Moms Talk: What If Your Kid Doesn't Want To Go To College?

Each week the Mentor Patch Moms Council answers a question on parenthood posed to them by readers or another member of council.

This week's question: This week's question comes with a bit of a preamble. Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor was recently in town to talk to members of the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce. The biggest topic of discussion was workforce development for manufacturers.

The manufacturers said, despite paying well and offering stable jobs, because so much emphasis is put on going to college and getting a degree. So my question is this:

How would you react if your child/grandchild told you that they didn't want to college and, instead, they were interested in working in manufacturing or another blue-collar trade?

Donna Milnes:

As higher education is out pricing itself and jobs are not plentiful even with a degree, I think more young people will be looking at alternative ways to earn a living.

I always say to my kids and grandkids, "Whatever you do, give it your best."

Manufacturing jobs have been sent out of the country in many cases but I think schools do an injustice to the kids that need to be schooled in the trades. There is nothing wrong with learning a trade and becoming good at it.

I always told my girls “not everyone will become a rocket scientist; the world needs garbage men too.”

Don’t get me wrong -- I think we all benefit from learning as much as we can, but there should be no negativity in not having a degree.

Mary Jo Stack:

No matter the path my kids want to take, they must receive some sort of secondary education.

Today's manufacturing jobs are very different from my fathers manufacturing job. Workers must have math and computer skills to run new equipment. I have already told my children that they must attend either a college, vocational training or apprenticeship program.

You cannot simply walk into a good job without some sort of training.

Devone Lansing:

I completely agree with Donna.

While I firmly believe in getting a good education, education itself is not the "be all, end all" that some in today's society seem to think it is.

If my kids end up in a manufacturing job or as a plumber or a welder or a carpenter -- it doesn't matter one bit to me. If they are HAPPY and fulfilled, them that's all I can ask or hope for.