• Sunsofold@lemmings.world
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    2 days ago

    In the current system, education isn’t viewed as a system of societal improvement but as a product to improve the standing of the individual. Because the individual is seen as the only one who benefits from their education, the individual pays for it.

    • Don_Dickle@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 days ago

      Not tooting my own horn here. So your saying as myself being an RN to want to help people that all the people I have helped doesn’t mean jack shit? Not looking for a fight just generally curious.

      • Sunsofold@lemmings.world
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        7 hours ago

        I’m not one to say it doesn’t matter. I know the benefit good nursing provides. I’m saying, in modern culture, especially in the circles who have political, economic, and cultural power, there is, and has been for decades, a push to think of a college education as an investment product that benefits the purchaser, with little to no consideration being given to societal benefit. They are acting as if your work is not more meaningful/beneficial to society than, say, a Marketing Director. (a position of similar wage which I would say is, at least, not as beneficial, if not actually harmful to society)

        Nursing, for instance, is a profession, or even a vocation, which provides tremendous societal benefit, both in the direct ‘people’s lives in medical settings suck less’ sense and in the indirect ‘people get back to health and productivity’ sense. Despite this, it’s not common, as far as I’ve seen, for governments to offer much in the way of benefits to nurses as reward for their service. There’s even a tendency to, when they ask for a raise, to take an attitude of ‘You should be happy. At least you get to know you’re helping people. We need all these extra profits to help compensate us for doing our jobs that don’t help people.’

        Mostly as an aside, I’ve actually thought for years that nurses and doctors who are providing direct care to patients (i.e. not people who went to Med/Nursing school and then went into medicine-adjacent business, but people putting in direct labor to help heal people) should have a significant tax cut. Their work benefits society more than the money it would represent, and a cut would make their lives easier, and help balance the years of tuition and effort it takes to get to that position.

      • JPSound@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I think they mean the nature and true goal of higher education is not to educate, but is singularly profit and make more and more profit each and every semester. Profit above all else but hopefully, but not nessecary whatsoever, an institution’s shamefully underpaid and overworked staff has the time or energy to properly teach the next generation their area of expertise.

        Higher education wants $$$ and they know the government and private corporations will issue about any 18 year old kid, fresh out of high school who has been pressued their entire childhood to either go to college or be a homeless prostitute, massive and insanely high interest “loans”

        It’s to take from you and burden you with debt that can’t be undone, even in the event of personal bankruptcy. Why would this system give money away when they can loan it out for an abusive & permanent high interest loan that would make even a gambling addict blush?