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WHIRR WHIRR Helicopter Parents on the Loose!!: Moms quit jobs for their child’s college dreams – CNN.com

Posted by Ebony J. On April - 27 - 2010

"please let me live my life!" he thinks while they fly above...

Moms quit jobs for their child’s college dreams – CNN.com.

According to Wikipedia: “Helicopter parent is a colloquial, early 21st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her child’s or children’s experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions. The term was originally coined by Foster W. Cline, M.D. and Jim Fay in their 1990 book Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility^[1], although Dr. Haim G. Ginott mentions a teen who complains, “Mother hovers over me like a helicopter…” on page 18 of the bestselling book Between Parent & Teenager published in 1969. Helicopter parents are so named because, like helicopters, they hover closely overhead, rarely out of reach, whether their children need them or not. In Scandinavia, this phenomenon is known as curling parenthood and describes parents who attempt to sweep all obstacles out of the paths of their children. It is also called “overparenting”.”

And if you want a prime example of this phenomenon, see the article above. Feeling lazy? Here you go: Moms quit jobs for their child’s college dreams – CNN.com.

In this article you can find the picture, perfect example what a helicopter parent is. Once again, I feel the need to apologize and insist that I am not being a hater…but this one was just too juicy to resist.

I mean really. Reading this article took me back to my high school days and I got chills going up and down my spine. Honestly, some students who go to high school these days are really just victims of ambitious-elitist-academia-by-proxy, due to their parents childish and ridiculous hold on their lives. Oh my the damage these helicopter parents do.

From a personal perspective, I have always had a really close relationship with my mother, she really helped me during my high school years to figure out the big bad world of college admissions…but quit her job to do it? Really? And quit her job to schedule my entire life around mind-numbing activities, so I can go to some for-profit disguised as a non-profit institution filled to the brim with helicopter parent products?

No thank you, I’m good.

In today’s society it seems like the culture of overbearingness is deemed normal. I just don’t see how putting such intense pressure on your children to attend SAT tutoring, tennis lessons, fencing lessons, and Oboe society sessions has to do with their well being. Most of the time they are just going along with it, running from appointment to appointment with their head spinning. Does anyone do anything anymore for the pleasure of it? Because it is their passion? College admissions and resume fodder is what drives the youth of today!

And unfortunately it does not seem to get better with age. Even in college I witnessed incidents of people doing things just to say they did it, and this is a habit that will no doubt follow these particular individuals for the rest of their lives.

I actually had a conversation today with two women about another form of helicopter parenting: the athlete version.

The women were mentioning how the swimming team in my area for 5-6 year olds were so competitive…that they make the children go swimming 4 o’clock in the morning. Every morning…..

WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON.

If you look at many of the most famous athletes, many of them had at least one helicopter parent…Venus and Serena, Tiger, Michael Phelps…all had helicopter parents that pushed them to the limit…

Yes it is the main reason they are where they are today, but at what price? Can you imagine 5 and 6 year olds forced to wake up 3:30 in the morning to go swimming? I don’t even want to think about it.

But I digress…basically Moms all over the country are abandoning their personal goals and dreams to dictate the academic moves of their children…

Would you quit your job to ensure the success of your child’s college admissions? And that be your primary goal? Would you let your child do what they want to do? When and where do we cross the line????

If you want some additional food for thought, and a great counterargument check out TIME’s article on helicopter parents:

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting

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CHECK FOR ACCREDITATION!

Posted by Tiffany A. On March - 15 - 2010

I'm Official! Or am I? Bom Bom Bom!

Double-check the facts; big lesson learned for Michelle, whose name is changed to protect her identity, when she enrolled at Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) for Nursing, only to discover that their nursing school is not nationally accredited. After buying a Nursing Colleges book that published that HPU was nationally accredited, Michelle quickly enrolled.

Halfway into the semester, whilst excelling in all her classes, a teacher informed her class that HPU’s School of Nursing is not accredited but, says Michelle, “They are looking into it.” Even more confusing, The National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission, also lists HPU as accredited since 1992 with its next evaluation visit due in 2013.

Yet, despite two sources claiming that HPU is accredited, the fact remains: They are looking into it.

Now, Michelle is scrambling to enroll in a nursing school that is accredited. “The good thing is that my prerequisites are generally accepted everywhere.” The best advice for those looking into programs would be to call the specific school and ask them directly if a specific program is accredited.

Questions? Comments? Obsolete When All Are Employed welcome your comments!

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Degree For Sale!!!

Posted by Ebony J. On March - 8 - 2010

INSERT YOUR NAME HERE

I don’t even remember what I was going to write for this blog post…

Oh right…

I am considering selling my Degree. That’s right…DEGREE FOR SALE!

How much would it be worth? Would I sell it for how much I paid for it? Or how much the “retail” price is? Is it possible, or even sane, to try to sell an experience?

I see my interest in capitalizing off of my degree as a way to exorcise my demons, and deal with the frustration of feeling like my diploma is just a piece of paper. Nothing more, nothing less. Not necessarily guaranteeing me a job, increase in pay, or anything really. Maybe I am at fault to assume that I would gain all of these things?

I am unsure. One thing I am sure of, despite my interest in selling my degree, I am being ungrateful. There are millions of people, all over the world who would appreciate the chance to go to college, and many among those who are working hard towards it. Their are those who work hard, save and scrape to go to school. Others are lucky enough to win awards and scholarships…still others…actually pay for their degrees…and I mean literally.

The title of this post, means more than just me selling my degree. There are companies that will literally sell you a degree/diploma, without having to attend–not even one day–of school. NOT EVEN ONE DAY. It’s pure madness.

And it also indicates that their services are in demand…because in this society we live in…nearly nothing exists unless someone is willing to pay for it. Supply and demand folks, are two of the elements that compose the lifeblood of this country.

Monster College had an article concerning this topic, that mentioned: “Rochville University, an online college lacking proper accreditation, awarded an MBA to a dog earlier this year. Yet Rochville diplomas continue to be touted by professionals on the resumes they post to the LinkedIn networking site, warns GetEducated.com”

What? Really? A dog? Apparently the dog was able to gain the degree for a $499 dollar fee. And there are other sites where a degree can be obtained for a stiff fee, no questions asked:

Hill University

Diploma Makers

Oh, and so many more. From an ethics perspective, all of this is pure rubbish, and misleading people into thinking you have a degree is too much. All the money and time spent on doing that, can be used to looking into a strong vocational, or technical school…not that these schools would be a cure all, but they would be a better bet than Hill University. And maybe to invest in your own business, to become self-employed. But not to buy a degree!

Degree for Sale….

I guess, with my new found knowledge of the dark side of degree’s and obtaining an education…I will keep mine…For now…

Just Kidding!?!

Ebony

Sources:

Not All Degree’s Are Real

Hill University

This one is UBER ridiculous: Diploma Makers

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NYT Repost: Graduates Fault Advice of Guidance Counselors

Posted by Ebony J. On March - 5 - 2010

See full article here: Graduates want better advice

According to NYT (New York Times), high school graduates have been complaining that their guidance counselors have not been giving them the best advice concerning jobs, and college…

The sad thing is, it does not get better once you graduate from college. I can count on one hand the amount of good advise I got before graduating.

Have you felt a lack of guidance after high school or college?? Let us know!

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Most New MBA’s Find Jobs!!!

Posted by admin On February - 17 - 2010

Click here to read full article: MBA’s Find Jobs

According to Monster.com and Graduate Management Admissions Counsil, on average more MBA graduates are able to find jobs…leaving people who obtained MA’s and Law Degrees in the dust..

Knowing this information…would you change your mind about getting a Master’s?

Would you change anything about your future goals??

Let us know what you think!

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CONSUMER CAUTION: STUDENT LOANS!

Posted by admin On February - 16 - 2010

If you have student loans, check out this article. A cautionary tale of why student loans and defaulting on student loans will ruin your life! Defer at your own risk. Pay off Uncle Sam everyone.

Michelle Bisutti, a 41-year-old family practitioner in Columbus, Ohio, finished medical school in 2003, her student-loan debt amounted to roughly $250,000. Since then, it has ballooned to $555,000.

http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/108846/the-555000-student-loan-burden?mod=edu-continuing_education

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Building an Einstein, False Pretense, False Hopes: Where is the Accountability?

Posted by Tiffany A. On November - 17 - 2009

Building an Einstein, False Pretense, False Hopes: Where is the Accountability When a Woman Sues College for Unemployment and Disney Faces Lawsuit for Falsely Advertising Baby Products?

A year ago, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit against Disney’s Einstein series for deceiving parents into thinking that using their Baby Einstein products will make their babies smarter. The result: Disney is offering refunds.

About three months ago, a woman sues her college for not helping her find a job once she graduated. The result: case is without merit.

While both Disney and colleges market their products as “educational,” Disney is now forced to refund its products for lack of infantile intellectual results, while colleges are held unaccountable for unemployed alumni, who are often promised help from their college’s Career Development Offices.

Do not get me wrong; I am not necessarily supporting the woman’s case. I am however, trying to make sense of accountability. Who is responsible for the vague ambiguous idea of “education”? Indeed, Ebony and I have met many a book-smart individual who lacked common sense. So, what does it mean to be educated? In what capacity does a person qualify as educated? Better yet, what is an “educated” being supposed to look or act like? Both Disney and college rely on the overall potential of their customers as their marketing gimmick. Explicitly they both promise to produce more learned and capable humans, implicitly that their products will prepare students for the “real world.”

But no parent in their right mind really expects their kid to become an Einstein when they buy these products. However, parents do expect their kids to get better paying jobs when they send them to college.

So why is Disney held accountable and college are not?

Perhaps, the reason why colleges are not sued is because in their Mission Statements, they never advertise that their goal is to employ students in the workforce. Maybe, Disney could have avoided their sad fate if they wrote a nice mission statement too.

In fact, many colleges mission statements are slightly flowery and vague, generally aimed to prepare students to graduate with a sense of social awareness. Take Notre Dame University; they hope to graduate students with an “appreciation for … achievements of human beings … and concern for the common good that … becomes service to justice.” Similarly, Grinnell College seeks to:

Educat[e] young men and women in the liberal arts through free inquiry and the open exchange of ideas … to graduate women and men who can think clearly … speak and write persuasively and even eloquently, who can evaluate critically both their own and others’ ideas, who can acquire new knowledge, and … serve the common good.”

And if they fail? If students don’t come out serving the common good or being open minded or persuasive? Did the school fail? Should the students deserve a refund?

A lot of people think that going to college automatically means that they will get a better paying job. Not in this market. BUT, they eventually will, so is it right that colleges credit prominent individuals who become successful in their later years to them? Likewise, are we judging too soon on the effects of Baby Mozart on Everybaby?

Regardless, with the rampant statistics correlating higher education with salaries, people are running like crazy for higher learning. After hearing that veteran IT professionals are taking classes in Shakespeare, which have no relevancy to their jobs, so that they can complete their Associates Degree, I could not help but shiver at the wasted time and money.

Perhaps it is an incremental process and we have judged too soon whether a baby will become a genius. In that sense, perhaps the essay I wrote regarding Hobbesian theory to Wuthering Heights will traverse its way into serving the common good. And, perhaps, Freud and Jungian Psychology actually does help explain away and thereby relieve the abnormalities of humanity.

Ironically, it is these very statistics that perpetuate the system we live in now, where almost every decent paying job requires a B.A., which further demarcates and stratifies the privileged, who can afford an education, gain power, and make rules, against those that cannot.

So, we applaud Lawyers who want to break Disney’s monopoly on the baby market. Perhaps we should applaud this woman on trying to break college’s monopoly on young adults?

If we are to move into the future, we need to credit other forms of education, other than the traditional four year degree, which is not a guarantee of anything.

This one anonymous post expresses the frustration of many graduates:

Colleges regularly lie through their teeth about the job prospects for their degrees in the subjects they teach.

Imagine that after working your #$% off and getting yourself in debt for that degree, you suddenly find out that the job prospects for your degree were crap. And it’s not because the job prospects for your degree declined recently, but the job prospects have been crap for more than a decade.

If colleges and universities can be honest about job prospects for sociology, gender studies, art, history, then I see no reason why they should also be honest about job prospects for information technology.

As for:”The college prides itself on the excellent career-development support that we provide to each of our students, and this case does not deserve further consideration,”(Sarcasm) I bet when you ask the college, they don’t have problems with drugs too. (every college has).

We live in a world where status is determined by tiers and ranks and educated individuals validated by a paper of credit and their ability to create “open discourse.”

If that is the case, it’s not the college’s fault when we students graduate unemployed. We just didn’t read the mission statement. And in order to avoid problems, Disney should create one too.

What do you think?

Obsolete When All Are Employed welcome your comments!