I followed a link to an interesting article listing 7 Reasons Not To Send Your Children To College. It touches on quite a few things I've been saying, as well as what Aaron Cleary says.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/08/06/seven-reasons-not-to-send-your-kids-to-college/
I am, of course, all for education, learning, college, all that good stuff. I believe the system has become horribly inflated and is probably heading for a crash. I also believe it needs to crash. It needs a free market streamlining.
I would probably word the title a little differently, but I'm not the one who was paid to write it. I'm all for your children and mine going to college, when they are ready to study a subject they will do well in and provide value to the economy in.
Most parents I know are saving for their childrens' college. I'm not. I have several reasons for this. The top reason is, I don't have the budget for it. All the other reasons have to do with what my mom taught me: you value things you have to earn. Giving your child a college education can and probably most often does result in him or her not placing the appropriate value on it.
Not all children are ready for college. I sure wasn't. It would have been a waste to send me to college fresh from high school. I knew that. Instead, I joined the Navy, learned electronics and other useful skills, then gained engineering experience. When I hit my 30's, I decided it was time to get a degree. I graduated with a degree in Information Technology with a 3.87 GPA and two children who weren't sleeping through the night. I was ready.
I think rather than telling children "You will go to college!" we'll give them a better life if we tell them "You will learn a trade, and you will learn continuously. You will read books and learn new subjects. You will improve your thinking skills. You will support yourself and any family you have." Let them decide on college when they're ready. And let them figure out how to pay for it.
Once the student loan golden goose stops laying eggs, the higher education system will begin to streamline.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/08/06/seven-reasons-not-to-send-your-kids-to-college/
I am, of course, all for education, learning, college, all that good stuff. I believe the system has become horribly inflated and is probably heading for a crash. I also believe it needs to crash. It needs a free market streamlining.
I would probably word the title a little differently, but I'm not the one who was paid to write it. I'm all for your children and mine going to college, when they are ready to study a subject they will do well in and provide value to the economy in.
Most parents I know are saving for their childrens' college. I'm not. I have several reasons for this. The top reason is, I don't have the budget for it. All the other reasons have to do with what my mom taught me: you value things you have to earn. Giving your child a college education can and probably most often does result in him or her not placing the appropriate value on it.
Not all children are ready for college. I sure wasn't. It would have been a waste to send me to college fresh from high school. I knew that. Instead, I joined the Navy, learned electronics and other useful skills, then gained engineering experience. When I hit my 30's, I decided it was time to get a degree. I graduated with a degree in Information Technology with a 3.87 GPA and two children who weren't sleeping through the night. I was ready.
I think rather than telling children "You will go to college!" we'll give them a better life if we tell them "You will learn a trade, and you will learn continuously. You will read books and learn new subjects. You will improve your thinking skills. You will support yourself and any family you have." Let them decide on college when they're ready. And let them figure out how to pay for it.
Once the student loan golden goose stops laying eggs, the higher education system will begin to streamline.
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