The Challenge of the College Search

This morning, Scott McLeod tweeted about Seth Godin's blog post, The coming melt-down in higher education (as seen by a marketer). As the parent of one student who will soon be leaving high school and trying to determine the next step and a student just about to enter high school, I found this post provocative, but consistent with my fears and worries about the cost versus the value of a college education, and as a teacher, how in the world I am going to be able to provide financial assistance to my children along this next step in their life's journey.

At the end of his post, Seth summarizes:

The solutions are obvious… there are tons of ways to get a cheap, liberal education, one that exposes you to the world, permits you to have significant interactions with people who matter and to learn to make a difference. Most of these ways, though, aren't heavily marketed nor do they involve going to a tradition-steeped two-hundred-year old institution with a wrestling team. Things like gap years, research internships and entrepreneurial or social ventures after high school are opening doors for students who are eager to discover the new.

But the problem is that the gap year market can also be a marketing machine, providing opportunities for young people which are of equal cost as a year of college or university student. Maya Frost in her book The New Global Student, have made me challenge assumptions and look for new solutions and possibilities for my students.

It has challenged my thinking to where I am not sure where I stand anymore. It also makes me think about the impact for a K-12 education.

Posted via email from Vinnie’s posterous

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