Don’t
assume that the college track is the only life path that makes sense for your
high school senior.
I'm talking about what we all think of as the four-year college experience.
Try
asking your child if she wants to go to college. Try asking your child what
kind of career training he’d like to have.
Maybe
the answers will surprise you.
Two
recent commentaries are worth your time:
Michael
Petrilli on Slate.com lays it on the line:
“Kid,
I’m sorry, but you’re just not college material.”
Valerie
Strauss on WashingtonPost.com asks
this policy question:
“Who
should decide who is college material and who isn’t?
Obviously,
parents and their almost-high-school-graduate kids are the folks who need to do
the heavy lifting on this issue.
For
starters, parents need to stop insisting that their kids must go to college.
Robert
Samuelson of The Washington Post takes the trouble to point out that about 70%
of real life jobs don’t require a college degree…. see College isn't for everyone part I
and
yet, way more than half of high school graduates go to college (of course, not
all of them actually get a degree).
In
general, college costs way too much for what you get. If you want some
amplification on this point, talk to a recent graduate who’s still looking for
a job.
And
here’s the thing: not everybody is qualified to be successful in college.
Notice, I’m not arguing against the “right” of every kid to go to college, I’m
just saying that a lot of college freshmen don’t have the skills and mental
horsepower to get passing grades and graduate. For example, last year only 43%
of the high school students who took the SATs scored high enough to be
successful in the college classroom. See College isn't for everyone part II
Too
many college students end their college careers with no degree and lots of
student debt, and too many college graduates leave the campus with lots of
student debt.
The
whole mantra about “every child should go to college” is based on wishful
thinking and ignorance or indifference about the real-life certainty that a lot
of kids couldn’t possibly succeed on the college campus. Neither their parents
nor you and I (i.e., taxpayers) should spend a pile of money to pay for
ultimate failure.
As a
matter of national policy, let’s decide that every high school graduate should
have the opportunity to go on to get suitable training for a job/career that’s
compatible with the student’s capabilities and interests.
So
somebody can write a column with this headline:
“Hey kid,
good news, you’re gonna get education/training that’s right for you.”
>>>>> UPDATE <<<<<
Copyright
© Richard Carl Subber 2016 All rights reserved.
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