--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need to figure how to defend higher…" description: "\"We need to figure how to defend higher education as a public good. If we can't do that, we're in trouble.\" — Henry Giroux" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/henry-giroux-945_defend_we-need-to-figure-how-to-defend-higher-e_2895717.png" --- # We need to figure how to defend higher education as a… ![“We need to figure how to defend higher education as a public good. If we can't do that, we're in trouble.” quote by Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/henry-giroux-945_defend_we-need-to-figure-how-to-defend-higher-e_2895717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/henry-giroux-945_defend_we-need-to-figure-how-to-defend-higher-e_2895717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/henry-giroux-945_defend_we-need-to-figure-how-to-defend-higher-e_2895717.png) > “We need to figure how to defend higher education as a public good. If we can't do that, we're in trouble.” [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Defending higher education as a public good is essential; without it society faces cultural and economic decline. **In simple terms:** Higher education must be protected for societal benefit. Key Takeaway Advocate for public support of universities. Themes education public good policy society Mood concerned determined Type analytical persuasive When to use this quote - policy debates - legislative hearings - university board meetings - community forums Key Concepts social equity public investment knowledge economy Questions to Reflect On - How can we demonstrate the societal ROI of higher education? - What strategies can protect universities from market pressures? A Different Perspective Challenges include political opposition and funding cuts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Defend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend/) [Defend Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend-higher-4090687/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Education Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education-public-966877/) [Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/figures/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Higher Ed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-ed/) [Higher education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-education/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Public good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-good/) [Trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble/) ## Related quotes > [The demise of higher education as a public good is also evident in light of the election of a number of right-wing politicians who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-demise-of-higher-education-as-a-public-good-is-also-evident-in/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If the government were to invest that money in higher education and public services, these would be far better investments. But administrators and academics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/if-the-government-were-to-invest-that-money-in-higher-education-and/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Many university presidents assume the language and behavior of CEOs and in doing so they are completely reneging on the public mission of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/many-university-presidents-assume-the-language-and-behavior-of-ceos/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [University presidents should be loud and forceful in defending the university as a social good, essential to the democratic culture and economy of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/university-presidents-should-be-loud-and-forceful-in-defending-the/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The United States is an outlier in the size and scope of its loan infrastructure; in many peer countries, higher education is seen as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lowrey/the-united-states-is-an-outlier-in-the-size-and-scope-of-its-loan/) [Annie Lowrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lowrey/) > [Higher education isn't just a personal investment. It's a public good that pays off in a more competitive workforce and better-informed and engaged citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/higher-education-isn-t-just-a-personal-investment-it-s-a-public-good/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [They're rights that should be endemic to any democracy. The right to a free quality education, from elementary school right through higher education. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/they-re-rights-that-should-be-endemic-to-any-democracy-the-right-to-a/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [What is distinctive about the U.S. is that higher education is under attack not because it is failing but because it is public. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/what-is-distinctive-about-the-u-s-is-that-higher-education-is-under/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The current siege on higher education, whether through defunding education, eliminating tenure, tying research to military needs, or imposing business models of efficiency and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-current-siege-on-higher-education-whether-through-defunding/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Many conservatives see higher education as a threat to their reactionary and corporate oriented interests and would like to defund higher education, privatize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/many-conservatives-see-higher-education-as-a-threat-to-their/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The nature of the issues facing U.S. students is a bit more complicated in the U.S. because the assault on the social state, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-nature-of-the-issues-facing-u-s-students-is-a-bit-more/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [As the humanities and liberal arts are downsized, privatized, and commodified, higher education finds itself caught in the paradox of claiming to invest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/as-the-humanities-and-liberal-arts-are-downsized-privatized-and/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [ It has been difficult for \[young people in the U.S.\] to connect the dots between rising tuition costs and other assaults on their dignity… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/it-has-been-difficult-for-young-people-in-the-u-s-to-connect-the-dots/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [With the corporatization and privatization of higher education, it is increasingly more difficult for colleges and universities to expand and deepen democratic public life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/with-the-corporatization-and-privatization-of-higher-education-it-is/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [You have a situation in which the U.S. is fighting three unjust wars and wasting trillions of dollars in public funds, all the while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/you-have-a-situation-in-which-the-u-s-is-fighting-three-unjust-wars/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More by Henry Giroux > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [As politics is disconnected from its ethical and material moorings, it becomes easier to punish and imprison young people than to educate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/as-politics-is-disconnected-from-its-ethical-and-material-moorings-it/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [What must be addressed in the most immediate sense is the threat that the emerging police state in the United States poses not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/what-must-be-addressed-in-the-most-immediate-sense-is-the-threat-that/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Today's neoliberalism has a number of byproducts. We have massive forms of inequality developing because there are no longer any concessions. There's a war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/today-s-neoliberalism-has-a-number-of-byproducts-we-have-massive/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [At the start of the second decade of the 21st century, young people all over the world are demonstrating against a variety of issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/at-the-start-of-the-second-decade-of-the-21st-century-young-people/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [America is at war with itself because it's basically declared war not only on any sense of democratic idealism, but it's declared war on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/america-is-at-war-with-itself-because-it-s-basically-declared-war-not/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [All too often the worst thing that can happen to the young is to depoliticize them. When that happens, not only are young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/all-too-often-the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-to-the-young-is-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The generation of youth in the early 21st century has no way of grasping if they will ever be free from the gnawing sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-generation-of-youth-in-the-early-21st-century-has-no-way-of/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [History remains an open horizon that cannot be dismissed through appeals to the end of history or end of ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/history-remains-an-open-horizon-that-cannot-be-dismissed-through/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [I mean, we're not talking about simply racism, we're taking about white supremacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/i-mean-we-re-not-talking-about-simply-racism-we-re-taking-about-white/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Historical memory is a potent weapon in fighting against the desert of organized forgetting and implies a rethinking of the role that artists, intellectuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/historical-memory-is-a-potent-weapon-in-fighting-against-the-desert/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The fight for education and justice is inseparable from the struggle for economic equality, human dignity and security, and the challenge of developing American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-fight-for-education-and-justice-is-inseparable-from-the-struggle/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If the ongoing struggles waged by young people are to matter, demonstrations and protests must give way to more sustainable organizations that develop alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/if-the-ongoing-struggles-waged-by-young-people-are-to-matter/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Many conservatives see higher education as a threat to their reactionary and corporate oriented interests and would like to defund higher education, privatize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/many-conservatives-see-higher-education-as-a-threat-to-their/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Everyone is now a customer or client, and every relationship is ultimately judged in bottom-line, cost-effective terms. Freedom is no longer about equality, social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/everyone-is-now-a-customer-or-client-and-every-relationship-is/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) [Explore all 323 Henry Giroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More Defend quotes > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [We fight to defend our democratic ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-austin/we-fight-to-defend-our-democratic-ideals/) [Lloyd Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-austin/) > [The pop culture has become more frenetic. There are more forces at work that are far more invasive. However, I think it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/the-pop-culture-has-become-more-frenetic-there-are-more-forces-at/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [I don't need a perfect person. I just need someone who will defend me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-need-a-perfect-person-i-just-need-someone-who-will-defend-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Swearing's my release. It's the one weapon I have to defend myself against destiny when it elects to strike without pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-pirlo/swearing-s-my-release-it-s-the-one-weapon-i-have-to-defend-myself/) [Andrea Pirlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-pirlo/) > [Having kids is the deal-breaker on shyness! Once you have a baby, you learn to speak up loud and clear to protect them, defend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/having-kids-is-the-deal-breaker-on-shyness-once-you-have-a-baby-you/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [We will defend ourselves, and we have full rights to do so. If the authorities try to destroy us, we have the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-udaltsov/we-will-defend-ourselves-and-we-have-full-rights-to-do-so-if-the/) [Sergei Udaltsov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-udaltsov/) > [I definitely want to defend my 145 belt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-nunes/i-definitely-want-to-defend-my-145-belt/) [Amanda Nunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-nunes/) > [In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were exterminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wurzelbacher/in-1911-turkey-established-gun-control-from-1915-to-1917-1-5-million/) [Joe Wurzelbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wurzelbacher/) > [“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/there-are-always-those-who-take-it-upon-themselves-to-defend-god-as/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“defend women’s right to be wrong, at least occasionally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/defend-women-s-right-to-be-wrong-at-least-occasionally/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [There are a lot of things you can practise to unsettle teams that defend deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/didier-deschamps/there-are-a-lot-of-things-you-can-practise-to-unsettle-teams-that/) [Didier Deschamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/didier-deschamps/) > [The more you defend a lie, the angrier you become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-more-you-defend-a-lie-the-angrier-you-become/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I'm very willing to defend creative things that I believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schneider/i-m-very-willing-to-defend-creative-things-that-i-believe-in/) [Dan Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schneider/) > [Sometimes it is difficult to play against teams who just drop back and try to defend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadio-mane/sometimes-it-is-difficult-to-play-against-teams-who-just-drop-back/) [Sadio Mane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadio-mane/) [Browse all 993 Defend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We need to figure how to defend higher education as a public good. 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