Higher Education for Me?

It would be easy to report on a wonderful 5-acre urban garden project in Arlington, VA where inner city students get the experience to plant, care and grow vegetables in 19 plots as part of their community service work. Where one high school senior commented that she did not know that sweet potatoes grew underground until the garden project.

 

Equally noteworthy is the hard-core fitness program developed by PE teacher, Orlandus Thomas at Comer Preparatory School, a charter school in Chicago. There, music fills the air and students never stops from moving - except when they participate in a cooking class or have discussions about healthy nutrition.

 

But what caught the attention is a Canadian report this week concluding that many young students set their sights on university or college much earlier than believed - before they arrive in Grade 9! The Toronto Globe & Mail reports that  research shows that almost half of low-income students make their decision about post-secondary education before they even set foot in high school, regardless of the financial burden. 

 

As the USA and other countries try to curb drop-out rates amongst high schoolers, education agencies should be challenged to rethink their approach as attitudes about higher education is just as important as access to it. It seems that a strategy needs to be developed at elementary and middle school levels to encourage adolescents and teens to start choosing career paths with the possibility of attending college or university.

 

 In the study of 10,000 low-income secondary students it was found that for every teen influenced by parents or culture to obtain post-secondary education, others receive little input. Furthermore, it’s these late deciders who are much more likely to leave university or college without graduating.

 

Neither mom or dad attended university the household I grew up. Since I could remember there was no option for any of the kids. We were raised with the notion that we will go to university. We all did. The thought of the consequences if we did not weight far too heavy! Thank Mom. Thanks Dad.

Michael Cordier