Deciding whether to pursue a college education isn't the easy decision it once was.
The dollar is falling in value almost constantly. The rising costs of living--food, gas, energy, insurance--means families have fewer dollars even before they send their son or daughter off to school. The rising costs of school--tuition, rent, new gyms, meal plans, dropped-class fees, hang tags--means staying in school is more expensive than ever before.
There are fewer jobs for graduates than there's been in our entire lives. A statistic released this week shows that one in two graduates is in a job for which they're overqualified, or they have no job at all.
It's a hard reality that the benefits of a degree are being outpaced by the costs.
We believe a college degree is still a wise investment, but students must understand that piling themselves with debt has become a risk that may not pay out. There's not much of a dent to be made in $70,000 of debt if a graduate is working in retail.
A change in mentality must follow a change in economic outlook. High schools are still hammering students with the notion that a fully actualized American is one with a college degree. This simply isn't true.
The hardworking men and women of the blue collar world deserve the respect and admiration of our culture. An education of the hands and body is no less worthy than an education of the mind.
High schools need to prepare students for the world in which they live, not the world we wish existed. Instead of legislation like No Child Left Behind, we need programs that encourage more high schools to send students uninterested in college into their communities to discover the fields of work that interest them.
A college education is no longer the only wide avenue to education. The explosion of information available on the Internet means there's little stopping anyone from self-education. Too often do we view life in stages. Education does not, and should not, only occur from the ages of 5-22.
Ultimately it falls to parents to steer their children in the direction best for them. We future parents should understand that our children may have talents and interests that lead down a path that doesn't involve a college education.
Don't push them away from a career because it involves honest work and not memos and Microsoft Excel.
If they're encouraged to pursue work that truly matters to them, they're far more likely to one day own that work instead of letting it own them.
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