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Originally Posted by jodi_m
Maybe this has a lot to do with area too. I live in a rural setting and at least half, probably more, of my class did not go on to school. I'm just playing devil's advocate here  - but what if your child does not want to go to school? I just want to put in my two cents that a lot of learning that is good does not happen in college, and most of the learning I did in college did not prepare me at all for "real" life. I guess I am one of those people who has a job though simply because I have a degree, so I'm not knocking college. In fact, I will do everything I can to encourage and assist my children to go - but I will not force them. So here's a side conversation - if your child does not continue in their education, will you help them financially get set up in life (apartment, job expenses, etc.)?
Interesting topic! |
97% of my high school class went to college. I was one of the 3% that didn’t initially go. I went a year later and dropped out because of financial reasons. I don’t have a degree. However, I continue to take 1 or 2 classes at a time until I get my degree. I hate school. I’ve always hated school. I don’t enjoy learning in a classroom environment. But, I love to learn. I read tons of non fiction books.
What if my child doesn’t want to go to college? I think this is more of a social economic question. 97% of my high school class went to college. Not because 97% of them wanted to, but, because it was expected of them. The parents treated it as a part of life, the next step in a process. Not an optional step. Just like most people are expected to go to elementary, middle, and high school. My child will think that college will be that next step after high school. It’ll be expected, just like it is expected that the chores get done on Saturday morning before they go out to play. I think that most “well to do” people treat their kids this way in terms of education. “College is part of life, and you’re going to do it. When you’re done, you can do whatever you want.”
The high school I graduated from was in a “well to do” area of the country. In terms of wealth, it was probably within the top 1 to 2% of the country. Now, I wasn’t really a part of that community. I came from the opposite side of the tracks. My mom, for absolutely no reason (she was crazy), had kicked me out of the house and a nice “well to do” family took me in. I got to see a lot of “that’s how I want to do things when I grow up.” And one of the things I got to see was how the rich expect their kids to graduate from college. It’s not really an option. In fact, many of them told their kids that if they didn’t graduate, they got s**t for life. If they did graduate, they got a new car. Most of their parents also paid 95% of the way.
If my children don’t continue their education will I help them out financially? They’ll certainly think that I won’t. But, in reality, I probably will. Just don’t tell my kids that.