I Want My Child to Attend University: Back to the Basics (Part 15)
Categories: Léo’s Insights 2023-2024, Back to the Basics
We all want to see our children succeed. Yet, when I ask parents what they mean by success, almost always the answer is, “We want them to be happy, content with their lot in life, the job they have and the person they marry.” Maybe not in that order, but close enough.
Our problem goes back to the original theme of this vlog series: Where are we getting our information from? There are really only two sources: Either God is instructing us in keeping with the freedom he has bestowed upon us, or the enemy of our soul is trying to trick us into bondage. Regarding success, most people have come to believe that “going to university” provides the greatest possibility for success. I wish that were true, but it is not.
While having a good education usually does lead to a greater possibility for success, this is only true when the education obtained is in keeping with the gifts and talents of the child. Keeping this in mind, it should be obvious that there are only two possible careers: the right one or the wrong one, and we can tell which one it is by our initial Monday morning reaction. If going to college is needed to be able to do what one wants in life, go. Otherwise, going to college is expensive while being potentially useless and dangerous to spiritual health!
Since school teachers must go to university to get accredited, they usually want their students to be as successful and smart as they are; so the default purpose of standardized classroom education leads to higher institutional learning. As a consequence of accepting this school-based standard objective, most parents believe their job is to avoid handicapping their children’s future by ensuring their children meet high school requirements for university entrance. There are two problems with that: One is that the standard requirements are not the only means into college. The other is that not everyone goes to college. Oh, and there is another overarching issue. Your children’s future is not in your hands, but in God’s.
To learn more about post-secondary pathways for home educated students, see the Post-Secondary Options blog series: https://leogaumont.com/index.php/category/blog2018/post-secondary-options/
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