College Spending

The USA Today snapshot of Back-to-College spending (News, 7/20, 10/19/07) can be viewed in several different ways. One could say that this chart demonstrates that colleges are becoming increasingly difficult to attend because of their cost. Others might contend that this graph illustrates how much technology will become an important part of the learning experience. The graph does not take a solid basis for one idea so it may be interpreted differently (I will interpret these claims as if the graph displayed hard evidence to support them).

The graph clearly demonstrates that the economic and financial stature is much higher than several years ago. Most students will tell you that college is expensive but it has become increasingly difficult for those of poorer economic background to attend. If one cannot attend college because they are financially unfit then they cannot receive the proper education to progress in today’s developing society. This only furthers the distance between the upper and lower classes.

The graph accurately illustrates the increasing use of technology in a learning environment. The gap between electronics and texts is only 3 billion dollars per year. This proves that human advancements are moving at an exponential rate. Soon we may, in the future, forego the use of most texts.

The graph demonstrates that even tough electronics are becoming increasingly prevalent in the learning environment they will never overcome basic textbooks. Most electronics are nowadays are very expensive (which would explain the three billion dollar gap between textbooks and electronics) and are often cumbersome to college students. Textbooks are light, cheap, and easily produced so that the student may use them with ease. Most electronics come with instruction manuals and take a long time to use properly, but to use a book all one needs to do is read.