My daughter’s in her first year of tech college. She’s working toward an associate’s degree, and so far it’s been an interesting experience for her. Since she was homeschooled from the time she was little, this is her first year of regularly attending classes. So she comes home every day with reports of what goes on there, because it’s all new to her.
Some of the things she’s told us has surprised us. Of course, it’s been a long time since we went to college, but still……
For example, there were no cell phones when we were in college, but even if there had been, I’m sure our professors wouldn’t have allowed people to sit and text during class. But dd says most of her teachers don’t seem to care.
Some teachers swear around and sometimes at the students, not in anger but just as part of their apparently limited vocabulary. I don’t remember any of my college profs doing that.
Many of dd’s classmates are attending school for career retraining. It’s part of their severance package from a previous employer. They don’t have to pay for their college expenses, and it shows. They complain about having to be in class, and often don’t show up. They don’t take the work seriously, which can be frustrating for those who do because they often have to work in teams.
Dd found a couple friends at college who were also homeschooled for their entire lives. They didn’t know this about each other until after they became friends. One of their common complaints is that many of the teachers don’t have lesson plans, but instead stand in front of the class and talk about whatever they feel like. Dd says it’s hard to find out what the assignments are because the teachers don’t always know. Once they figure it out, they may forget to tell the students; the next class, they’ll ask for everyone to hand in their assignments and the students won’t know what they’re talking about. Dd says she liked that I had lesson plans and gave her assignments because she always knew what was expected of her. Her friends say the same thing about their moms.
When I homeschooled my kids for high school, I gradually increased their responsibility for getting their work done so that by the time high school ended, they were used to getting assignments on Monday morning and having them ready for me to look at on Friday afternoon. If I saw them goofing off during the week, I didn’t say much, figuring we’d see if they were ready for me on Friday.
My thinking was that making them responsible for getting their work done would prepare them in case they went to college. Seems like I prepared them for college the way it was back when I attended. But it appears that things have changed.
I should note here that my older son, who graduated from a private Christian college, didn’t have these kinds of complaints. From what I could tell, his professors were a lot more dedicated. On the other hand, he used to say he didn’t have a lot of homework. I remember my own college experience as being packed with endless amounts of reading and paper-writing. So even his college education differed from mine quite a bit. Guess I overprepared my kids!
How about you? Do you have any kids in college yet? What are they telling you about it?
I think I’ve shared with you about the apathy noted by my daughter (homeschooled from birth) at our local community college. The public school system here guarantees a “free” college education at our community college for everyone who graduates high school within the district.
It’s “free” and a majority of the students put little effort into it. Must seem like just a continuation of high school.
The school is so overwhelmed & understaffed due to the huge influx of students (this is a new “free” program) that nobody knows what they are doing – frustrating for those of us who read the admission book and catalog.
The professors do seem to care – at least those she has met. The do not tolerate cell phones at all. They lecture for 50 min. and stick to the subject matter as if well-planned.
Overall, she has had a good experience because she loves to learn. Last semester her professor thanked her for her contributions to the class and her spirit. I don’t think she sees much enthusiasm and my dd definitely has a lot of that!
Hi Barbara,
I have a husband and a son in college. My husband is one of those retraining (although it’s not part of any severance package) but he IS motivated and aghast at what he sees on the campus. His biggest complaint to me so far is irreverant behavior and lack of modesty.
My son, homeschooled and Christian schooled, cannot believe the disrespect students have for their professors and the comments and arguing that goes on in the class as though the teacher has no authority (or knowledge) at all. He has also witnessed blatant cheating and struggles to know what to do with the information.
Not the same as when I went to college, either.
I suppose that the mentality is that ‘we’re all adults in college’ with the swearing and other happenings. My kids’ experience in college wasn’t too bad, not much swearing (by instructors) or other offensive stuff. But they did take a good amount of online classes too, which may have helped act as a buffer.
Once my oldest son took courses at our community college, I noted which instructors were the better ones, and made sure that my other son and daughter signed up for courses with them. Good topic. Good motivation to pray, too. 🙂
When my kids tell me about their college classes, I’m stunned at how little homework they have, and how easy some of the coursework is. It seems more like what I would’ve consider to be high-school level.
It does seem to be a little better for the two who’ve gone to Lutheran colleges than the one who went to the public university. The public university was more demanding than the county tech school where the kids took a few classes during their high school years.
Here’s what’s really frustrating. My oldest did not go to college. She worked. She is a better problem-solver, more intelligent, far more well-read, and a better worker, than most of the people that attended college with my other children. And yet, my daughter is not eligible for certain jobs (jobs which certainly do not NEED a college education but where it’s nevertheless a requirement) because she doesn’t have the piece of paper.
Wow! Wonderful, thought-provoking responses….thank you!
Amy, I guess “free” brings everyone out of the woodwork, and most of them don’t value the education because they didn’t have to work for it.
Carol, both your son and your husband must find this frustrating. I know we do!
Karen, Dd has taken some online courses with mixed results. The teachers aren’t always prepared, it seems. And yes, prayer is a good idea!
Susan, my son also went to a Lutheran school but always said it wasn’t very hard. But I know the tech school is far easier. Also, your description of your daughter sounds just like our eldest. Very bright, wasn’t interested in college either, hard-working and frustrated. OTOH, she’s not carrying a burden of college and consumer debt like her friends who went to college, so I can’t say she should have gone. Employers are requiring that “piece of paper” for jobs where it’s not needed because there are so many out-of-work grads applying for them out of desperation.