The Value of Education

As a parent, I've heard lots of other parents talk about the education their children receive either in the public school system, via charter schools, or in the private sector. Many people will chose where they live partially based upon the academic reputation of the school system where their children will be going to school. As a parent I understand. We absolutely want the very best for our children and a solid education is the foundation upon which they will build their future.

However, when it comes time for their children to take their first step toward independence, it amazes me how many parents, and students, stop focusing on the education their children receive and start to treat college as a commodity item. Perhaps because we have lost faith in our children and we just hope they get a degree since this is the golden ticket to gain admission to a lifetime of opportunity. Perhaps, because of the price of education, we start to make compromises designed to balance our need for continued growth and eventual retirement against the expense of devloping our children's potential. Perhaps we don't really believe that a difference in the quality of education our children receive will more than compensate for the expense of one educational option over another.  Yes a quality education is expensive in America, but to perceive all options as equal alternatives based solely upon price or prestige is a disservice to our children and to their future success.

I was speaking with some fellow educators about their college experience over the weekend. One educator went to a large 4-year university. Yes it was less expensive because it was a state university but it came at a price. Her experiences her first two years were similar to mine, she was one of several hundred (up to 400 in some courses) who attended a single class. She turned in her assignments and passed her exams, but seldom actually attended classes. "It wasn't as if anyone cared about my attendance, truthfully, no one even noticed if I was there or not. The fact that I was taking courses that were little more than a rehashing of courses I had already passed in high school gave me no real motivation to attend or apply myself. This wasn't what I was going to school to study and I truly doubted I would ever use any of this information again." She received no individual attention, no personal instruction or critique, and no knew knowledge. Although she had a great social experience and did manage to pass her classes, academically speaking her first two years were a waste of time and money.

Her husband chose to go to community college where his classes were in the range of 30-50 students. His attendance was noted and noticed, and he received occasional feedback on his performance. He worked and matured and when he decided to move forward to earn his Bachelor's degree, he was better prepared for the challenges ahead. However, like his spouse, the majority of his time was spent on taking courses which he had already taken in high school. He was better able to master them this time around and he was able to fill in many of the gaps that were left after his high school experience.  It is fairly safe to say that he actually received a better education than his spouse.

And then I started looking at my own educational experiences and how they differ from my own students. Where I teach, my students take one course at a time (1 course each month), the majority of their lower level courses are focused on the career path they are pursuing, they are held accountable for their attendance, they receive personal critique and instruction every day, and the class sizes range from 8 to 16 students. Even though many of them  plan on eventually pursuing their Bachelor's degree, they often enter the workforce before completing their first two years, and have often moved up the ladder in the workforce at a pace much quicker than their peers who had different educational courses.