|
I've been blogging/occasionally ranting on a side-topic that relates.
I'm 27. I've been in college since I was 16.
I have (accidentally) two AAs and one BA, and should be entering a graduate program in the fall after finally catching up on several pre-reqs.
My original plan, when I first started, was to have my BA by the time I turned 20. Due to various drug- and alcohol-related activities, that didn't happen.
Which I'm oddly grateful for.
I ended up having a life.
College is great. I love school. I plan on continuing to attend, even after my MA.
But I go to my classes and I talk to my classmates that range in age from 18 to 50-somethings who are just now returning after sending their own kids through college and it boggles my mind how little experience the majority of them have. It shows in their work, in their thoughts, how easy or hard it is for them to process certain concepts, relate to certain ideas.
And I do think we are doing some (not all) kids a disservice by raising them in an environment where the "norm" is to work part-time (or not at all) and invest their youth in school, in learning without extracurricular experience. Yes, it creates a sort of communal bonding experience, but it also creates this average-minded mainstream with little forward motion.
I just think there needs to be more of a blending middle ground. Write a book, travel, create art, start a business-- just throw in a few classes every semester. They really do stack up.
|