It's high time someone spoke up for today's college students. They're probably the most hardworking, ambitious people in America and their problems are not properly appreciated. People like the Secretary of Education simply don't know what they're talking about when they knock students. Nor do those who complain about falling academic standards. The vast majority of the nation's 12 million students are struggling to pay for their educations. They are part of the invisible workforce. Many hold down full-time jobs. They're frying hamburgers, photographing weddings, working in construction, and waiting on tables. The fact that they even show up for classes is a wonderful event. The financial situation of most students explains a lot about what is happening in schools.  Why are the traditional courses so unpopular? Why are students flocking to accounting and computer science and any professional programs that seem to lead to careers? Answer: Today's working student has been forced into a kind of premature matter-of-fact way of viewing things. Romance is gone. The notion of transforming one's self through study alone has disappeared. Today's students seek freedom from manual labor, and the status conferred by a good job. There are other consequences. Today's students don't have much time or energy to be devoted, and carry out independent research or even do serious homework. That's the secret behind falling academic standards. Students have become consumers. They want grades and certifications.  Their professors can't be expected to give a grade of failure to students who are clearly tired from the effort to pay their bills. There's a lot wrong with this situation. It's twisting the definition of education out of shape.  Worse, it's creating a generation that is totally unpleasant. The brightest students turn out to be yuppies  . The vast majority are, at least, good-natured semi-literates. The time has run out for philosophical debates about fixed courses of study. What this country needs is someone to stand up and say that being a full-time student during one's formative years is an honorable calling worthy of support. If families can't or won't give it to their children, then the government should. Which of the following suggestions will the author not agree with?
We should encourage students to give up full-time jobs. Families should offer their children more help financially. We should stand up and say something for today's college students. We should make more strict regulations to force students to study hard.