Entry #05: Education in AZ

Getting a college degree can be one of the most rewarding things that a person can get. It opens paths to new opportunities, rewards, and chances that someone would have with just a high school diploma. But many people in Arizona only stick with the high school diploma. Even more so, many people dropout of high school and don’t get the diploma or later go back and get the GED years later. It stems from numerous reasons why someone would stay with just a high school diploma. 

A student can drop out from high school to help their family with their financial situation. They will leave the chance to get a better job to help out in the present because people in lower income living situations only have the chance to think of the present. They don't have that opportunity to dedicate so much time, effort, and money into a degree that has no guarantee to make you successful, creating a fear and hesitancy.

This fear comes from the fact that college is extremely expensive. Classes cost a good amount of money that they don’t have. Along with that, if you don’t pass a class, that is a good amount wasted to retake it. There are many tellings of people regretting going to college because they found a better opportunity without it. The economy has been unstable since Covid-19 and cost of living is only continuing to increase. This is causing people to be more cautious with their money and limiting what they are spending on further reducing higher education. 

Many people fear college and how expensive it is causing that lower rate of degrees in high fields. That unbalanced scale causes more employers to push for those degrees in specialized fields. This will create a further unbalanced workforce making people dislike the job they spent so much money on in college along with time and effort. All adds into a repeating cycle that will continue to cause fear and problems. 

Personally, I think college should be a little more cheaper but I understand why it is so expensive in a sense. They need to pay for all the staffing and maintenance. But there should be some leeway, like in classes outside your degree that you want to take for exploration should be allowed at a lower cost or nearly free so you get that opportunity to see what fits you best. Kids should also be greatly discouraged from dropping out, and in high school, they should be taught the importance of college and how it can be beneficial. If the concept of college was more widely spread out, more people would be striving for those degrees instead of fearing them.