The quest for a better life social capital is even more essential than higher education.

Higher Education, Social Capital, 

and the Path to a Better Life

by Dylan Pahman

Higher education is not a guarantee for success. Young people need not only a high quality education and strong economic opportunities, but also the integral social bonds that come from a society that defends freedom of religion and association, as well as healthy marriages.

"Train up a child in the way he should go," says the Proverb, "And when he is old he will not depart from it" (22:6). In a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jennifer M. Silva recounts the story of Brandon, "a 34-year-old black man from Richmond, Va., [who] labels himself 'a cautionary tale.' Growing up in the shadow of a university where both his parents worked in maintenance," she writes, "he was told from an early age that education was the path to the 'land of milk and honey.'" His parents trained him in the way he should go (or so they thought), and he did not depart from it, but the way itself failed to bring him "to the 'land of milk and honey.'"

Silva goes on to recount how, unable to find a job in his field with a bachelor's in criminal justice, "Brandon took a job at a women's-clothing chain, hoping it would be temporary. Eleven years later, he's still there, unloading, steaming, pressing, and pricing garments on the night shift."

His story, unfortunately, does not end there: "When his loans came out of deferment, he couldn't afford the monthly payments and decided to get a master's degree in psychology--partly to increase his chances of getting a good job, and partly, he admitted, to put his loans back in deferment." Brandon's own words reveal his frustration and disappointment:

I feel like I was sold fake goods. I did everything I was told to do, and I stayed out of trouble and went to college. Where is the land of milk and honey? I feel like they lied. I thought I would have choices. That sheet of paper cost so much and does me no good. Sure, schools can't guarantee success, but come on--they could do better to help kids out.

Brandon's story unfortunately is not unique. In May, Reuters reported, "More than 40 percent of recent U.S. college graduates are underemployed or need more training to get on a career track." No doubt part of the problem can be poor choice of major, but the problem must be more complex: criminal justice and psychology are certainly not Mickey Mouse degrees.

Nor does Brandon, at least, seem beholden to an entitlement mentality--he clearly does not consider it "beneath him" to work at a women's clothing chain. Indeed, under-employment requires people to have accepted less-than-ideal jobs. Yet in the face of such a trend, many still promote educational attainment as thepath to a better life when social capital may be far more important for both upward income mobility and increased quality of life.

...................


Read more: www.thepublicdiscourse.com