Read and answer critical reading questions based on the format provided

We Must Make Public Colleges and Universities Tuition Free

Our nation needs the best-educated workforce in the world to succeed in the ever more
competitive global economy. Sadly, we are moving further and further away from that
goal. As recently as 1995, the United States led the world in college graduation rates,
but today we have fallen to 11th place. We are now behind such countries as Japan,
South Korea, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, and Switzerland. Eleventh place is
not the place for a great nation like the United States.

Why is this so important? Because fifty years ago, if you had a high school degree,
odds were that you could get a decent job and make it into the middle class. But that is
no longer the case. While not all middle-class jobs in today’s economy require
post-secondary education, an increasing number do. By 2020, two-thirds of all jobs in
the United States will require some education beyond high school.
And these jobs tend to pay better, too. Nationally, a worker with an associate’s degree
will earn about $360,000 more over their career than a worker with a high school
diploma. And a worker with a bachelor’s degree will earn almost $1 million more.

If it makes sense to get a college degree, why aren’t more high school students
enrolling in and graduating from college? The main reason is because the ever-rising
cost of higher education puts college out of reach for many families, or requires
students to take on a mountain of debt.

It’s time to change that dynamic. It’s time to make public colleges and universities
tuition-free for the working families of our country. It is time for every child to understand
that if they study hard and take their school work seriously they will be able to get a
higher education, regardless of their family’s income. It’s time to reduce the outrageous
burden of student debt that is weighing down the lives of millions of college
graduates.Today, our system of higher education is in a state of crisis. As tuition and
fees steadily rise and as states cut funding for colleges and universities year after year,
American families are finding it increasingly difficult to afford college. Every year,
hundreds of thousands of bright young people can’t get a higher education because it is
simply too expensive. Equally disgraceful, millions of college graduates have had to
take on life-long debt for the “crime” of getting the education they need.

Some 44 million Americans already owe more than $1.3 trillion in student loans, and the
vast majority of current college students will graduate deeply in debt. For most
graduates, this debt will take many years to repay, which not only impacts their career
choices, but also their ability to get married, have kids, or buy a home.In the richest

country in the history of the world, everyone who has the desire and the ability should
be able to get a college education regardless of their background and ability to pay.
That’s why I introduced the College for All Act, to make public colleges and universities
in America tuition-free for families earning $125,000 per year or less — which covers 86
percent of our population.

This is not a radical idea. Many other nations around the world invest in an educated
workforce that isn’t burdened with enormous student debt. In Germany, Finland,
Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden public colleges and universities are free. In
Germany, public colleges are free not only for Germans, but also for international
students. It wasn’t that long ago that our own government understood the value of
investing in higher education. In 1944, Congress passed the GI Bill, which provided a
free college education to millions of World War II veterans. This was one of the most
successful pieces of legislation in modern history, laying the groundwork for the
extraordinary post-war economic boom and an unprecedented expansion of the middle
class.

But it was not just the federal government that acted. In 1965, average tuition at a
four-year state public university was just $256, and many excellent colleges — such as
the City University of New York — did not charge any tuition at all. The University of
California system, considered by many to be the crown jewel of public higher education
in this country, did not charge tuition until the 1980s.The good news is that governors,
state legislators, and local officials around the country now understand the crisis and
are acting. This year, the City College of San Francisco began offering tuition-free
college, and its enrollment for residents is up by 51 percent compared to last year. In
New York, tens of thousands will go to the city’s public colleges and universities this
year without paying tuition. Similar programs have popped up in Tennessee, Oregon,
Detroit and Chicago.

We are making progress on this issue, but we still have a long way to go. Making
America great is not spending tens of billions more on weapons systems or providing
trillions in tax breaks for the very rich. Rather, it is having a well-educated population
that can compete in the global economy, and making it possible that every American,
regardless of income, has the opportunity to get the education they need to thrive.

Topics for Critical Thinking and Writing

1).Examine the first paragraph of Bernie Sanders’s essay and describe Sanders’s
approach to his argument. How does he use rhetorical appeals? Assumptions?
Definition?

2). Use the structure of the syllogism (see Premises and Syllogisms) to list a series of
premises in Sanders’s argument that lead to the conclusion, “Therefore, we must make
US colleges and universities tuition free.” (Keep in mind that you can list as many
premises as you want.) Do you think the argument is valid? If you had to work to
undermine it, where would you point in the premises to show areas that are
challengeable?

3). How does Sanders’s argument use emotional appeals (pathos)?
4). Do you think Sanders provides a thoughtful consideration of opposing viewpoints?
What negative consequences can you think of that might result from passing the
College for All Act?

5). Examine Sanders’s use of numbers. How does he use numerical data to support his
argument? Do you find his presentation of numbers effective or misleading? How might
he have presented them differently?

RESPONSES TO ALL TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS & ESSAY ANALYSIS MUST BE POSTED
AS ONE ATTACHMENT TITLED “TEXTBOOK RDG. ONE : , xls, pdf

NO TEXT ATTACHMENTS!

Read “The Pro-Speech Way To Fight Fake News” pg. 66 – 68

Complete “Topics for Critical Thinking & Writing” 1 – 5

(LABEL EACH SECTION IN YOUR RESPONSE)

Min. 8 sentences of response per question.

Use the following format to Label each question & start each sentence on a new
numbered line.

Q1

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Essay Analysis (LABEL EACH SECTION IN YOUR RESPONSE)

1. In “Essay Title,” First Last Name Author explores ………………………………

2. He suggests that ………………………

3. The author points out that …………………….

4. In addition, Last Name Author conveys ……………………………

5. Free Write additional analysis from the Essay.

6. Similarly or In contrast, one might observe that ……………

7. Free Write – Support Transition position in agreement or disagreement w/author’s viewpoint.

8. Free Write – Support Transition position in agreement or disagreement with author’s
viewpoint.

9. Free Write – Support Transition position in agreement or disagreement with author’s
viewpoint.

10. One might conclude that ………………………………………………..SKIP 2 SPACES (Last Name
Author).

Description of criterion
Use the specified Numbered Format to respond to each section of
follow up Textbook Reading Questions. Provide the specified
sentence content for each labeled section. Proof for coherent flow of
ideas with no Run On sentences & apply “Punctuation Rules” where
appropriate.