controversial
i know my thoughts on the matter are controversial but i really do believe that not everyone needs to go to college. i understand the need for an educated society, however, that presumes that only form of education is found at a university or college system. to be quite honest, there are other places to learn.
i find it sad that our society "only" values people who hold a degree, and at that, a degree in certain fields. i don't think education should necessarily hold a purpose or a degree should be utilitarian. learning can be done for learning's sake. why not?
so when i see articles like this one on cnn today, i am very pleased with it. i find it valuable for students to have "other" experiences. those experiences of traveling, volunteering, working, etc. are invaluable tools to a world view and a perspective that cannot be learned at a university, or for that matter, valued appropriately by the student with no experience.
i find students today frequently shuffled into college when they aren't ready. they only sigh-up because they are told this is what they have to do. for four, five, six years, they are miserable, have no goal, no perspective, no idea why they are there nor what they should be getting from the experience. this is tragic to me. i so wish someone, somewhere, ANYONE, (thank you princeton) would say, take a year, travel, volunteer somewhere, teach english, do mission work (ugh!), get a job, gain some perspective before agreeing to do something that you don't even understand why you are doing it in the first place.
i would make an awesome high school counselor. parents would have me fired!
i find it sad that our society "only" values people who hold a degree, and at that, a degree in certain fields. i don't think education should necessarily hold a purpose or a degree should be utilitarian. learning can be done for learning's sake. why not?
so when i see articles like this one on cnn today, i am very pleased with it. i find it valuable for students to have "other" experiences. those experiences of traveling, volunteering, working, etc. are invaluable tools to a world view and a perspective that cannot be learned at a university, or for that matter, valued appropriately by the student with no experience.
i find students today frequently shuffled into college when they aren't ready. they only sigh-up because they are told this is what they have to do. for four, five, six years, they are miserable, have no goal, no perspective, no idea why they are there nor what they should be getting from the experience. this is tragic to me. i so wish someone, somewhere, ANYONE, (thank you princeton) would say, take a year, travel, volunteer somewhere, teach english, do mission work (ugh!), get a job, gain some perspective before agreeing to do something that you don't even understand why you are doing it in the first place.
i would make an awesome high school counselor. parents would have me fired!
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I agree with you, and what Princeton is doing is similar to the "gap year" over in England.
And yeah, not everyone needs to go to college.
i read your post yesterday and i thought about it going to sleep...scrubbing the shampoo in my hair...rocking my infant at 2 this morning.... i think you are right. hands down, this is true. college is pushed in the same fervor as chuck norris pushes his workout machine (not much on at 2). The non-profit bullshit is a lie, obvious by the marketing money spent by these institutions. college is overrated and used to separate the classes. It is a dumb weight that builds little muscle. But I do see it's value in giving our country a bit of intelligence. I do fear that our nation is getting dumber. And of course I do see it's value in certain professions (I don't think this is debated, although I don't think doctors are near bright as they used to be). I would like to see more importance placed on emotional/social/confidence intelligence and I would like to see more practical involvement on a micro and macro scale (going to other countries as well as practicing the trade). It's all books at the university. Anyway, great post. I do have a bachelors with two majors and two minors and a master's degree. My belittling of the system is an experienced belittling, but I tend to belittle anything I'm good at. : )