Get a Widget for this title
RSS Feed
Are parents justified in pressuring their teenage children to get a college education?
Are parents justified in pressuring their teenage children to get a college education?
Title endorsed in part by:
Results so far:
| Yes | 67% | 281 votes | Total: 421 votes | |
| No | 33% | 140 votes |
Yes
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesI can still remember my senior year in high school. I was a gawky teen who had average grades. My lack of self-confidence and insecurity in knowing who I was and where I fit in was something I lived with every day. With four sisters, my family was rather large and as I started to consider my choices after high school, I recognized that my parents weren't wealthy. We grew up in a middle class home filled with the basics, but not the extras. In addition, I had no idea of what I wanted to do for a living. How could I go to college if I had no concept on what to study?
I remember telling my parents that I was considering secretarial school. The program was offered in a nearby town and I would be ready for a secretarial job in less than 6 months. While "pressure" is a very strong word, my parents quietly encouraged me to apply for colleges too. It was the first time that I realized they had aspirations for me - that they believed that I could be successful in college. Their confidence gave me confidence. I applied to a few colleges, received several acceptances and chose a school about five hours away from home. To make a long story short, it was one of the best decisions of my life. College doesn't just provide you with an education; it also helps to make you mentally strong. I realized in four short years how much I was capable of. The insecurity that I had lived with in my adolescence began to melt away.
It's been 30 years since I've graduated from college and now I'm the parent of two teenagers. And, yes, I think parents have the responsibility to encourage their children to achieve. Even if you think your teen is not listening to you, they're quietly sizing themselves up and making decisions based on what you think they're capable of. Why not let your child know that you believe they're able to succeed in college? What is wrong with setting the bar high? There are so many choices when it comes to college that it's hard believe that there isn't a fit for every child. As Americans, we have access to private and public colleges and universities. We can choose to attend a community college. We can generalize or specialize our education - the choices seem endless!
When I think back to the crossroads I faced as a senior, I'm horrified that I lacked the aplomb to believe I was smart enough to attend college. Had it not been for my parent's intervention, I would have missed out on a fabulous opportunity. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for the providing the love and encouragement I needed to take that important step.
Learn more about this author, Kimberly Cohen.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
No
While statistics may show that college graduates are, more often than not, in receipt of a higher income, no statistics say that college graduates are happier, do they? The simple fact of the matter is that not everybody is suitable for an academic higher education. Pushing those with little interest into taking college courses has a good chance of leading to the student dropping out... with a lot of student debt.
I was academically minded at school and thus was sent to a school for that type of student. But, by the same token, a large number of my friends were most certainly not academically minded but have achieved success anyway, without college or university education. Every country needs its tradesmen and women. Why should it be looked down on that someone would prefer to leave school and be vocationally trained instead of going to a college where they will simply be subject to high fees, living costs without an income to supplement them and all to study a course in which they have no interest to lead to a career they have no passion for? Where is the sense in that?
I believe teenagers have enough about them by the time it comes to making such a choice to know exactly what they want. The old parental, "Well, you will thank me for it one day," is nothing more than a push on the side of the parent because they believe it's for the best.
I can understand that for parents who had college educations and who have since found themselves a great deal of success in positions that relied on those courses, it is pretty difficult to accept that your teenager might not want to embark upon the same level of education you did. But there is a terrible habit amongst pushier parents of trying to force your own ambitions for your child onto them without taking what they want into consideration.
I genuinely that believe that, when it comes to the time you will have that very conversation with your child, the only time you should worry is if the teenager says they do not want to do anything at all. At least give him or her a chance, however, to share their own plan with you. Perhaps they'll have ideas of becoming vocationally trained in a trade, perhaps they have work experience plans lined up, maybe they are looking into a field of employment with no requirement for a college degree.
Not going to college does not mean a student is stupid or unambitious. It can often simply mean that their strengths and passions lie outside of academia. And such strengths and passions are no less valid than those who wish to embark upon a college education. Let your teen choose for themselves!
Learn more about this author, Stacey Cavanagh.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Colleges & Universities (Other)
- Do current admissions strategies result in the top colleges choosing the best and the brightest?
- Should college education be available to the many or reserved for the few?
- Should colleges require summer reading of incoming freshmen?
- Is professor bias a problem in our public colleges and universities?
- Is a college degree necessary for success?
