Ok great advice. What suggestions do you have for the parent whose kids are in or just graduating college from the deep end of the indoctrination pool? We used to get along well…and I’ve never been a helicopter parent. I let them make all their own decisions for several years before college. Respect, you know.
I’m tempted to send your article 🤣 but I doubt they would read it.
Oh boy. You’re in a very tough spot. If you provide any financial support at all, I would start making it conditional on book reports (oral, so no cheating). Offer to read and discuss a book of her choosing every third time. That’s about all you can do. If she’s financially independent all I can suggest is to keep the lines of communication open as best you can and pray. I’m an atheist but someone might be listening.
"The fundamental paradigm of Communist ideology is guaranteed to have wide appeal: you suffer; your suffering is caused by powerful others; these oppressors must be destroyed." –Leszek Kolakowski
Sums up all Marxism and it's many branches perfectly in one sentence. Maybe knowing that will help arm college kids against the Maoist reeducation camps they inhabit.
Also, I applaud your advice about taking selective community college courses that interest them. My local community colleges had many courses allowing people (including me) to explore useful careers. I took acting, taught by a former TV director, as well as screenwriting and technical courses on camera work and TV directing.
You are spot on about this, Holly. In addition, all kids are not college material and would be better served if they went to local community college to learn a trade.
My wife loves to tell the story of a kid she taught who was pushed into the college track against his will. After suffering through this, he went to community college, became a licensed plumber and electrician. He now owns his own company and installs sound systems for event venues such as auditoriums and churches and earns more than $200,000 a year.
Equally as important, he graduated community college with no debt.
I found this very interesting and it gave me a lot to read although I don't have kids.
Speaking as a person immersed in an industry where an awful lot of the people (clients and employees) have fallen victim to this ideology, let me add a PS that social pressure is immense in the workplace in some industries; most people stay silent; it's worth it to talk to your kids about how important it is to be professional, avoid talking with coworkers about these issues at all costs, and also that you/we probably shouldn't judge them or let it affect friendships. It is not their business in any way how I feel about those things, though they will often make it their business - and it can be difficult to rebuff when someone is determined to find out what you think.
I would strongly encourage anyone who is able to join to consider the military/Coast Guard (including National Guard / Reserves) before college. There are plenty of jobs that aren't "at the pointy end of spear," many of which correlate with good-paying jobs in the civilian world. (If you join the Army as a Respiratory Specialist, you don't need to worry about kicking in doors and dodging RPGs.) Get trained in a field that has good job prospects back in the civilian world, and also earn GI Bill benefits that will help pay for college.
Love this! I’m so glad I went to Yale in the early nineties. We read the great books and debated in a civilized manner. It was fun and I learned a lot. Now they stab Jewish kids in the eye with Palestinian flags and call it free speech
I have seen this up close and personal. Even the STEM courses are becoming struggle sessions. You are correct... I have degrees but finished the last one in 2003.
Like most dissidents, my academic sinecure disappeared after the recent pandemic. I cannot recommend current universities. At all. If you must get such, find somewhere based. It will probably also be cheaper.
Holly, my son opted out of college- something that I, as a professional from a professional family could never have imagined. Nonetheless, he is way more sophisticated than I was at that age. And he is devouring complex topics, developing a quiver of other skills, and pursuing a career is a pilot, which now does not require a college education. He has taught my wife and I quite a bit as he has learned from us, often stubbornly. The economy and housing being what they are, he has lived at home. These years have been profoundly valuable for all involved and he has developed quite the network among aviation affiliated friends and acquaintances. He is missing some of the "college experience," which is dubious at best, and frequently little more than a 4 year playpen/country club of prolonged adolescence.
I hope that when we emerge from this revolution that those who lead from competence will lead while those who lead with credentials will be sidelined along with their entitled bogus gatekeeping. I wecome a new era of sensemaking, one with a restored integrity and unabashed defense of our constitution and Bill of Rights, one that reaffirms the next era of enlightenment values.
Thank you Holly. I have two granddaughters who will be college age soon. I shared this post with their mother and she received it enthusiastically. You are going to get another subscriber and you may have saved some lives too. I’m grateful for you.
Trade schools and apprenticeships have been criminally downgraded by society. And for all the talk (in Australia) by both sides of politics about changing that, nothing ever happens where it matters, in schools and career guidance. I'll keep reposting this whenever this subject comes up...
Ok great advice. What suggestions do you have for the parent whose kids are in or just graduating college from the deep end of the indoctrination pool? We used to get along well…and I’ve never been a helicopter parent. I let them make all their own decisions for several years before college. Respect, you know.
I’m tempted to send your article 🤣 but I doubt they would read it.
How bad is it? Sex, age, major?
Female, 22, actor, Boston
Oh boy. You’re in a very tough spot. If you provide any financial support at all, I would start making it conditional on book reports (oral, so no cheating). Offer to read and discuss a book of her choosing every third time. That’s about all you can do. If she’s financially independent all I can suggest is to keep the lines of communication open as best you can and pray. I’m an atheist but someone might be listening.
"The fundamental paradigm of Communist ideology is guaranteed to have wide appeal: you suffer; your suffering is caused by powerful others; these oppressors must be destroyed." –Leszek Kolakowski
Sums up all Marxism and it's many branches perfectly in one sentence. Maybe knowing that will help arm college kids against the Maoist reeducation camps they inhabit.
Also, I applaud your advice about taking selective community college courses that interest them. My local community colleges had many courses allowing people (including me) to explore useful careers. I took acting, taught by a former TV director, as well as screenwriting and technical courses on camera work and TV directing.
You are spot on about this, Holly. In addition, all kids are not college material and would be better served if they went to local community college to learn a trade.
My wife loves to tell the story of a kid she taught who was pushed into the college track against his will. After suffering through this, he went to community college, became a licensed plumber and electrician. He now owns his own company and installs sound systems for event venues such as auditoriums and churches and earns more than $200,000 a year.
Equally as important, he graduated community college with no debt.
I found this very interesting and it gave me a lot to read although I don't have kids.
Speaking as a person immersed in an industry where an awful lot of the people (clients and employees) have fallen victim to this ideology, let me add a PS that social pressure is immense in the workplace in some industries; most people stay silent; it's worth it to talk to your kids about how important it is to be professional, avoid talking with coworkers about these issues at all costs, and also that you/we probably shouldn't judge them or let it affect friendships. It is not their business in any way how I feel about those things, though they will often make it their business - and it can be difficult to rebuff when someone is determined to find out what you think.
otherwise perfect. :)
I would strongly encourage anyone who is able to join to consider the military/Coast Guard (including National Guard / Reserves) before college. There are plenty of jobs that aren't "at the pointy end of spear," many of which correlate with good-paying jobs in the civilian world. (If you join the Army as a Respiratory Specialist, you don't need to worry about kicking in doors and dodging RPGs.) Get trained in a field that has good job prospects back in the civilian world, and also earn GI Bill benefits that will help pay for college.
Love this! I’m so glad I went to Yale in the early nineties. We read the great books and debated in a civilized manner. It was fun and I learned a lot. Now they stab Jewish kids in the eye with Palestinian flags and call it free speech
I have seen this up close and personal. Even the STEM courses are becoming struggle sessions. You are correct... I have degrees but finished the last one in 2003.
Like most dissidents, my academic sinecure disappeared after the recent pandemic. I cannot recommend current universities. At all. If you must get such, find somewhere based. It will probably also be cheaper.
Holly, my son opted out of college- something that I, as a professional from a professional family could never have imagined. Nonetheless, he is way more sophisticated than I was at that age. And he is devouring complex topics, developing a quiver of other skills, and pursuing a career is a pilot, which now does not require a college education. He has taught my wife and I quite a bit as he has learned from us, often stubbornly. The economy and housing being what they are, he has lived at home. These years have been profoundly valuable for all involved and he has developed quite the network among aviation affiliated friends and acquaintances. He is missing some of the "college experience," which is dubious at best, and frequently little more than a 4 year playpen/country club of prolonged adolescence.
I hope that when we emerge from this revolution that those who lead from competence will lead while those who lead with credentials will be sidelined along with their entitled bogus gatekeeping. I wecome a new era of sensemaking, one with a restored integrity and unabashed defense of our constitution and Bill of Rights, one that reaffirms the next era of enlightenment values.
Thank you Holly. I have two granddaughters who will be college age soon. I shared this post with their mother and she received it enthusiastically. You are going to get another subscriber and you may have saved some lives too. I’m grateful for you.
Thank you!! 😊 i’m glad to hear it helped.
Trade schools and apprenticeships have been criminally downgraded by society. And for all the talk (in Australia) by both sides of politics about changing that, nothing ever happens where it matters, in schools and career guidance. I'll keep reposting this whenever this subject comes up...
https://tonymartyr.substack.com/p/apprentices?r=2jswp
The obvious added benefit is that it keeps them OUT of universities and colleges.