“Nanny state.” It’s becoming a term so often and improperly used that it essentially loses all meaning.

Actually, I think in this context the phrase comes closest to being used properly, in that pre-K is somewhat like a “nanny” program run by the state.

No, you are right, and my reaction is a knee-jerk one. It comes from seeing it in print so often.

[…] Sean Braisted argues that Phil Valentine’s objections to Pre-K programs may stem from a overly rosy recollection of times gone by. Growing up in earlier times, it was perfectly acceptable for a poor/lower-middle class kid not to even contemplate going to college, but when I went to school, regardless of your socio-economic status, it was drilled in our heads from Kindergarten on that you had two choices in life; go to a four-year college or flip burgers at McDonald’s. Just like the propaganda in the war on drugs, the reality is far from the truth. The truth is a person’s personality and work ethic will be a better determinant of how far they can get in life. Granted, there is generally going to be a glass ceiling for non-college graduates in the white collar world, but people who apply themselves to a certain trade or craft can get extremely far in life without a $20,000+ piece of paper to validate their life. […]

Granted, there is generally going to be a glass ceiling for non-college graduates in the white collar world, but people who apply themselves to a certain trade or craft can get extremely far in life without a $20,000+ piece of paper to validate their life.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…Me!

I don’t have a link, but I have heard that the Harvard Business School did a study and found that a college degree had the poorest ROI of just about any investment.

Dean,
I’d like to see that broken down between degrees that mean something: doctor/lawyer/engineer versus philosophy/sociology/art/underwater-basketweaving etc…

Jay,

I think that is sort of the point…how many kids are pushed into college with no direction, under the auspices that a degree, any degree, would be better than just a High School diploma?

To be sure, going to school to become a lawyer or doctor would be worth it because you couldn’t (legally) be either of those without the degree, but a bachelors in political science, probably not so much.

My political science degree continues to provide me with valuable insights.

Like how the world is full of college educated ditch diggers.

“To be sure, going to school to become a lawyer or doctor would be worth it because you couldn’t (legally) be either of those without the degree”

You don’t have to go to law school to be a lawyer. you just have to pass the bar exam.

You all should get jobs with the local schools. Seems like you share their limited view of education.

If by limited view you mean that I think an education should prepare a student to be a productive member of society, then I guess I do.

[…] problem of course is that the Brainstem is insightful and accurate much of the time.  Therefore he can’t, and shouldn’t, be written off.  But, keen insight isn’t […]

[…] Martin Kennedy takes issue with Sean Braisted’s endorsement of universal Pre-K and decries the rise of the nanny state in education: Does throwing kids into school at four years […]

Just to clarify a comment above. Didn’t want everyone pulling out law books to try to pass the bar. From the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners sight:

Basic Requirements for the Bar Examination:
Bachelor Degree from an accredited institution. Doctorate of Jurisprudence from an ABA approved law school. Intent to actively practice law in Tennessee.

Basic Requirements for Admission Without Examination (Comity):
Bachelor Degree from an accredited institution. Doctorate of Jurisprudence from an ABA approved law school. Must have taken and passed an equivalent bar examination. Must have practiced in the jurisdiction in which previously licensed for 5 (five) years immediately preceding the Tennessee application. Must have an intent to actively practice law in Tennessee.

You do have to have a law degree to take the exam.

Sean,
I don’t think that Valentine is operating on the premise that “education is the answer” like so many of the Liberal persuasion. In fact, Valentine doesn’t have a college degree.

My mother-in-law doesn’t have a college degree but is very productive and a good citizen, to boot.

Which reminds me of the news report I heard today about UT’s lowered attrition rate for freshmen–sorry, but I’m dubious about excessive efforts to keep tuition payers in school.

I hate to say it, but Pre-K seems to amount to taxpayer-funded childcare for most families.

I don’t think that Valentine is operating on the premise that “education is the answer” like so many of the Liberal persuasion. In fact, Valentine doesn’t have a college degree.

My mother-in-law doesn’t have a college degree but is very productive and a good citizen, to boot.

Hey, I don’t have a degree, and I usually do better than the regional mean.

Still, it’s like listening to Republicans: How seriously can you take someone complaining about n “not being the answer” from someone invested in an ideology that relies on that statement being true?

Works for education or government as values of n.

I now go back to my self-imposed exile from MCB, tenQverramuch…
.

“You do have to have a law degree to take the exam.”

I don’t think that is the case in all states. But, then again, I’m not a lawyer.

Jim,
There may be some states that don’t require it, but they’re rare; and even in those states, I think it usually requires years of “apprenticeship” or something.

JP,
Who’s invested in education not being the answer? Self-imposed exiles sure come in handy when you’re throwing ideological hand grenades, huh?

I got a degree in Communication almost 25 years ago. What have I done with it? Zilch. I sent out resumes, tapes, etc….got nowhere. Was actually told my degree was useless and that all non-technical degrees were useless. One plkace told me to just take my diploma and burn it and that there are more college grads flipping burgers than anyone else. I did rip it up and send pieces back to the school about 15 years ago after getting shitcanned from another telemarketing job.

Didn’t help me when I was also told that my not going to a big-name school was against me