High school seniors, who realized back in ninth grade that
they had no desire to attend college, are anxious to enter the workforce to
earn money for dream fulfillment. These
youngsters likely were less-than-stellar students who had to work hard for
everything they got, or they were lazy laggards who blamed society for every
misstep in their lives. In any case,
they are now attempting to enter society as an employee with 12-years of
training.
On the other hand, some of those laggards will enter the
world of academe to simply delay the inevitable task of searching for a
job. They will likely sponge off society
– if not mom and dad – during their quests to discover additional avenues to
sloth-like behavior in later life.
Those high schoolers that go directly to work, rather than
college, deserve lots of credit for realizing they do not have the skills or
desires to slog through another few years of school. Such responsible attitudes easily eliminate
the painful courses of life to which we refer as ‘knowing your limitations.’
There is little common sense in spending countless thousands
of dollars on a college education to prove to others that you are not cut out
to be a corporate executive, or merely possess an advanced degree in order to
repair wheel barrows.
Likewise, many educated people who studied hard to attain those
MA’s, MBA’s, and PhD’s, are more comfortable in higher-learning institutions
than dirtying their hands. And, they are
often delighted paying those less-educated folks $90/hour and up for an
opportunity to repair their toilets or mow their lawns.
These well-educated people usually live in metropolitan hubs
and often look down on those with a lesser scholastic background. Think of their student loan debt as a badge
of knowledge and intelligence; they do.
Initially, they went to college to more easily find a job and earn more
money once one was located. In reality,
much of their earnings are being used to repay their student loans. Ergo, their
education is supposed to be their currency.
But, a third group exists that defies logic for much of
society. This group consists of laggards
who are unable to work with their hands in a trade and are equally unable to
find a job only because they never applied for one. They enjoy going to school. We refer to this group as ‘professional
students.’
Our family had a professional student who may still be in
school after 34 years. He studied
mechanical engineering, English, computer programming, history, and sciences,
and may actually be in a position to get a job serving French fries under the
golden arches.
Let’s not forget those 5th-year seniors who are
on the cusp of acquiring an NFL contract.
It seems a bit odd to me when the college basketball team enters the
court to a screaming fan group from AARP.
That perfect storm combines a little bit of knowledge with
attitude, and a smidgen of hormones and an overdose of bravado. This concoction will point the direction for
the life course compasses these young know-it-alls have.
The bottom line is kids will gravitate toward what they
enjoy and with what they are comfortable.
Some will teens will leave high school to work at Jiffy Lube, some will
enter college; some will spend four years in college, others will never
graduate. Some kids will follow their
buddies into the military; a few will end up in prison.
In any case, congratulations to the Class of ’13!
