I think the author nailed it in the second paragraph. All of the rest is just speculative navel gazing.
I'll speak for myself as that part really resonated with my experience the first time through college. It was a compounding of a lot things:
1. Material gets crammed down your throat much faster than your digestion rate. It wasn't uncommon that we'd get "behind" only to get loaded on the backend near the final with all missed material. It felt more like a crucible than a learning environment. One, especially, where you are left to largely teach yourself everything (including the tips and tricks you'd expect from an "expert") and are paying for a test.
2. I needed a job. Period. I couldn't "have fun".
3. The cost of school (even 20 years ago) was absurd. This by it's very nature enforces transactionality. I will, if necessary, lie, cheat, and steal in order to get a passing grade in a class. Who can blame students for this? You need a job and school is the expensive gate keeper. It isn't about "learning" when you want to dig a little deeper but you've got a gun to your head.
4. Graduate school is financially untenable for most people. Even achieving a master's degree is extremely difficult with the normal pressures of life on a 20-something.
It was only after getting my first degree and then finding out how much I enjoy learning did I go back to school again with the mindset of "I don't care, I want to learn". Yes, it's expensive, and I'm fortunate to afford it. But I have a job and a house, money isn't a "real" issue, and so the enjoyment of learning can actually be had. The entire education model in America is broken. It will only get worse until administration gets completely gutted and student loans become dischargable via bankruptcy.
I'll speak for myself as that part really resonated with my experience the first time through college. It was a compounding of a lot things:
1. Material gets crammed down your throat much faster than your digestion rate. It wasn't uncommon that we'd get "behind" only to get loaded on the backend near the final with all missed material. It felt more like a crucible than a learning environment. One, especially, where you are left to largely teach yourself everything (including the tips and tricks you'd expect from an "expert") and are paying for a test.
2. I needed a job. Period. I couldn't "have fun".
3. The cost of school (even 20 years ago) was absurd. This by it's very nature enforces transactionality. I will, if necessary, lie, cheat, and steal in order to get a passing grade in a class. Who can blame students for this? You need a job and school is the expensive gate keeper. It isn't about "learning" when you want to dig a little deeper but you've got a gun to your head.
4. Graduate school is financially untenable for most people. Even achieving a master's degree is extremely difficult with the normal pressures of life on a 20-something.
It was only after getting my first degree and then finding out how much I enjoy learning did I go back to school again with the mindset of "I don't care, I want to learn". Yes, it's expensive, and I'm fortunate to afford it. But I have a job and a house, money isn't a "real" issue, and so the enjoyment of learning can actually be had. The entire education model in America is broken. It will only get worse until administration gets completely gutted and student loans become dischargable via bankruptcy.