College

For some reason I found myself reading Time.com this morning (strange due to the fact that I usually try to stay away from such dribble) and stumbled across an article on college rankings (a la US News' annual college rankings). After reading said article (which I only skimmed before realizing I was reading Time Magazine and stopped) I got to thinking about students as consumers. Not consumers of normal things mind you, but as consumers of higher education. When did college lose it's mantra of being a place of preparatory education? The springboard for careers such as engineers, teachers, doctors, lawyers, architects...need I go on? College is regarded as "the next step after high school" in this country. Funneling 18-year-olds from their high school graduation straight into college whether or not they deserve to be there, appreciate being there, or have a plan for attending. Now don't read "deserve" with an upper class mentality of "born to go to college", but rather read "deserve" as the personal behavior of the student. Do they know what they "want to be when they grow up?" or are they just trying to "find themselves?" at the expense of those who love them (for many) or those who truly "deserve" the opportunity (for probably more). Waiting grant money, scholarship money, or even trust fund money on a barely-adult who changes their major 6 times in 4 years (causing them to spend an extra two years finishing up major number six) is really just that, a waste. Since when is "General Studies" an occupation providing benefit to society? How can parents allow their children to go into debt for thousands and thousands of dollars when there is no job in sight? What about the kids that aren't given the chance to go to school because all the scholarships are given away to girls who don't plan on working a day in their life because college to them was "husband shopping" or guys who just wanted to "fit in" and be like "everyone else" and couldn't care less about getting a job in any particular "field" when they graduated. What about the people who know they only need an associates degree to be "ready" for their chosen profession...should those individuals be valued any less because they didn't have "a true college experience"?

Now don't get me wrong, I do believe that everyone in this country has the right to attain higher education. I am not saying only affluent members of society should be allowed to attend as was the trend in the past. What I contend is that parents of today place so much emphasis on telling their children "You can be whatever you want when you grow up" that they forget that some things cannot be taught. You cannot teach a person who abhors math to become an engineer anymore than you can teach a fish to fly or a bird to swim. Realistic goals for our children's futures should be set early on in childhood. If Johnnie was born with no tongue or no sense of smell, he probably shouldn't pursue a career as a food critic.

At some point people will come to realize that the high tuition prices are simple supply and demand...the more people who are "expecting" to go to college, regardless of cost, the more colleges will be charging...the more they will have to expand their facilities...and the less effective their teaching will become. I look forward to the day when a high school senior realizes that the job they want doesn't "require" a college education, but rather an apprenticeship, or enrollment in a trade school. A simpler time awaits...