Should You Teach Your Elementary Student about College?

Across the country, more and more elementary students are learning about college, and it’s a growing trend that has plenty of advocates and opponents.

As The New York Times recently featured, the importance of college is being emphasized to young children, including preschoolers. From coloring pictures of college mascots to cut-and-paste activities and even guided campus tours of children as young as four, schools and teachers are trying to help students understand their higher education options.

“The age-old question is: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ You always ask kids that,” said Kelli Rigo, a first grade teacher in rural North Carolina. “We need to ask them, ‘How will you get there?’ Even if I am teaching preschool, the word ‘college’ has to be in there.”

Advocates compare college planning for young students to Olympic athletes, who spend years crafting their sports skills. For example, you can’t strap on your first pair of ice skates at 17 and expect to compete for a gold medal within a year. In addition, teachers want to give hope that every student can go to college, no matter what a student’s financial situation may be.

However, traditional courses like Monarch College Planner are directed toward high school students, who can better grasp topics like God’s will for their lives, picking the right college, and applying for financial aid. Opponents of an early emphasis on college also argue that elementary students are not mentally ready to grasp such an important topic.

“You may as well be talking about Mars. It’s totally meaningless,” said Marcy Guddemi, executive director of the Gesell Institute of Child Development. “We are robbing children of childhood by talking about college and career so early in life.”

When do you think is the right time to start thinking about college in your homeschool?