Yes

7 of 34

by Heather Huff

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The wording of this question is misleading. However your feelings about the word pressure, insisting a child attend college would hardly be considered a negative concept. Compel, drive, and insist are all synonyms of the word pressure. If I ask instead, Are parents justified in insisting their teenage children to attend college, does it sound the same? Then there is the teenage children part. Does anyone expect the average teenager to go to college before graduating high school? I think not. When you graduate from high school, that is the appropriate time to attend college. However, some students entering college happen to be teenagers. For example, I was seventeen when I graduated high school and entered college, in which case I guess I was still considered a teenager. Now that I've addressed semantics, lets address reality.

Some people may argue, not everyone is cut out to go to college. That is complete bologna. No one ever said you have to be a top of the list high school graduate, or have to go to an Ivy League school to get a decent education. There are a myriad of colleges out there that accept, and even seek out, students who didn't make the grade in high school. In Colleges That Change Lives, by Loren Pope, he highlights 40 colleges that do just that. He writes, They change lives of A students, B students, C students, people with learning difficulties, late bloomers, the handicapped or disabled, or almost anyone with the desire to learn and grow. In short, they make winners because they exert a special magic, intelligent caring, and tough love (p.14). Pope writes about a business professor from St. Andrew's in Lauringburg, NC, who proudly states that We take kids who haven't done well in high school, but we turn out people who compete with the Ivies. I'd put them up against the Ivies (p.148).

Next, let's talk about the cost of college. Should one push a child to get into an Ivy League college with the costs to match if the pocketbook doesn't afford? Hardly. Parents and children need to be realistic about tuition costs and how it will affect them down the road. It makes no sense to get a degree, then not be able to make loan payments and support a life simultaneously. Students can get a decent education at a smaller, less expensive school and sometimes it can be a more rewarding experience to boot. A student who attended a University wrote, I was in classes of 2,000, sitting in the balcony; I could have gotten my degree without ever getting out of bed except to take an exam. I could have hired note-takers to do the rest (Colleges That Change Lives, by Loren Pope, p.22). It's worth mentioning that two-year colleges and other institutions, such as those that teach a specific trade, are advantageous. Obviously, research needs to be done when considering the future of your child.

What is the hype about education right after high school? Many recent high school graduates are unprepared to go out into the great yonder. Can it be done? Sure, but not without a struggle. We've all heard of the statistics, but I'll throw some out there anyway. As reported by www.Ed.gov, in 2006, the median income of a full-time salary worker ages 25-34 with a Bachelor's degree or higher was 50,000 for a male and 41,000 for a female. For a person with a high school diploma or GED, it was 30,000 for a male and 24,000 for a female. Is it only about money, though? No, but isn't it harder to support yourself and a family on $24-$30,000? Go to www.bls.gov and you will see for yourself many statistics related to this topic as well as occupations as it relates to income. One can conclude, possessing a college degree is more beneficial that not having one.

Some people argue that many youngsters don't know what they want to do with their lives after graduating high school. Well, join the club. I was unsure of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but college helped me sort that out. College is a time where students are introduced to various fields of work and study. It broadens their proverbial horizons. Also, many colleges don't require a major declaration right away. Most college students change their major at least once, reports www.college.gov. Even people in their forties and beyond are making career changes. People and times change. Does that mean a college education is worthless? Hardly.

College is a time where students learn how to live independently and become self-sufficient. Still a community of rules and consequences, a college campus is a more forgiving environment than the real world if one makes a mistake. It is a place of learning and growing in every sense. Also, college is a place where people of many different backgrounds converge, therefore, tolerance and understanding is essential. The college experience extends to many areas of life and learning.

In 2006, the number of adults age 25 and older enrolled in college was an estimated 6.7 million (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006). Why would so many adults feel compelled to go to college when the challenges they face as an adult is ten-fold, compared to when they were fresh out of high school? As an adult student, one must juggle a full time job, family, and commitments to their community, for example. Wouldn't it have been easier to go to college right out of high school? Adults are going to college in record numbers because they have opened their eyes to the reality that a college degree has benefits ranging from a better job and more money, to personal growth and accomplishment and so on. Of course there are circumstances where people couldn't go to college until they were older, but there are many people who had the opportunity when they were younger, but chose not to go.

Are parents justified in pressuring their teenage children to get an education? Absolutely!

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