College is not for everyone and not going to college is not a sign of failure

A comment I posted on Boston.com in response to an article further condemning our elementary, middle and high schools because all of those students who finished with their secondary education and moved on to college did not necessarily get a degree. I maintain that a college degree or a high school diploma are not, in themselves, measures of success. Instead, it is the student who is evidence of success or failure in how she feels about her life, what her goals are and how prepared and realistic she is to meet and exceed those goals.

College has been touted for years as the be all and end all for students. Those who do not go are considered losers or not worthy.

The truth is college is NOT for everyone. The fact that every student who attends college does not complete college is not a sign of a failing school system, except in the fact that that system pushed and pushed and pushed students towards college when those students were feeling pulled in another direction.

The fact that Bill Gates did not finish college is not a poor reflection on his high school but a reflection of Bill Gates, he knew what he wanted, he knew how to get it and he did. That is how we should look at our students. No, they will not all become the next Bill Gates, but they probably wouldn't be the next Bill Gates if they finished college either. College is a hugely expensive investment that is not for everyone and leaves many (graduates and non-graduates alike) with nothing but a huge mountain of debt.

You can be successful without college and it's time we stopped pushing it so much to everyone. Now, it is not for the teachers, administrators, parents, etc to make that decision but if a child feels she should go to college (or wants to) and is able, she should. If she feels like college isn't for her and she has other plans, she should be able to make that decision. What's the point of thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars spent or debt incurred if all along the student knew she wanted to be a fire fighter, or a hairdresser, or something else? Or she didn't know WHAT she wanted to be but went and dutifully got her degree only having to re-do it later when her true passions emerged?

Musings of Procrastination

Because I don't want to start on my work or maybe I do but I can't....One is the non-ADHD definition, the other the ADHD definition. This is not my musing, but I'll go with it for a moment anyway. So, if I don't want a label, I'm a lazyass, but if I don't mind the label, I can still be a lazy ass without it actually being my fault*.

On to my musing. I've figured out the whole pro-choice, pro-life Republican/Democrat conundrum and it goes like this:

Pro-Lifers and Republicans (definitely for the first and mostly for the second): don't care what happens to your child after birth, they just want it to be born. (Healthcare? Special needs services? WIC services? Parenting classes? Financial Aid for college? Uh, not on their dime.)

Pro-choicers and Democrats (again, for the most part): don't care if your kid is born or not BUT if it is, want to make sure that it has the same good start in life and the same chances as any other kid..(Healthcare? Special needs services? WIC? etc, bring it on, baby. It's just a child and can't help it.)

Which is more child friendly?

*This is not to say that ADHD is not a real condition or can be turned on and off and it's not that I'm disparaging anyone who has a mean case of it...I'm just saying sometimes I feel like I'm right there on the cusp and the way I choose to lean (my fault, not my fault) says a lot.

Rock the Vote

Get out there and vote. And, if there's a Ben and Jerry's near you, go ahead and get you some free ice cream when you're done. Don't waste your time reading this silly blog, I almost never update it.

VOTE!