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Are colleges providing young adults with the life-skills they need? By David Wise January 14, 2013
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It is the desire for the majority of high school seniors to attend college. There they will receive a higher education and embark on the journey that will take them to adulthood. The theory is that once they've graduated from college they will have life-skills to live, function and cope as an adult. From their studies they should be able to seek employment - this will give them the ability to support themselves financially. College is also the first place for many where they've lived on their own and had to take care of themselves be it laundry, cooking or just making adult responsible decisions. This is the theory - it doesn't always play out like this in real life. Some are unable to find employment post-college. Not only does this cause them financial issues but there can be more damaging self-esteem ones. They then start to question the whole value of college and possibly even what the point of it was. Some in college find the party lifestyle hard to escape. The freedom and ability to make their own decisions go to their head and they find they are planning their studies and classes around their parties instead of the other way around. What could be worse is that they fail their classes and are kicked out for having bad grades. In terms of life-skills, many graduates find that the dorm atmosphere of college life was like a cocoon and now living in the real world and not having that massive support system is a big shock to the system. So are colleges providing young adults with the life-skills they need? They could be like saying that a person who passes their driving test will never be in an accident. At the end of the day, the college can only provide so much to the student. It is up to them to make the most of their time at college. Notwithstanding, some colleges are being more pro-active about this than others. Stephen F Austin, a Texas university is trying to address this. They have a whole list of services they offer be it Orientation, Career Services or Counseling. It also has the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. You can stop kids being kids goofing around and trying to have a good time. But they have to realize that college is the time they start to pay the consquences of their actions. The safety net is removed. |