lazy TFT

While I've had a few TFT's I have been wanting to get out lately, I'm taking the lazy way out this morning; directing you to someone else's thoughts this Thursday.

I found this blog post very interesting and am wondering what other's takes are on it. On the whole situation and what in the world can we do about it?

So if you have a minute, go read here (read through some of the comments too!) and come back and tell me your thoughts. I'll post some of my ruminations here later.

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Okay, so my thoughts are I really don't know what to think.
I think Sheila makes some very good points; obviously debt is becoming such a "norm" that people (young students) don't give it a second thought. You "need" to go to college, so you go -whether you can afford it or not. And I don't agree with that.

If you can't afford a college education, if you haven't earned scholarships to help, if money hasn't been saved up along the way to get you started, then I don't completely agree that the right thing to do is to go off to a four year university and rack up $100K+ in debt. Especially if you're going for some general, or "just to get a college degree" degree. I agree whole-heartedly with the post Sheila linked to in the fact that degrees are often overrated. There are definitely jobs that you need a specific education for; things like education, medicine, law, counseling, some aspects of business, etc. But there are an awful lot of jobs out there that people without the degrees can do just as well or better than the "educated" job seekers. The sad thing is the fact that everyone is so obsessed with the degree factor, that those oppotunies are rare these days.
I know many friends who don't have a degree but have worked in their field from an internship in high school and are more knowledgable and experienced than those that have. Luckily they got into their jobs before the infatuation with fancy degrees and they are making substantial salaries. If they were now where they were fifteen years ago, I don't think the proffessional world would allow them that chance. They'd have to spend the mulitple years and the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to even have the chance to do the same exact job they're doing extremely successfully now.
I experienced that in my job; I was a preschool teacher for almost 10 years. I don't have a degree in Early Childhood education. I got a good in with a great preschool/daycare, and eventualy wound up running my own classroom in the pre-k program, then moved on to a prestigious priviate Christian preschool. All along the way I felt pressure from my superiors to go finish my degree. They wanted me to have that certificate. I adamantly refused. I was in the same position and making the same money (and was favored by parents and coteachers as more experienced, organized and knowledgable) that other teachers in my school with the degree were... why would I take a step back and have to spend thousands of dollars and many many many hours, just to prove I know how to do the job I'm already doing? It didn't make sense to me. I had great experience, great references and a great track record. And it almost didn't matter. I think that's silly.
Also, on this point, how many people do I know that got a degree in one direction and ended up in a completely different direction when it came to their real life career?? That's what I think is even crazier... that we expect a sixteen-eighteen year old to know what they want to do with their life.... and bet $100K on it. I know some people know what they want to do and where their passions lie. But the kid who doesn't know what he wants to do, who goes into school racking up all those student loans just to get a degree in something- anything? Is that really necessary??

But I'm getting off on a tangent. This issie isn't about education vs. no education. It's about the ridiculous cost of said education. (and I know, I know, how can you put a price on the value of the experience of your college years??) But my issue is the ease with which students take that on as debt and then expect someone else to take care of it.
I think the aspect of the debt being paid off at some rate consistent with what you're actually making in the real world is a good idea. The idea of just flat out forgiving said debt? I don't agree with that.

If this is such a huge problem that people cannot afford to repay a University education and are overwhelmed by the burden of the debt, then I do not think the answer is to simply have them pay a portion of it and then be "forgiven". Shouldn't the problem just be nipped in the bud and instead of it being a loan issue, why not force the schools to lower their tuitions in the first place. It's in this that I understand where Sheila is coming from... will it take a boycott of sorts to keep university prices reasonable?? I think we all know that will never happen. It's been ingrained in us now... you need a college education. The jobs dictate that. (albeit the theoretical jobs)
So is there really nothing we can do about it? It seems like such a depressing vicous circle. And I'm afraid the cost is just going to go up phenomonally from here on out. It's just inflated insanely. I mean why does it have to cost a student over a thousand dollars a year for textbooks?? Did you know that textbook prices have risen over 186% since 1986?? For books. Crazy. And yet we still pay, because what other option is there?

Anyway. I'm just kind of rambling. I don't have any concrete thoughts on this issue or solutions. Something needs to change, that's for sure.
As for me, I do agree completely with what the original post said:
I'm not against education. My kids will go to college. But with an appropriate plan for a specific career, and when we've saved money for it or they've worked hard for scholarships. I would never let my child get a liberal arts degree going into a humungous debt with no plan.

I think it's more an issue not of shouldn't everyone have a college education, but rather who is smart enough at this point to get that education responsibly and not become part of this problem.