Why I Will Never Force College on My Kids

Over the past few years of me being a homeschool blogger, I’ve learned one very obvious thing:

My views on homeschooling, education, and the world, in general, are very different from most other homeschool moms.

My opinion on the necessity of college definitely falls into this category. Here’s why.

Over the past few decades, we’ve quickly grown into a nation that is mesmerized with  technocracy – a world obsessed with “experts,” so to speak.

While this doesn’t seem bad from the outset, here’s the problem:

40 or 50 years ago, someone who spent a large amount of time in the field studying a specific discipline would have been considered an expert. Instead of sitting in a classroom all day taking notes from a powerpoint or highlighting key points in a textbook, experts-in-training would have been immersed in their actual field of study. They would have been at the site, conducting experiments, comparing specimens, and putting their knowledge into practice.

This certainly isn’t the case today. Our society has evolved into a groupthink mindset that reveres a piece of paper called a degree and somehow equates that piece of paper that was earned in a classroom as evidence of expertise.

It doesn’t matter how much or how little time was spent in the actual field itself…that piece of paper is all that matters.

Needless to say, this has not only decreased the quality of our “experts,” but it has led a large portion of the population to believe that if they’re ever going to succeed, college is the only way to do it. Forget autodidactic learners who have proven this isn’t the case. A college degree is where it’s at.

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Let me be very clear about something. The more I research the history of this country and the education system, the more anti-establishment I become. You simply can’t dig into these things with an open mind and come up with any other conclusion.

Suffice it to say, we’ve been fooled.

With that in mind, I’ve realized something. Our college institutions have become very much like the public education system – less education and more indoctrination. It couldn’t be more clear. A high number of college students support limiting free speech and have embraced cultural Marxism.

And while these students may have become experts in trying to rewrite the Constitution, one thing is for sure – their education is subpar. They can’t name more than a few U.S. Presidents, they don’t know what the Revolutionary War was all about, and some of them can’t even find the state where they live on a map.

Yeah, it’s that bad.

Yet here we are, living in a world that considers college to be the ultimate destination for every high school graduate. We’re pushing our youth into institutions that dumb them down and brainwash them.

Not good.

Does this mean that I discourage my kids from attending? Not at all. My oldest son has a degree. The key is helping kids to realize that not every profession needs a degree. Sometimes they truly can be a complete waste of time and money. (I know…I went to college for theater and speech.)

To be perfectly honest, I can see that college degrees are quickly becoming a dime a dozen. Since we’re so indoctrinated to believe they’re absolutely necessary, EVERYONE seems to be getting one. So much for competitive wages.

One thing I’ve tried to instill in my children is an entrepreneurial spirit. In a world in which everyone is being trained for the same sort of profession, people who are innovative, independent, and resourceful will stand out from the rest.

And isn’t that what we parents try to tell our kids from the time they’re little?? Don’t be like everyone else.

Why then, should that change upon graduation? Quick answer? It shouldn’t.

We’re living in a changing world. It’s time to break free of the chains of tradition and support our kids no matter what they want to do.

That, my friends, is the key to success. Having the courage to break the mold and walk the road less traveled. Maybe it’s time we start applauding the kids who want to do that.