Friday, January 15, 2010

Finding a Match

The 18-year-old here is in her senior year in high school and judging by the amount of "junk mail" that's been flowing into the house, she has apparently been signing up for every type of higher educational place on the face of the earth.

Cards, invitations to open houses, booklets about this school and that -mostly all from universities and many of these, out-of-state, no less have been arriving at a clip of at least two, sometimes five or six a day, for the past several months now.

All addressed to her!

And most of them, she's requested information from, she's given no forethought as to the requirements of these schools -like decent grades, for openers, much less to the costs involved in them either.

Now, don't get me wrong here, as I am a big, VERY big in fact, proponent of higher education. Get as much of it as you possibly can. But I'd also prefer to see her -and others like her -avail themselves of the free education each has available to them that leads up to the lovely high school diploma too!

And that, well that's a sticking point here between her ideas and mine, for sure!

But be that as it may, the kid definitely isn't going to be able to get a job once she graduates from high school with an ambition level that is as close to "null and void" as I think one could possibly be and still pass a class and graduate.!

Definitely at the rate she's going, those big paychecks -often associated with jobs in IT, for example, definitely aren't going to be coming her way unless she does a total about face and gets some additional training!

Just getting into a university is going to be rough for her -grades aside -because she hasn't taken what is really a solid academic course load in high school. But, even though I've tried to stress the idea of getting as much as possible out of each class she's taken, I wasn't referring to a steady exchange of notes between herself and her classmates of a personal nature, but rather of taking good legible -and valid -notes in each class and actually opening the text book to do some serious reading and studying of each subject as well.

I'm thinking right now that if she does wrangle some school into accepting her, she's going to have one royal rude awakening once she realizes whether you are in a big college/university, a business school or just some rinky-dink-fly-by-night type school/educational program, there's going to have to be a complete about-face with respect to cracking open those books and not just using them to hold papers in place or for swatting at insects or trying to get the cat or the dog to move!

Should be interesting to watch -for sure. Also depressing too, in a way, because I have visions of a lot of money just racing down the drain then unless the above changes of pace and attitude first take place! (My Scottish ancestry as well as the conservative side of my Swedish roots will all be in total turmoil over the thought of wasted money in that way, ya know.)

12 comments:

CiCi said...

I don't blame you. I too abhor waste, money, food, time, gray matter. She will have to wake up some day. Maybe she won't even go to college if she doesn't understand the basics of how to be accepted into a college. Good luck to her anyway.

Keith said...

I tried telling that to my daughter a few years ago. She tried Community College but dropped out after 1 semester. She does have a job now, but is going to be 21 years old in March and is still in my house and just as lazy as ever.

fermicat said...

Ah, I remember that avalanche of direct mail from seemingly every college or university in the nation during my senior year. That stuff comes whether you request it or not. She should wade through it and see if anything catches her fancy. Then she has to evaluate the opportunity. Good luck to her.

Maggie May said...

Good luck to her.
Hope nothing will be wasted.

Nuts in May

(not necessarily your) Uncle Skip said...

There are alternatives to college or the workplace. The best part is it doesn't require a permanent commitment and the education can be resumed after. It even teaches a little bit about responsibility and, sometimes, maturity.
It's a government job that doesn't pay well, but provides room, board, and clothing [though not necessarily the latest fashion unless you're into camouflage].
Just a thought

Morgan Mandel said...

I fight a constant battle against junk mail. I usually lose because I don't have enough time to keep up with it.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Dr.John said...

Sometimes they grow up just in time . My three did and all are now college graduates with good jobs.

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Kat said...

It seems to me that the majority of kids going to college waist their opportunity. Whether they don't make the grade or even when they do they don't go into the field they studied. Then they leave college with massive amounts of debt and no way to pay it. Egad!!!

Barb said...

It's something she'll have to find out for herself.. and let's both hope she WILL learn it and succeed.

Suldog said...

I realize the pragmatism needed, but there's something to be said for using your youth to just enjoy yourself. You don't get two cracks at it. Of course, I'm talking out my a$$. I don't live with the two of you (or even one of you!)

This Eclectic Life said...

These days, it's not just grades that get you into good colleges ... but the extracurricular activities in which you participated! Yep, these high school kids are in for a huge wake-up call when they head of to college. It's a different world there.