April 12, 2007
Push Them to Success?
Searching the Internet brought me to this quote from the Detroit Press in 2005
"The prevailing attitude is that children should be nudged, not pushed; nurtured, not nagged; encouraged to find their own way in an environment of low pressure and low expectations. But that doesn't produce nearly the results as a firm hand on the shoulder and the parental command of, "Go this way."
Few children are getting that sort of direction from their parents, according to the Your Child survey of Michigan residents aged 18-30, conducted by EPIC-MRA.
Only 30 percent of the young adults say their parents insisted on them going to college. Those children didn't rebel, as the popular parenting wisdom suggests.
Instead, they were more likely to earn a college degree and land in jobs that make them happier and pay them more than those with hands-off parents."
I can't disagree more.
The part I disagree most with is where they talk about jobs and money. I believe higher education is a wonderful thing - but like everything else it has pros and cons.
If a child enters college immediately after high school, how do they know what to study? How well are they prepared to be on their own? How much time will be spent in learning 'socialization skills' - like chugging a beer in 2.5 seconds!
Since Inever went to college I can't answer that.
But I can say that there is a world of opportunity out there - and my belief is that one of my kids will be far better off going into that world and enjoying it for a while (and learning his 'skills') before investing the time and money in higher education.
Your comments?
Miami
Filed under education by Miami
Comments on Push Them to Success? »
I appreciate your point on "not knowing what to be when we grow up". Heck, I'm 52 and still haven't figured it out, LOL. However, I think most of us would agree that there is a huge danger of not obtaining the higher education so important in our modern, busy world if there is too much of a break between high school and college. Life has a nasty talent for getting in the way.
I agree with the concept that popular definitions of success are a bunch of crap. My only guidance to my son is to find something that you truly enjoy doing when you grow up and not worry about the income. If you love what you are doing, the money will follow in adequate amounts.
Having said that, I would also be highly dissapointed of he did not immediately proceed to college. He attends a very fine private school and does very well there. I would not want him to lose momentum. I would rather he at least get his 4 year degree and then goof off for a bit if he is unsure about further education.
Just my 2 cents worth! Keep up the new project here, I think it has a lot of value for parents and our children. Since the day my son was born I have felt that raising up one good person for our world was the best contribution I could make to society!
Steve