Are parents justified in pressuring their teenage children to get a college education?

by Author Name Withheld 135

Created on: July 15, 2009   Last Updated: July 18, 2009

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!

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