Ted Talk Summary

Words: 1452
Pages: 6
Open Document
“How College Loans Exploit Students For Profit”, a Ted Talk by Sajay Samuel (2016), discusses the many problems with the education system in America, namely the cost and student loans. For example, Samuel (2016) talks about how more and more students finish college with incurable debt, increasingly lower salaries, underemployment or unemployment, diminished family incomes, and loans that are nearly impossible to default while any other loan can be defaulted. However, Samuel (2016) discuses all of these problems to explain his main point: Education has become a consumer product and educational institutions have become businesses that exploit students for profit. Samuel (2016) ends his Ted Talk by explaining a solution to this problem—if educational …show more content…
Overall, all of the problems with education costs discussed in this Ted Talk tie into Marxism and how it critiques capitalism. These relations between the Ted Talk and Marxism will be discussed throughout this paper. One way in which this Ted Talk portrays Marxist ideas is that it talks about the lack of free education and perpetual debt (Samuel, 2016). Firstly, Samuel (2016) states that there was a time when higher education was free, and when it was not free, it could be paid off by a simple part-time job. However, Samuel (2016) points out that nowadays education tuition has become unaffordable for almost every American, meaning that students are forced to take out loans and will consequently end their education with debt. The problem is further exacerbated because, as Samuel (2016) states, a college graduate made 10 percent more in 2001 than they did in 2013. So not only are college graduates ending their education with exorbitant debt, but they are not making enough income to help pay off their debt in a systematic, efficient manner. In relation to Marxism, Karl Marx critiques capitalism the same way that Samuel is critiquing the education system (Romkey, 2017). For instance, Marx believed in free education and recognized that …show more content…
For example, Samuel (2016) explains that education has become a consumer product, and institutions are trying to sell students this product while hiding many truths through false advertising. For example, every student is made to believe that they need to receive higher education so that they can work jobs that allow them to live the middle class life (Samuel, 2016). However, as Samuel (2016) explains, two out of three people who enrol in college are not going to find an adequate job, and thus, higher education certainly does not guarantee the middle class life that seems to be so prominently promised by educational institutions. Meanwhile, as mentioned before, students who finish their education are left with debt which is profitable, but only for the student loan industry and from colleges and universities that gain interest on debt (Samuel, 2016). Therefore, Samuel (2016) critiques the American education system because students are exploited over and over again. Similarly, Marx critiques capitalism because it is built on conflict between the bourgeoisie (such as universities) and the proletariat (such as students) (Romkey, 2017). Ultimately, Marx believed that capitalism leads to exploitation due to servitude, just as students become slaves to
Show More

Related Documents: Ted Talk Summary

Ted Talk Summary

In this Ted Talk video Ken Robinson discusses how the education system in place is destroying the creativity of children. This is an issue that is not in place only in America, but worldwide. He argues how society expects children to be taught strictly and their creativity is being suppressed. Mistakes that are being made by the future generations are being scolded instead of helping them find out the issues. We live in a world where we expect everyone to be perfect and all strive for academic greatness…

Words 374 - Pages 2

Ted Talk Summary

In this Ted Talk, Charles Limb talks about a thesis or question he has. Is it truly possible to study creativity scientifically? What is the science of creativity? Limb then went on to talk about three studies he did with this concept in mind. Two of these studies involved jazz music, the other rapping. In the first investigation, Limb studied the brain activity that occurred when someone was improvising jazz music. He found that,”We had this focal area called the medial prefrontal cortex that went…

Words 543 - Pages 3

Summary Of Shaka Senghor's Ted Talk

Shaka Senghor’s Ted Talk discussed “Why your worst deeds don’t define you” and how he used his experience in prison to rehabilitate himself. Shaka Senghor was in prison for two decades for murdering a man when he was nineteen years old over drugs. At the time he was a drug dealer living in Detroit. While in prison he mostly had given up on everything and kept making situation worse and worse for himself. Eventually he ended up getting himself into solitary confinement which he said is the most inhumane…

Words 781 - Pages 4

Summary Of Raymond Wang's Ted Talk

In Raymond Wang’s Ted Talk, How germs travel on planes — and how we can stop them, Raymond explains his new invention. He starts by asking how many people have been on a plane. He states that three billion others do as well and disease can spread. He shows that when a person sneezes the germs circulate 2 to 3 times before escaping the cabin. This allows germs to spread to other as they breathe in these germs. It can cost up to 3 billion dollars to solve an epidemic and that is something that can…

Words 296 - Pages 2

Ted Talk Quit Social Media Summary

checking your social media than you do spending it on more productive tasks? Well Dr. Cal Newport surely does not. He turned over very successful in his business of computer science without the usage of social media to guide his path. In his article "TED Talk Quit Social Media" he proceeds to share his message, with the utilization of sarcasm, irony, and parallelism, that social media does not hold the key to a great success filled life as society nowadays perceives so. With this article, Newport's hint…

Words 500 - Pages 2

Essay on APLANG Ted Talks

Alex Jeon Ulrich APLang-6 18 March 2015 Ted Talk #1 1. Category: Inspirational 2. Speaker: Mel Robbins 3. Title: How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over 4. Length of Video: 21.39 5. Date Accessed: March 18, 2015 6. Summary: The thesis is that people should force themselves to achieve their desires, rather than ignoring them and regretting not acting upon them. She states that everyone is born for a reason and as long as they just got out of bed with a motivated attitude, they could achieve great things…

Words 1052 - Pages 5

Ted Williams Speech Essay

strong introduction. I think that he does a great job opening with a quote from Ted Williams that may relate the person of tribute to the audience member. He also gives factual information as to why he is considered one of the greatest to play baseball. I think this is important because it allows people to know that this is the truth and is not biased information. Another great point that Stu makes is the reference back to Ted Williams’ nicknames. For an older audience member, this may be intriguing simply…

Words 610 - Pages 3

EPFE 201 Midterms Essay

the following: 1) A course title that includes the concept from AWNM 2) A brief introduction for the course and the AWNM concept that drives the curriculum 3) A summary of the content and skills (at least 5) that will be covered and the traditional philosophical frame (see Oregon State website) that has been re-conceptualized 4) A summary of the ways students will be assessed for mastery of this material 5) 12 pt. font, double space, checked for proficient grammar, spelling, punctuation Ex. SYMPHONY…

Words 697 - Pages 3

English 209 Essay examples

Consumer Buying Behavior Chapter 7: Business Markets and Buying Behavior Video Journal 1 Assignment: Marketing Plan Parts A and B Video, located in the online course shell Activities Discussion Evaluation Journal 1: Marketing Plan Part A: Executive Summary and Part B: Targeting Customers Note: For Assignment 1: Marketing Plan Part E: Final Marketing Plan in Week 10, you must complete the Marketing Plan Template with all sections answered, information organized with relevant content, and any updated…

Words 1148 - Pages 5

The Glass Castle

Ideally, in the eyes of a child the world is sublime, boundless. However, in her memoir the Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls unravels the unfathomable and dysfunctional truth of her adolescence. Unfortunately, because of a lack of parental guidance and protection, Walls and her siblings experience an early loss of innocence, a theme she expresses throughout her memoir. Growing up with negelctful parents, the Walls children had to basically raise themselves. On numerous occasions they went hungry and…

Words 1545 - Pages 7