Good post on the subject of college... Why go?
Message 15676260
OT on college...
Rande – After four successful navigations (our own & two kid’s) through the college morass, my wife and I have
developed several precepts regarding college:
? The fundamental purpose of college is to teach one HOW TO THINK. The further one goes, of course, the
more abstract that process becomes. Some of us have the thinking process adequately developed in high school to
sally forth directly, but most do not.
? A significant secondary purpose is SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. Not everyone needs the college experience. But
many kids graduating from high school lack the maturity and social skills to thrive in the working world, in whatever
form that may take. College gives them the opportunity to make decisions, try new things, deal with stress, and
generally experience life in a somewhat protected, loosely structured environment, usually without a great deal of
parental involvement.
? It is vital that a student have a real INTEREST IN THE COURSE OF STUDY that he or she has chosen… not
one that Mom or Dad chose, not one that is uninteresting but can lead to astronomical income, but one that will
motivate her to learn (and thereby learn to think).
? Choose an APPROPRIATE INSTITUTION, one that will have the greatest chance of fulfilling the twin
objectives of challenging him to learn while giving him the maximum opportunity for success. As you noted,
companies look at how a person has done in college. Secondarily, they also look at the quality of the institution and
curriculum. Some areas of the country get outrageously parochial about one’s institutional pedigree. (I live in the
Boston area, one of the worst in that regard.) On balance, though, I agree that it is better to excel at a lesser
institution than to scrape by at a prestigious one.
? “SUCCESS” IS NOT GUARANTEED BY A COLLEGE DEGREE. Success takes many forms and can come
to people of all abilities. Work with assessment instruments that measure rates of learning and personality
characteristics shows that people with “normal” mental capacity are somewhat more likely to succeed in business
than the brightest among us. Perhaps the quest for perfection and other pursuits of a “holy grail” interfere with the
rapid decision cycles one encounters in business. A college education may aid the thinking skills, but may also
needlessly delay the pursuit of a passion by four years.
Two brief stories:
I developed my learn-to-think precept somewhat by force. When I tried to switch majors in college, the dean
reviewed my grades in the related foundation courses and announced that I should stay where I was. His reasoning
was that I would be more likely to achieve better grades, and more importantly, that all they were trying to do there
was… you guessed it… teach me how to think. Many years and many corporate subordinates later I truly believe
he was right.
And my kids each chose a major that had little likelihood of generating significant income. Although we encouraged
them to study what they loved, we also cautioned them to be aware that parental support ended with the degree. I
am happy to say that both did extremely well in school and today both are very successful financially. They really
enjoy what they are doing and have been able to build directly on their respective language and arts educations. It
seems the old adage… "Do what you love and love what you do"… also applies to college.
Sorry for the length… you hit a soft spot.
fc |
