Should University be free in Chicago? (Bush: middle-class, sale, job market)

[Smedskjaer]

Should Chicago's public universities be free of charge to all students?

[On Air]

No, I can see making them free to well-performing students. Make a GPA requirement for free education. Just making it free for everyone doesn't require any effort for the students.

[purplesky]

No. Grades have been so watered down. I know kids that get straight "A's but can't do a math problem, and can't diagram a sentence.

There is a problem with out of control tuition costs, especially now, in this job market.

[Smedskjaer]

But few students can afford it despite effort.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Smedskjaer

But few students can afford it despite effort.

But the economy can't afford it either.

College has always been hard to afford and many people had to go at nights or part time and work jobs and such to get through college. In a way that difficulty acted as a filter that ensured that many who completed college were dedicated, hard working and valued their education.

But I've no theoretical or political objection to free college (or trade school), just a practical one; we can't afford it. Not now.

[cubssoxfan]

No. Our k-12 system would need to be radically improved before I would be in favor. I believe more of a European model, where kids teat into high school. The high schools are divided into 2 or 3 categories. One category is a college prep school for those going into a profession that truly requires a degree(s) The other is vocational training focused on making the student job worthy upon graduation or at least ready to go into an apprenticeship. Our high schools seem to be so focused on test scores and getting into college that I now consider a high school diploma the equivalent of an 8th grade diploma 60 years ago and a college diploma the equivalent of a high school diploma from 60 years ago. Many companies use a college degree to simply "weed out candidates" even when the job truly doesn't require college learned skills.

[ParkerP]

Originally Posted by purplesky

No. Grades have been so watered down. I know kids that get straight "A's but can't do a math problem, and can't diagram a sentence.There is a problem with out of control tuition costs, especially now, in this job market.

Rep point for the bolded. It's like everyone's kid is in the honors program now. What's really going on?

[Chi-town Native]

Nothing is free. The question is, if students/parents aren't paying for the teacher salaries, the buildings/upkeep, the materials, who is?

The rich? Given that Obama caved in and preserved the Bush tax break for the > 250K crowd, good luck with that.

The middle-class? Maybe - but if you go the standard/wussy route of just defaulting to property taxes you will see the middle class start to seriously disappear.

Honestly, this is an asinine question at a time when the formally-"free" (ie, taxpayer-supported) institutions like the Park District know routinely charges money for everything under the sun.

As a taxpayer I would support something like this ONLY if there were community service stipulations/something like "Teach for America" where recipients of this subsidized education were required to stay in the area in some high-need field, like nurses, doctors, etc.

[Smedskjaer]

Free at the point of sale of course.
There are plenty of reasonable stipulations such as staying in a region and working in a field.

Tax industry in the area to pay for colleges.
They are who benefit from it.
Why shouldn't they chip in a bit more?

[chirack]

Chicago does have low cost tution at the city colleges for people who live in town but free is another matter I would not support unless there are some strings attached.