Think back to the memories of fifth grade.
For me, the good old days were simple ones, where I took the yellow bus to school each day, chased boys on the playground during recess, competed with my brother for the best Pokémon card collection, and returned home to a typical after-school snack of graham crackers with peanut butter.
My biggest obstacles were begging my parents to let me stay up to watch "7th Heaven" and figuring out which excuse I was going to use to explain to my piano teacher why I did not practice that particular week (there were only so many times I could fib to her that Beethoven made my fingers hurt).
In a recent Newsweek article entitled "Ivy League Aspirations," the author writes, "Getting fifth graders to think about college seems a little goofy. But it's key to the prospects of the next generation."
Immediately upon reading this, I envisioned classrooms filled with 10-year-olds poring over SAT vocabulary books and discussing quantum physics, all while sporting crimson Harvard sweatshirts. I shuddered. Fifth grade? I mean, I understand that being admitted into college is becoming more competitive than ever, but why should fifth graders have to worry about that?
Contrary to the initial notions that I had, thankfully, this article did not advocate that elementary aged children speed over to their nearest Barnes & Noble to buy a five-inch Collegeboard encyclopedia (also known as the Bible for the college bound). Instead, it evaluated the highly effective public-charter network KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program).
There are 66 KIPP schools in 19 states. Eighty-one percent of the students are considered to be low-income. Sixty percent of them are black and 35 percent of them Hispanic.
Boasting the best test score advantages in the nation, KIPP institutions consist of "nine-hour days, required Saturday and Sunday sessions, music, sports, weeklong field trips, discipline and energetic teaching."
KIPP's main emphasis is that every child, no matter how underachieving, deserves a college education. While I believe that the mission of the KIPP school system is fantastic, I cannot help but wonder how a 10-year-old manages to sit in school for nine hours a day. To be honest, I don't know of many adults who can sit in an office for nine hours, nevermind a growing, energetic and active pre-teen.
Furthermore, with their kids in school until 5 p.m., don't parents lose quality time with their kids? Granted, these children are at school, but to me, between growing up in a family with two other siblings and having parents who had to cook dinner, do laundry, help with homework, and drop us off anywhere from guitar lessons to Sunday School, it could be chaotic.
In other words, time with your parents, whether you appreciate it or not, is invaluable. And Saturdays? Call me crazy, but the notion of going to school on the weekend left me agog.
Another issue I had with the article was the focus placed on Ivy League colleges and other competitive schools. Now, I used to tell everyone that I was going to Harvard to become a doctor when I was in seventh grade, which my grandmother proudly told her Golf Club buddies on numerous occasions. Obviously, Harvard didn't work out, but I'm still at a good college. Along the same lines, I'm sure that there are many students attending KIPP schools who may be qualified for the Ivy League, but why shouldn't the emphasis be on just being accepted to any college?
It is great to have aspirations and to shoot for the moon, but with a staggering 81 percent of these students settling in the "low-income" category, what good is their college education if they graduate from these schools with $80,000 or more in debt? Yes, there is financial aid and scholarships, but realistically speaking, is it truly worth it when you're struggling and living paycheck to paycheck because your student loans are outrageous? Maybe for college, it's not where you go, but what you do when you're there.
Does this mean that we should be focusing more on actual skills than how well you can dissect a frog in bio lab? Well, that's up for debate. Either way, whether you attend a KIPP school or the same public school that your parents went to, it is crucial that educators encourage the option of college. It's true that college is not for everyone, but kids need to know that college is a dream that is attainable.
Instead of having kids aspiring to be the next Miley Cyrus or Tiger Woods, how about aspiring to be college graduates? We look at these pop culture and athletic sensations as the embodiment of success, but somehow fail to associate that with the student donning a cap and gown, with a diploma in hand. So yes, Newsweek, let's get those fifth graders thinking about college, and let's start now.
Be the first to comment on this article!