"Actually, College Is Very Much Worth It"

Andrew J. Rotherham, a member of the Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education, makes his case for college.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 9 Unit 1's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Speak, Marigolds, Always Running, 'Race' Politics, WMDs, Chuck Liddell, Address to America's Schoolchildren, An Early Start on College, Why College Isn't for Everyone, Actually, College Is Very Much Worth It
10 words 176 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. credential
    a document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts
    Lately it's become fashionable--especially among the highly credentialed--to question whether it's really "worth it" to go to college.
  2. sluggish
    moving slowly
    And due to the sluggish economy, there may in fact be more graduates than the current job market needs, or a temporary "college bubble."
  3. sentiment
    a personal belief or judgment
    Anti-college sentiment is nothing new.
  4. admonish
    warn strongly; put on guard
    Mark Twain admonished us not to let schooling interfere with education
  5. helm
    a position of leadership
    And what about all the people who didn't finish college and are not at the helm of a wildly successful venture?
  6. median
    relating to or situated in or extending toward the middle
    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, the median weekly earnings for someone with some college but no degree were $712, compared to $1038 for a college graduate.
  7. effective
    producing or capable of producing an intended result
    It's also odd to talk down college--which is the most effective social mobility strategy we have--at the very time Americans are becoming concerned about income inequality.
  8. luxury
    something that is an indulgence rather than a necessity
    Haskins' data also shows the extent to which debates like this are a luxury of the privileged, because their children enjoy much more of a safety net and the risks are different for them.
  9. constrain
    restrict
    Assuming you don't pile up mountains of debt that constrain your career options (and that outcome is avoidable) or go to a school where just fogging a mirror is good enough to get a diploma, there are not a lot of downsides to going to college.
  10. heed
    pay close attention to
    So before heeding the advice of the college naysayers, make sure you understand the stakes and the odds.
Created on Fri Sep 19 14:37:30 EDT 2014 (updated Fri Sep 19 15:31:55 EDT 2014)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.