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Tyler Rozell
Professor Lohmeyer
9/6/16
Composition

Are Too Many People Going to College?

"Universities are not intended to teach the knowledge required to fit men for some special mode
of gaining their livelihood. Their object is not to make skillful lawyers, or physicians, or engineers, but
capable and cultivated human beings," (234). This is one example of what they say according to Charles
Murray, specifically what John Stuart Mill says. However, Murray answers the simple question Are Too
Many People Going to College? by saying Yes and no, (235). This essay allows Murray to explain his
argument on liberal education and whether it is necessary for all students.
Murray first explains E. D. Hirsch Jr.s view of liberal education. Hirsch uses three main points to
explain his view. First, he claims that to be a full participant of a culture, it requires the core knowledge of
the culture. He uses many examples involving being a citizen of the United States. He explains that if you
do not know some core knowledge that you could become either culturally illiterate, scientifically
illiterate, or geographically illiterate. One specific example Hirsch uses for this point is, Not to recognize
Falstaff, Apollo, the Sistine Chapel, the Inquisition, the twenty-third Psalm, or Mozart signifies cultural
illiteracy about the West, (235). The second point he makes is that core knowledge is what holds cultures
together. In this point, he tells the reader that to be American a person has to know the iconic stories that

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have changed American culture. The third point he makes is that this core knowledge should be taught
during the students K-8th grade years. He claims, in this section, that kids enjoy learning about myths
and fables. However, for the ones that do not enjoy learning about that, teachers, if they teach it right,
should be able to make it fun for the students. Thus, making it easier for the students to understand.
Murray then goes into his own argument about liberal education. He claims that to obtain liberal
education in college a student must first, have the academic ability and second, like what they are
learning. To explain his argument he uses the Aristotelian Principle: Other things equal, human beings
enjoy the exercise of the unrealized capacities, and this enjoyment increases the more the capacity is
realized, or the greater its complexity. Then, he simply talks about if a person is in the mid to lower
percentiles of academic abilities, obtaining a liberal education may not be something they desire.
However, it is not because they are lazy, immature, or anything along that nature, it is simply because the
lower percentile a student is academically the less enjoyable learning becomes.
Murray then argues whether or not it makes sense to go to college and pay money or start
working and making money in the real world. He believes the schooling and work that is required to
become a farmer, high-school teacher, social worker, journalist, optometrist, interior designer, or football
coach is absurd and unnecessary. Therefore, whether or not someone attends college could also depend on
what occupation they want to go into. Another option is a technical school which would offer classes
geared towards real needs of the students desired job.

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Nearing the end of the essay, Murray makes an argument that going to college right out of high
school might not be a good idea if you are caught between a few occupations. He talks about an example
of a kid coming out of high school not knowing if he wanted to go to college or become an electrician. He
knew what he liked doing but always wondered if he also might like something else. In this scenario,
intrinsic rewards were the overriding factor to him making his decision. The intrinsic rewards would be
either being good at the tasks or just being mediocre at the tasks. In this scenario, intrinsic rewards were
the overriding factor to him making his decision. He had to decide if he would rather be a great electrician
like he knows he can be or face the unknown through college.
In the end, Murray's main argument of whether or not too many people are going to college is
very clear. Should students be learning history and culture at a younger level? Is college for everyone?
Should some students wait after high school to figure out what they want to do? All these arguments
helped in the understanding of his view of the topic and his purpose for writing this essay.

Murray, Charles. "Are Too Many People Going to College?" They Say I say. Gerald Graff and Cathy
Birkenstein. 3rd ed. W.W. Norton and Company New York | London. 234-263. Print