Of course they have the opportunity to attend college, but there seems to be this mentality that it is a given that all who graduate from high school can and must attend college. The requirements to enter into college have been lowered significantly. I had to jump through hoops to get into school, and I was a good student.
I passed on some scholarships right out of high school because no one really stressed the importance of an education to me - the actual "here's what you get from an education" talk. No one is to blame, but it took me 15 years to complete my undergraduate work. It had nothing to do with my intellect. It had to do with my motivation and maturity level. Today, it seems that the talk about why a student might want to attend college is still left out.
I have students who tell me they are attending college for the grant and loan money. WHAT! I see them in class, turning in no work, until the 10% date when we are asked to turn in attendance for financial aid purposes, and then those same students disappear. They got paid to attend college for approximately 12 class days!
Why doesn't someone have the speech that says, "college is not for everyone. Have you thought about a trade career?" What is so wrong with being a mechanic or carpenter? Restore old cars, build homes, design beautiful landscapes, fix the plumbing or lay brick. All of these professions and so many more are all valid and essential to the success of a community. Why are these people looked down upon?
I always want students to believe that they can achieve anything, but the longer I teach the more I see that college is not for everyone. People should not be forced to think that a college degree is the only way to be a success. I went to school because I wanted to do something different. I worked at a bank, answering service and retail chain all at the same time. I slowly let one after the other go so that I could finish my bachelor's degree.
The thing is that I climbed the corporate ladder (cliched I know) to Call Center Manager at the bank with a cushy salary. I could have stayed there, with the one degree, and been very successful to some. But I was bored. I then became a head hunter. Again, very lucrative but no fire or passion. Then news writer, photographer, world traveler and finally teacher.
Teacher. The one where I make the least amount of money. The one where I can help to change the world one student at a time simply by asking him or her to think for him or herself. But, even that cannot last. To stay ahead even in academia, you are expected to continue to claw your way to the top. So I now have more responsibility and therefore more money, but it is not the job I want. I like to teach and spend time with students and not worry about deadlines, curriculum and so on.
What should I care about?
I care about people. I care about love. I care about making a difference in the lives of the people I encounter. I care about being human. I care about people making good choices. I do not need a big paycheck.
With this in mind, there should be a move away from the mighty BUCK and a shove towards being happy. If being a chef makes you happy, then go to cooking school or better yet, take all the old family recipes and just start cooking. Does education help in some instances? Yes. Do some jobs require a degree? Yes. Do you need to try and fit a square peg into a round hole? No. Follow your heart and not the trends in society. Not everyone is meant to go to college. Some are meant for even greater things.
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