Where Did Student Loans Come From and Why Is College So Expensive?

The fact that there is a need for student loan forgiveness really paints a picture of just how complicated education funding has become.

So how did we get to this point, and why is the already huge cost of attending college continuing to increase?

To answer this, I interviewed my dad, Ken Clarke, who spent more than 35 years working as a financial aid professional. When he retired, he was the dean of financial aid for all Maricopa County community colleges in Arizona, and he had helped thousands of students navigate the financial aid process throughout his career.

In this episode, my dad talks more about the ins and outs of student loans, including:

The history of student loans.
Where student loans came from.
What happened in history that made student loans so expensive and have such high interest rates.

This is actually the second half of the conversation I had with my dad about student loans. If you missed the first part, head over to listen to Season 7, Episode 3: “Real Talk: You Should Support Student Loan Forgiveness,” where we tackle four of the most common arguments against student loan forgiveness.

Read the episode transcript

Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr.

We are opening the doors to both Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr. on Sept. 20!

Parents have been asking for a practical, interactive way to implement the anti-racist strategies that I lay out in the First Name Basis Podcast, so I created Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr.

Ally Elementary is geared toward third-eighth graders, while Ally Elementary Jr. is for the smaller allies in our lives who are in preschool-second grade.

During these programs, parents will work together with their children to create a culture of anti-racism in their home. We will use hands-on activities to teach our children about everything from the untold story of how race was created to how they can disrupt racism in their everyday lives to how they can learn more about their individual identity and culture. I am so excited to watch the families in our community make a meaningful transformation and improve their communities through anti-racist action.