Ha! You win, gator. Obviously, since he wouldn’t qualify now, the whole program is worthless, and the fact that he would have benefited had the program been in place when he did graduate means nothing.
My point is that many people of my parents’ generation were enabled to “work their way through college” by low-cost state schools; that state schools are now unaffordable by students without other means of support is a shameful dropping of the educational ball, and a short-sighted economy. My daughter’s boyfriend’s struggle is much more typical of a CC student than many people who believe in the “moocher” myth want to admit. We used, as a country, to take pride in helping our citizens achieve better lives; what has changed, that so many people are so angry about any effort to help people help themselves?
I think we all agree that the cost of state schools and all schools really is rising far too fast. That is a different problem though. And, I don’t really see how this solves it at all. Personally, I think the easy loans are one of the main drivers there but then you are going to have people screaming that they couldn’t go to college at all without them. A circle. And, I don’t think anyone is angry, But, there are those who are very cautious when told that things will be free because of course there is no such thing.
Actually, as has been repeated several times, the NET cost of college has not risen any higher than the cost of inflation. The List price is irrelevant.
I’m not sure if this has been posted yet, but this is the speaker of the house’s official response to the Obama plan… using completely Taylor Swift GIFs. While I am not a particularly big fan of John Boehner, I have to admit this is pretty hilarious
@shawnspencer - I have a feeling that Swift isn’t an avid Boehner supporter. I also have a feeling that Boehner didn’t do this but rather one of his younger/millennial tech savvy interns did. I don’t think Boehner even knows what a GIF is. LOL. (I do like the man a lot, though.)
@preamble1776 LOL the thought of John Boehner physically looking up GIFs of Taylor Swift to put in this post makes me chuckle. In any case, it’d be amusing if Taylor Swift sees this and makes a response to it on social media
@shawnspencer - Boehner actually has a Tumblr and is super into fandoms and anime and no one knows it - its just this secret side of him that he has never revealed to anyone, LOLOL.
Actually, I live in Tennessee. We are a poor state with no income tax, but the governor found enough money in the budget. Parents who can afford the ivies go ahead and sneer. For a poor kid, this is a godsend
I support a nonprofit that works with teens who lack parental support. When you are the sole source of your own support, a “low” fee is like stair steps for those who live in wheel chairs.
Okay, to clarify, the Tennessee program is fine with me if there is a need for it locally and there is money to pay for it. That is quite different from free community college for all coming out of Washington DC. But, I do realize that people have trouble getting past the word free. Yippee. That is not a problem I fully understand, though. Admittedly.
As a big supporter of education I think Tennessee has taken the lead in this important venture. If other states cant or wont, I think its great that its being pursued on the national level.
I think it would be better if they got high school right first rather than shuffling everyone off to a CC for another two years. But, whatever. It’s just talk and not going anywhere, which is the really annoying part.
@Sally:
I am indeed a recipient of the Pell grant, it is a lifesaver, however I have witnessed firsthand what many people at my school have done to abuse it. Your argument is based on conjecture, and you seem to even slighty insinuate that I may have done the same with absolutely no info (in fact you are witness to me being a proactive and excellent student). I have seen this type of “no accountability” free money be taken and used by a select demographic of students to clear out the electronics section of the school bookstore, whereupon they spend the rest of the aid money there and are never to be seen again…,With you having no first-hand experience and try to insinuate against me is a downright ridiculous and baseless assumption. This experience is harsh reality of the issues at hand, but maybe this new bill will straighten things out, I certainly hope so since it would make university degrees more reasonable for the rest of us who are dedicated to obtaining proper education.
HS is a separate issue. And its highly doubtful that “everyone will be shuffling off to a cc”. This is an option, including for those who might not otherwise have continued their education. It is not a mandate.
@Fredjan The program doesn’t support “non-traditional students”. It would only fund those going to school full time (12 credits+ a semester), and they must start CC after they finish high school. For the student that decides to work for a few years before starting CC, or can only take classes part time at night (have to work to support a family) this program gives them nothing.
@rogerconnertn The Governor didn’t have to find any funding. It was already available via the lottery money. What he did do is re-assign funding away from the standard scholarships (he reduced them), to assign additional funding to the free CC idea.
@jym626 While the Tennessee plan may prove to be very effective, I really think we should see how it performs over the next few years, before forcing it on all 50 states. It doesn’t start till this Fall, so a single student has yet to take advantage of the plan. We have ZERO data on how it will perform. Several other states have different plans in place, who’s to say Tennessee’s is the best?
@Gator88NE
Thanks for clarifying that. I should have read at least page 15 of this thread.
Such constraint leads me to question the value of this proposal.
Rockvillemom,
Given the acuity of the situation, you might want to suggest the family meet with the social services staff at the hospital. They participate in discharge planning all the time and surely have some familiarity with the memory care facilities.They can make some suggestions or help you steer clear of the problem ones. Alternatively, pulling in a geriatric case manager may also save you a lot of time and energy. Check to see if the Dallas Jewish family services has any resources. Good luck. BTDT.