Back to school....

The local schools are back in session. I know that this is usually a hated day for the kids. In our family,we have the leisure of a slow start and an end that just tapers off with no real stopping.

This year is the ninth grade year of the oldest. So, now we have the specter of college to deal with. Transcripts, what will be good enough? Record keeping , all of this is in our hands. It is not left to the faceless office  of some high school. If we, the parents, don't get this right my son knows who to 'blame'.

My plan is to involve him in this process as much as possible. He will know the form and content of his transcripts. For those who are home schooling, I have found a nice site that helps in recordkeeping and scheduling. It also has the transcript builder needed to make our records look professional. As I was contemplating this, I realized how little I knew of my own high school transcripts. These were not even in my thoughts as I drifted through school. How in the world did I make it to college! I do not think that college is a must have either. I think that those that educate at home are capable enough to also educate themselves in anything. There are many other avenues to gaining college level education without enrolling in a college or university.

MIT  actually has  free online , or open, courses! Yale has them as well! Why does anyone need to go to college when resources like these are there for free? As a parent I am not inclined to spend thousands of dollars for my  child to "experience" being away from home and the challenge of peer pressure. The real world has enough of that without the "removed from reality" effect you can get from campus life. As an adult I have only been asked once for my college transcripts and never have I had to prove where I went. I am not advocating lying about your education but there may be certificates available from programs such as these to serve as proof. I know too many of my fellow classmates that have the same degree I have but did NOT learn as much as I did! While I believe knowledge is power ,I also believe that the "DEGREE" (the paper) has overridden that actual knowledge that it is supposed to represent.

I will help my children learn but I won't tell them that unless they get a Degree their knowledge is worthless.