Is college still worth it? 

With college tuition continuously increasing and showing no signs of slowing down, many people have been asking, "Is college still worth it?" I've had this conversation with students in multiple classes, and although they are all college students, the answers were pretty close to split. As a college professor with young children, what do I think? 

Just like anything else, the answer is not a simple yes or no because we need to consider the nuances. Even with the soaring cost of college and the decline in college readiness, my simple answer is still yes. Listen and find out my reasonings.

Now that I'm on the other side of the podium and have been teaching for over a year, I've been carefully observing my students. My students come from diverse backgrounds and are typically in their early to mid-twenties. I don't want to be the grumpy old man who says our generation was better and society is going down the drain; however, I believe observing and hopefully making objective observations is essential. Nothing is all negative, so I share my positive and negative observations based on my year and a half of experience teaching at two higher education institutions.

Welcome back! This is the first episode of many more episodes to come in 2025!

My desire to push them has declined since my boys have played "club" basketball for the past couple of seasons. With the weekend tournaments and competitions, I thought my competitive drive would kick in, and I would drive them harder to practice and improve. Instead, I've taken the opposite approach. The primary reason is that I genuinely love the game and want my boys to enjoy it; therefore, I don't want to turn into those parents I see at the game, sapping the passion out of the game for their kids.

Academically, I was a late bloomer; therefore, I was able to experience being a student recently. As a parent, I noticed that we often revert back to the way we were taught because that's the only way we know. One main reason is because many of us finished our educations long before having children. But knowledge, technology, and accessibility has changed drastically over the past decade, forget the past two to three decades. Which means we need to adjust the way we teach. Requirements are no longer the same, and more importantly, future demands will definitely be different. Therefore, we should remind ourselves, don't teach the way we were taught.

The concept is simple enough, but you'd be surprised how many people don't have hobbies. Many people have interests and activities that can keep them preoccupied for a couple hours a few times a week, but the ability to keep yourself busy for 12+ hours a day, seven days a week is difficult. For most people, their work defines them; therefore, if you remove the work then they don't know what to do with all the extra time. While you still have the opportunity, discover more hobbies that can capture your interest, stimulate your mind, and occupy your time.

Growing up our parents and community taught us and instilled their culture in us. However, as we get older, interact with other people, and start thinking for ourselves, we develop our own unique culture. We may retain certain aspects of our parents' culture we like and find beneficial, but we forge our own path. This is only natural; however, often we don't want to admit it. Therefore, don't be surprised when you start seeing things differently than your parents or values change.

A former sales manager told me that there are no dumb questions. In theory, that makes sense because if you don't know something then you should ask. But in reality with the resources available to us there are dumb questions. The saying there are no dumb questions allows people to not think, consider, or research the question or problem. For example, if you ask someone a question in which they've already answered but you weren't paying attention, then that is a dumb question. This does not mean you should not ask questions if you have doubts or you need clarification; however, it is important to listen, think, and consider before asking questions.

The statement nothing lasts forever sounds very cliche because it is, but that does not mean we don't need to remind ourselves. When things are going well at home and at work, enjoy it but don't forget that this high won't last forever. At the same time, if you're having a difficult time connecting with your children or can't close a deal, it won't last forever. This will teach us to enjoy and cherish the positive moments but keep us grounded, and to not let the negative moments pull us under.

We're cautious of what we say because we're worried what other people think of us. Do we sound stupid? Did we get our facts wrong? We don't ask questions because we don't want people to perceive us a certain way. Many of us would rather pretend we understand than ask someone to repeat or explain. Well, people don't really care. Most people are more concerned about their own self perception, just like you, to worry about what they think about your actions or questions.

We need to research, analyze, and plan, but sometimes we just need to take the first step. But what if the first step is wrong? You won't know it's wrong unless you take it. Also, even if your goal is climbing Everett, you'll still need that first step. Too often, we get paralysis by analysis, especially in our overly analytical society. Therefore, sometimes we need to take that first step to recognize and realize whether or not a second or third steps are necessary.