Welcome to “Tuesday Tours: What’s Happening on the Web” where I serve as your tour guide and showcase the best contests, freebies, deals, and reads for moms on the web…all in one convenient location.
Good Reads
I agree with Lindsey Nobles: I’d Rather Be…
Elizabeth Esther writes about saying yes to Water Ballet.
Here’s something to think about from DailyFinance: Seven Reasons Not to Send Your Kids to College.
From The New York Times: Consumers Find Ways to Spend Less and Find Happiness.
From The Wall Street Journal: The Perils of Hipster Christianity and Why Young Evangelicals Reject Churches That Try To Be Cool.
Finally – a sensible reaction to the book-sensation “Eat Pray Love” (by Sarah of Emerging Mummy): In which we’re eating and praying and loving right here.
Tamara Monosoff shares 7 Tips to Ace Your TV Segment.
Miscellany
Grilling tonight? Try this delicious Chicken Marinade.
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*** If you have a contest or an announcement that you think might be a good fit for Tuesday Tours, e-mail me at stephanie@metropolitanmama.net.
Seven Reasons Not To Send Your Kids To College was brilliant!
I agree!
I wrote out this comment to post on the DailyFinance website, but then noticed that it required me to “sign in” so I didn’t:
“This is excellent food-for-thought. I enjoyed reading James’ contrary-to-the-norm advice.
The article assumed that parents have $200,000 to spend on their child’s education and that all universities actually cost $200,000 for four years. Resident tuition at my alma mater is approximately $20,000/year.
When I attended college between 2000-2002, I paid for my education entirely through scholarships, grants, and part-time work. I also saved two year’s worth of tuition by graduating in two years instead of four.
My parents didn’t contribute at all monetarily to my post-high-school education. I also worked my way through graduate school.
Looking back, I’m glad that I received both degrees because my university experiences taught me perseverance and scholarly fortitude. In addition, employers definitely attribute credibility to candidates who have graduated from college (perhaps unfairly).
All that said, I think that reading, traveling, and entrepreneurship are worthy endeavors…and can certainly reap great rewards.”
Loved the water ballet article! I was just at the beach today thinking about splashing in the waves in a fancy dress.
And now I’m spending WAY too much time reading through! Thanks, as always, for including my little corner. xo
The Perils of Hipster Christianity was definitely worth reading. I must say that the devil is shopping even in churches. The question we ought to ask each other, “are you up for sale”?
blessing@safehomehappymom.com
I agree with the reasons to not send your kids to college. When we get to that age (still have quite a few years) I am going to encourage my girls to get a full time job out of high school and really spend that year or two thinking about what they really want to do in life. I am wishing now I hadn’t received my teaching degree – since I am not using it at all – and I am wishing I had gone to nursing school instead.
A few years off from school to work, think and travel I think is what all high school seniors really need. I mean after all do you really know what you want to do for the rest of your life at age 18? Do you really even know yourself all that well at the age of 18 – nope. I sure didn’t.
I appreciated the author’s points because…every young person is different. Some may thrive in an academic environment. Others may be energized by entrepreneurship. Still others may find purpose in international travel or community service.
Going to college is not the “only” option at age 18.
Thanks for the link to Sarah’s thoughts on Eat, Pray, Love. She wrote exactly what I was feeling but never knew exactly how to say it.
The college article was definitely eye-opening but I was a little turned off to see that most of reasons were only about money. The things I gained from college are worth so much more than any debt, job offer, salary or even diploma.
Good point! However…I also think some of the intangible benefits of college can also be gained through work, travel, or entrepreneurship. Don’t you?
I loved the article from The New York Times. I hope it’s true that society is actually moving in that direction. I guess time will tell.
I disagreed with a lot of the ideas behind not sending your kids to college. I loved my education experiences. Both in the classroom and out, I don’t think I could have ever been exposed to such a variety of ideas and people or gained so much that is still applicable to my life. However, our family is so deep in the trenches of my husband’s graduate school that I admit I get rather defensive whenever someone tries to pooh-pooh formal, extensive education.
What about sending your child to school, but actually preparing them for the experience first? I don’t think any parent would agree that $200,000 was a good amount to throw away on letting a young adult spend four years partying and getting a degree that they’ll never use. But that’s not how every college experience has to turn out.
Excellent points, Joanna! My college experience was the opposite of the “typical” college experience. I was focused. I worked hard. And I wasn’t part of the party scene.
These factors enabled me to graduate with my 4-year degree in 2 years. Yay!
Someday, I’d love to go back and get my PhD too.
I think the idea of taking time off before going to college is so important. I switched majors three times before picking one. But my college experience was much more than just an education, I made life long friends (hopefully), met my husband there and also had my whole thinking of the world blown open. My parents did not pay for my college degree though and it was no where near 200k.
My parents didn’t pay for my college degree either…and, when all was said and done, the cost was WAY under $200,000.
I think taking time off is a great idea…as long as that time is spent productively (traveling, living abroad, learning a language, volunteering, starting a business, etc.).
Thanks for including a link to my post!
I loved the article on “Eat, Pray, Love.” I couldn’t finish the book because I found the woman so annoying, and Sarah expresses so well my frustrations with that particular journey of self-discovery! I’ve learned more about myself the times I take the focus completely off myself and start helping others, but that message was entirely absent. Or I assume it was, since I didn’t actually finish it!
As a college professor, I found the NY Times article interesting- and a little scary!
Oops, I meant DailyFinance- you know, the one that was about the value (or not) of college!
The college article was pretty interesting. My husband & I have decided not to set up a college fund for our children. I worked my way through college, paying for it with part-time jobs, grants & scholarships, and student loans. I worked my tail off in my courses to get every penny’s worth out of my investment. For me, my college experience was invaluable, and something I’ll never regret. Not only did I graduate with a degree, I learned true responsibility, I learned how to juggle both work and school obligations, I learned how to save and budget. Going to college — and paying for it myself — really shaped how I am today. So I want my children to go to college if higher education is something that they desire, but I want them to work for it.