bennington, VT)
Tuition & Fees: $39.760/year
Room & Board: $11,100 /year
A weekly dose of chocolate-covered strawberries: Priceless

This campus resembles nothing less than a beautiful country club retreat. At Bennington, “dorms” are referred to as “houses”. Students can choose a house based on its architectural style – from modern to traditional New England. Most houses have a kitchen and living room complete with fireplaces.  As with many of the colleges on this list, the dining hall serves entrees from Thai to Cajun to Italian with a wide range of options, including vegetarian and vegan selections.

According the sources at the Associated Press, she is hoping to recover the $70,000, she spent on tuition because the college failed to provide her with the career advice that they had promised. Tina and her family are facing a severe financial crisis because of Tina's student loan debt.

Should she have known better than to take out a 70k loan? Of course! (But it's easy to say that once you've been duped yourself.)

Does she have a valid lawsuit? Hell no! She should take accountability for her actions and not hold the school responsible for her not having a job.

However…

Posted on the school's website: http://www.monroecollege.edu/aboutmonroe

"Monroe offers Certificate, Associate, Bachelor's, and Master's degree programs leading to employment in the most relevant areas for today's rapidly changing global economy."

Colleges all over the country make these types of claims. From ridiculous tag lines to outrageous promises, people are blatantly led to believe that college is the solution to their success.

Poor Tina with her useless IT degree. Just for giggles, I checked out their IT program to see what courses they are offering in this "rapidly changing world." It actually looks very similar to the same program that I took -which was already outdated in 2003! Good luck with that.

CT-290 – Internship    (doing what?!)
CP-101 – Introduction to Information Processing   ("information processing" is vague. It could be how to send email for all we know)
CP-117 – Programming Logic Using C++    (Well, okay. But you don't need 70k to learn this)
CP-215 – Visual Basic    (outdated)
CP-223 – Computer Hardware    (not necessary unless you plan on building your own)
CP-270 – Cisco I: Cisco Networking Basics (go to Cisco.com and get Cisco certified instead) 
CP-275 – Cisco II: Cisco Basic Routing  
CP-295 – System Analysis & Design    (Vague)
CP-303 – Operating Systems    (Vague)
CP-315 – Management Information Systems   (Vague and probably outdated)
CP-330 – Database Management Systems (USING ORACLE)    (Better off going straight to ORACLE to get certified)
CP-335 – Telecommunications   (What?!)
CP-360 – Network Security   (For who? What company? This is hard to generalize)
CP-415 – IT Project Management    (You can't learn this stuff in school)
CT-101 – Introduction to Information Technology   (Ready to sleep through your 70K education?)
CT-155 – Computer Software (Vague)

How to Become Literate

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Do you sigh with envy when you find yourself chatting with a guy who seems to have a quote for every occasion from some book or other? Or maybe that girl attracted people's attention because she was able to talk about everything under the sun, saying, "I read about that once…" These people are literate – they are probably also charming and skilled at conversation, but the basis of much charm and good conversational skills is… being literate, or well-read. Being literate is not just about knowing how to read – it's about knowing what to read, and how to talk about it when the time comes. Want to know their secrets?

Steps

1. Read. First, read what interests you. Maybe you aren't really into big novels – you find them too unnerving, too much. Instead, why not try magazines at first, or graphic novels? Or pick up a book of short stories – read in small, easy to digest bits at first. But the most important thing you can do is simply commit to reading, even just a little, each day.
2. Progress to more challenging reading. After a month or two of reading a snippet here or there of this or that, try moving up to things that are a little more challenging. For example, choose a modern classic, like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (or Philosopher's, depending on where you live) Stone or one of the Lemony Snicket books. These are not just for children – they are books that have been read and enjoyed by millions of people. If you try one of these and still have trouble committing to the longer length of the read, try Reader's Digest – it offers condensed versions of regular books, along with newsy, chatty articles from lots of different magazines.
3. Find a book group. Once you've begun reading, you will want to talk over the books you're reading. Lots of people join or form book clubs. It can be simple – call your sister or brother, or a couple of friends. Meet for coffee, and there, agree on a book that you will all read. Meet again a month from that date, and hopefully you will all have finished the book, and can discuss it. Talking over things you've read can really enhance your experience of the book, as you share with friends the feelings the book evoked, or the fun you experienced as the story unfolded. Not only that, but a book club keeps you reading – you know you will be talking about this book in just a few days, so you have a goal in mind as you read.
4. Set personal goals for reading. Lots of very literate people do what is known as "parallel reading" – or reading several books at the same time. Maybe you will keep one in the bedroom and read for a bit before you sleep each night. Maybe you will keep one in the bathroom and read there for a while, or one in the den, etc. Even if you don't wish to get this crazy, you can still set goals, like, "I want to spend this next year reading classics" or "I will read all of Shakespeare's comedies this year, and next year, maybe I'll tackle the tragedies." Even if you don't achieve the entire goal, you will have still read some of what you set out to read. And that's good. Try setting a time frame within which you want achieve your reading objective.
5. Choose well-known books. If you enjoy reading offbeat things, that's fine. But if you want to become more literate in the conventional sense, you will want to choose books others have heard of. Ask your librarian to help you. Reading well-known works has two benefits: First, it gives you a common frame of reference for things you may hear from lots of other people, and second, it educates you in ways you may not have thought of. For example: Most people have heard of "To Kill A Mockingbird." At a party, one of your friends might express distaste for racial bigotry. While none of your friends are bigots (hopefully), this friend is the one who publicly took a stand against it. Saying, "You're the new Atticus Finch" is a tremendous compliment to such a person, plus you will seem very literate saying it.
6. Enjoy reading. Perhaps your taste runs more to science fiction than to classic literature – there's no shame in that. Or maybe you like more romantic fare. There's plenty to be found in literature. Or maybe you will find that you like English poetry, but are not so crazy about American. Whatever. Anything you read makes you a more literate person. It exposes you to new words, and to ideas from people all around the world, and from different times in our history. Whatever you like to read, there will certainly be plenty of reading material. So you aren't a Shakespeare buff, but you know all of Asimov's Laws of Robotics – you're still literate, and you will gain more enjoyment from your choices if you read what you are interested in.

Starter Reading Lists Here are a couple of reading lists – they're just suggestions to help you begin your adventures:

• For Classic Literature:
  • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Paradise Lost by John Milton, Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, My Antonia by Willa Cather, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• For Modern Literature:
  • East of Eden by John Steinbeck, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, The Stranger by Albert Camus, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• For Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature:
  • I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick, Kindred by Octavia E. Butler, Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
• For More Romantic Literature:
  • Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Prometheus Unbound by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Tips

• Don't be afraid to look at the Cliff's Notes on books – especially if you've already read them. It's enlightening, and you may learn things you didn't realize while you were actually reading, which may make you like the book more or less once you know them.
• Feel free to quote from the books you've read – it's what the literati do.
• If you are from an English speaking country, the vast majority of books you will come across in bookshops will have been originally published in English. However, a very good way to expand your culture is to tackle foreign literature as well! Examples of major non-English writers include Gustave Flaubert, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Milan Kundera, Yasunari Kawabata, Federico Garcia Lorca… Not only is this a great way of becoming literate in a truly eclectic way, it will also earn you a great deal of respect from foreigners, who are seldom used to meeting English-speaking people with an interest in non-English books.

Warnings

• Once you start reading, it's hard to stop, and it's hard to part with the books you love.

• After you have been reading regularly for a while you may be tempted to think that you know quite a lot and feel that you can "show off" your newfound knowledge. Behaving in such a manner is a sure way to end up being "put in your place" by someone who has spent a life time studying and who will be able to spot a neophyte a mile away. To avoid this one should always bear in mind how much there is to know and allowing oneself to be humble in the face of this knowledge. You can also help prevent embarrassment by acknowledging up front that you are not an expert but that you have formed a partial opinion on a given topic through some exposure to the subject matter. Remember that it is generally better to be smarter than you initially look than to look smarter than you actually are.

Things You'll Need

• Books
• A reader's journal (make notes about the things you want to remember)
• Time and commitment
• A dictionary

Related wikiHows

• How to Improve Your Reading Skills
• How to Understand the Book You Are Reading
• How to View Literature Objectively

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Become Literate. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

 

"In our discussion about the rising burden of student loans, we received numerous comments from readers who took on a lot of debt to pay for their education. Some found they simply couldn’t afford to repay the loans with the jobs they found after college. Others said their debts determined their life choices. Still others wondered if the college experience was worth the financial burden they’ll carry for decades afterward. Here are excerpts from their comments." (Read more comments from the New York Times)