I think just barely enough, which I also think is the goal. Give too much and the people will rise above. Give too little and they will revolt. The perfect level keeps them lined up with hands out waiting for the next installment.Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore
it provides perhaps enough of a safety net to prevent revolutionmaybe that and prisons?
DW and I have been talking a lot about this lately. We have 2 kids through college and 1 still in high school. We pushed the older kids into college just like all our friends did. For DD it was a good thing. She met people, had a great experience and then landed a good job in her field. Just like its supposed to work. DS took 8 years to get through, spent as much on partying as tuition and now has 2 jobs neither of which is in his field.
DW is pushing DD2 straight at college. She wants to take an 18 month cosmetology course. I can VERY easily see her doing something like opening her own shop someday (she's expressed interest already) or charting some other less than traditional course. She is more like me; I didn't go to college for a variety of reasons, but beyond the social aspects it would not have done me any good in my early 20's anyway. I do have a hunch that pushing her into college right out of HS is going to be a waste of her time and our money. Maybe we change up the rules.
What if we didn't let anyone into college before age 22. They could pull a hitch in the military or they could perform all the thankless, low paying tasks that unskilled, uneducated workers get to do. Either way they would learn some respect for others, some dicipline and some appreciation for what people do. Once they have their 4 years of life in then they would be free to study what they really want to learn. That, and maybe we cap student loans at 50% of the cost of school (or whatever figure you want) to keep balances lower at the end of a 4 year degree.
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