Another Look at Education Part 2

By Francisco J. Colayco, Ph.D

While planning and saving for the monetary part of education, I would like to remind all of us of a very important issue that we must take into consideration. I have been exposed to so many would-be-entrepreneurs who went to school taking up courses that they were not really interested in. So many just want a degree and “bahala na”. During my schooldays, I recall that many adolescents found themselves suddenly in college without understanding what it is they really wanted to pursue and what their unique capabilities were. They just went to the school where either their friends were going or where their parents wanted them to go. They took up courses that were either the easiest or the most popular. Life was much simpler then and most of them were able to switch to their chosen profession eventually. This kind of a tolerant environment is no longer the case today.

Today, life is more complicated, competitive and expensive. Few would have the luxury of wasting so much time, effort and money in an education that was not really fit to the personality of a child/person. Thus, we should encourage “dreams” in the minds of our children much earlier in life on what they want to be when they grow up. As parents and teachers, we must observe them more and guide them towards the field/s in which they seem to have the most capability to enjoy and succeed. They have to be preparing for their college education as soon as they step into high school. Another major reason why this is important is the competitiveness of entrance examination.

I have to emphasize the need for the child/person to “enjoy” a chosen field because one of the key elements of success is being happy in what you are doing. The technical aspects can always be learned and mastered but happiness can only come from within.

You still have many months to prepare for the tuition of our children for the next school year. There are many choices of schools now and each school usually offers different methods of paying tuitions. Sometimes, they offer discounts and it becomes confusing to decide what method to use. It will be good to know how to analyze the best payment terms. We will discuss this my next column. It will help those who do not know how to take advantage of discounts when these are made available to them.