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Pam's avatar

You must be kidding me with this article. What’s wrong with the parents and if their kids are so mentally disturbed maybe college is not the place for them now. Seems like it’s time for the parents to grow up. I went to university for an education not to receive social services.

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Russell Colt's avatar

Totally agree. Like this is outright insanity. I was the first person in my family to go to university here in Canada and it was a thrilling achievement for me at the time. I felt nothing less than 90% stoke and excitement mixed with a minor amount of 5% of fear I would fail and 5% fear of the student loans I needed to take on at the time. Looking back my university experience (which I finished in 2010) was just the most incredible experience in my life. I loved it and it was incredible. There were some moments that led to me being humbled and realizing I needed to change my definition of "work" but god to read these posts where somehow in the span on 10 years signing up for university of college is now being presented as this traumatizing experience where the school is somehow (mysteriously) responsible for managing the mental health of these students is beyond strange. For fucks sake go to your first year class which lets me honest....isn't going to be that hard...and just do the homework, enjoy meeting your friends and just have a blast. This is one of the oddest posts I have seen on Common Sense.

Common Sense is this: If you are lucky enough to be admitted to a Canadian or US university of College you are literally amongst the most lucky people on the face of the earth. Enjoy it and stop the victimization drama

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Poweraid's avatar

I just sent two off to college for the first time, different schools (one large public, one small private). At both parent orientations, 90% of the information given was about diversity, mental health and all of the resources they have to help kids. Only 10% was about the actual education. It was bananas.

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Brian Katz's avatar

Wow. That’s tough to sit through.

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Brian Katz's avatar

Yes, the parents are the problem.

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Jon's avatar

Seriously, I'm not sure which direction the author is advocating.

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james p mc grenra's avatar

that is because the author did not give solutions...like always.

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Ashe's avatar

She recommended kids having a job first. She also recommended taking a gap year. It’s at the end of the article. Basically you can’t get them ready in one summer. Make sure they can get themselves up and get to work on their own before sending them off to college.

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Joe Horton's avatar

Sometimes it’s the parents. But it seems to me that society has generally created the expectation that, just as everyone is expected to finish high school, the next expected step is going to college. Obama’s wife said as much.

I disagree. College has indeed become a de facto babysitting institution for many who neither want it nor need it. It’s expensive in that it a) costs a lot of money up front and b) delays millions of people each year from making any positive contribution to society.

The fact that a third (!) of enrolling college freshmen don’t become sophomores is telling. You don’t need college to paint a house, or to build, plumb or electrify it, or to drive a semi. College is irrelevant to lots of jobs that pay quite well. Smart people recognize that and many go to work straight out of high school. Not all smart people go to college.

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Jim Wills's avatar

"College has indeed become a de facto babysitting institution for many who neither want it nor need it."

As they say at the shootin' matches, you drove dead center. My cousin's son told him fifteen years ago that he absolutely did not want to go to college. He instead went to work for the power company; within six months he was stringing 765,000 Volt lines on the top of 150' towers. He's now FAR up in the management hierarchy, strong, muscular, self-confident, with piercing eyes, management skills, more toys than he knows what do do with - and by the way, beating good-looking women off with a stick. And no college loans to worry about. Now If I could just convince MY two sons of that ....

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Poweraid's avatar

A LOT is the parents. I'm on the FB parent pages of my two in college. Wow. It's a therapist's dream. Parents posting about crying while making their kid's favorite meal after they left for college ["Tonight I cried over chicken."] (yes, actual quote), orchestrating roommates, complaining that their son was woken up in his dorm by drunk girls. It goes on. The upside is that it provides wonderful fodder for our family group chat.

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Gretchen Grace's avatar

Yes the parent Facebook pages for the colleges are pretty incredible. I’d love to just constantly post the eye roll emoji on most of their posts. Have you read any of the grown and flown stuff? Most of that is pretty eye roll worthy as well.

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Bruce Miller's avatar

Parents complaining about their son being awakened in his dorm by drunk girls? Seriously? When I was in college we would have prayed for that. But, then, dorms weren't co-ed either. That kid has some seriously messed up parents.

btw, get off the FB parent page. And FB generally.

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Poweraid's avatar

yeah I know. I hate FB, but the parent pages do provide some solid info at times which is the only reason why I follow them. oh and for the laughs.

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Bruce Miller's avatar

Anyway, after I wrote it, I thought "what an obnoxious thing to say." Sorry.

I can only imagine the helicopter parents posting there........

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Bruce Miller's avatar

We need smart plumbers, electricians, mechanics etc - all skills not taught in college.

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BradK (Afuera!)'s avatar

It costs more per hour for a plumber than for a software developer, the former of which cannot be outsourced or offshored.

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JoAnne's avatar

What is also very great about the American college system is that a plumber, mechanic, etc. can enroll in a business or accounting class to support the growth of their business or a theater, horticulture, or philosophy class to support an interest.

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bestuvall's avatar

I taught art history to prison guards at Raiford in Florida at night. at least I did not fear walking to my car. LOL. and a few were really interested

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Karen Lynch's avatar

Hear hear!

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Reuven's avatar

These mentally fragile people with "eating disorders", and the propensity for "self-harm" wouldn't last a day doing any real work as a plumber, electrician, or a mechanic.

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Douglas Hayward's avatar

I think that’s what the article is in fact saying?

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Nathan's avatar

Yeah that's how I read the "don't overpromise" point.

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