Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts and identify their solutions to these challenges. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.  Provide recommendations and  challenge your classmates by asking a question to extend their thinking. 

 I believe in philanthropic gestures but only if they are for the right cause. Many times when wealthy people so something it is out of the kindness of the heart. On the flip side they tend to take advantage of the project and use it for selfish reasons. Let take for example all the hurricane and disasters that have been happening here lately if that much money is poured in why are people still without lights and trying not to die. I believe some wealthy people really understand the cause and they are willing to do anything to help but like i said some use it as a tax break on a social media ad look what I did make me trend. Currently younger generation of students don’t want to work anymore they want mom and dad to hand their hard earn money and they lay around and sit on Twitter. Work ethic in my home is a must you have to know how to survive because the thought of losing everything all of a sudden could happen. My kids have experienced that with Hurricane Katrina we lost everything and we got help but the government ended up asking for all of the money back. So having a good work ethic is important because you never know when their will be a natural disaster or any disaster. I have met a few students that don’t understand why they have to get a college degree and the job or basically on a who you know basis and their drive and work ethic has suffered because of this revelation. I believe the times are changing and school isn’t what people believe will get you that job you always dreamed of. The only profession that will get jobs is the medical field always needs help and sponsors. Education I believe is necessary but people aren’t now feeling it was a waist of their time. 

Amanda Baker

Week 2: Discussion 2
Large-scale philanthropic contributors, who offered substantial gifts such as foundations, trusts, and estates, were necessary to higher education budgets in order to pay for salaries, services, and the construction of new buildings. This philanthropy in American higher education brought industry and religion together in what was termed the “Protestant work ethic.” Discuss why this was important to wealthy entrepreneurs. Do you believe it is still important today? Has this work ethic perspective changed? From your readings, what challenges do current higher education institutions face regarding funding? What are some of the possible solutions to these challenges?

I have incredibly mixed feelings about large-scale philanthropic contributors toward colleges. On a personal level, I feel that if the contribution is from a place of non-expectation and genuine good will, that these sorts of contributions can be very beneficial for higher education. However, my concern comes in where the gesture is done with expectations of it being “returned” in the future and used for a form of weight, or leverage in future dealings with the institution in question. That is where I feel perhaps that large-scale contributions are more of a political and social move versus trying to do something that will benefit the school and it’s students and faculty.

On the topic of Protestant work ethic, I do feel it is very important for people to possess this on some level. The world is not handed to you on a silver platter and people must be willing to commit to hard work, starting from the ground and moving on up, maintaining a level of discipline in all they do, and not living beyond their means. Much of this ideal has been lost with modern society. I notice this most in teenagers and young adults. Largely, I believe this is attributed to our culture being addicted to presenting an image of the self that is not realistic or tethered in reality but instead tailored for social media. Younger people see famous individuals like the Kardashians and want to emulate that behavior. They want the expensive lifestyle but not to put in the necessary work to obtain it (granted this is not everyone, but I have seen it more often than I have not). When you have enough people that share this outlook of wanting to be the CEO of a company when they walk through the door versus being willing to start from the bottom and work their way up, you will inevitably run into issues with an entitled mindset.

If you look at this current mindset, it is not a far leap and a jump to see why students might not want to participate in large-scale philanthropic efforts because it shifts from wanting to help the institution in question to “how does this benefit me?” Once you cross over into that line of thought, there can be something of a snowball effect. Not to mention many people do not possess the funds for these types of donations. I feel in many ways that for institutions to continue to secure funding, they may need to alter their approach and tailor it to this current generation. How to do that, I am not exactly sure. But I imagine that people need to feel incentivized to do so.