I have long felt that college following H.S. is just extending adolescence. If teens were to be led into a service organization, such as VISTA, or any area of domestic or foriegn service so they could get a better grasp on what the world is really about, before going to college, they would be more matured and would take their continuing education much more seriously. Even those who go to work first and then enter college at a later time, seem to place a higher value on their education. This does not hold true for everyone -- there ARE some very serious students who come out of H.S. knowing what they want and determined to get it, but I believe they are more and more the minority.

I kno...

I have long felt that college following H.S. is just extending adolescence. If teens were to be led into a service organization, such as VISTA, or any area of domestic or foriegn service so they could get a better grasp on what the world is really about, before going to college, they would be more matured and would take their continuing education much more seriously. Even those who go to work first and then enter college at a later time, seem to place a higher value on their education. This does not hold true for everyone -- there ARE some very serious students who come out of H.S. knowing what they want and determined to get it, but I believe they are more and more the minority.

I know a brilliant, intelligent young man who got excellent grades in H.S. and went to a very prestigious engineering school only to nearly flunk out his freshman year. He is being allowed back this year on probational restrictions. Once away from the influence and guidance of his father, he didn't have the maturity to buckle down on his own -- cut loose from any parental authority, he became a partyer and lost sight of his goals. Hod he had to make a go of it in the real world first, that education his father was providing would have meant a whole lot more to him.

Learning the hard way? College is a place where entering adulthood people have 'great ideas,' that they now have a greater opportunity to put into practice.
Some are in fact great. others are total screw ups, and can be considered learning the hard way, or experience.
One of the things that is important is that through experience there is a change that results in the view of goals from short term to long term.
To a 20 year old 20 years is a lifetime. Gradually we learn somethings take that long or longer if they are going to work well (child rearing?), building a community, producing some forms of art, where the artist has a vision.(Just had visions of Michaelangelo painting the roof.)
Per...

Learning the hard way? College is a place where entering adulthood people have 'great ideas,' that they now have a greater opportunity to put into practice.
Some are in fact great. others are total screw ups, and can be considered learning the hard way, or experience.
One of the things that is important is that through experience there is a change that results in the view of goals from short term to long term.
To a 20 year old 20 years is a lifetime. Gradually we learn somethings take that long or longer if they are going to work well (child rearing?), building a community, producing some forms of art, where the artist has a vision.(Just had visions of Michaelangelo painting the roof.)
Perhaps the best way I've heard it explained, was an 80year old man quoted as saying:
"I wish I knew half as much as I thought I knew when I was 20.
There is value in both mentors and there need to be role models, but collage can be where a particular subject becomes a focus, and in a world of opportunity, some of these options must be tested for better or worse, so a career path can be chosen that is both satisfying and productive. Before a commitment can be made to a subject it must be compared to what must be ignored as a result.
The same things would no doubt happen with no college, but college rounds them up, and puts them all in the one location, so it's easy to see.
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