Alternatives to College - College Alternatives for Homeschool Graduates

"If you know what kind of work you want to do, move toward it in the most direct way possible. If you want someday to build boats, go where people are building boats, find out as much as you can." - John Holt, unschooling advocate and author of many books on education.
College is not the only way, or perhaps the best way, for your child to prepare for meaningful adult work. Apprenticeships and internships may provide an easier and potentially superior path to a rewarding career. Participating in a mentoring relationship may be the first step your child takes toward exploring a possible career.

Independent-study programs, correspondence courses, ongoing unschooling, apprenticeships, internships, volunteer jobs, etc., all can serve as pathways to finding meaningful work. Opportunities abound for learning about the things one wants to know about. The most effective way to learn is to do.

“When homeschoolers choose not to go to college but instead make their way into the adult world through apprenticeships and other interesting routes towards meaningful work, they show that college is not essential.” - Susannah Sheffer, author of several books and editor of Growing Without Schooling.
Instead of school degrees to document their learning experiences and show their qualifications, homeschoolers bring resumes, recommendations, and portfolios to their interviews. Employers may prefer an impressive resume of real work experience to a college degree as most know that even a college graduate will require on-the-job learning before he can successfully do the work.

Many college graduates have discovered that the company they go to work for also hires employees who did not earn college degrees. They also discover that most of the learning necessary to do the work is done on the job. Then they may wonder why they put in the time and money in college. A college degree may result in higher pay, or it may not. There is no guarantee.

Too many college graduates discover, only after spending years of their time and thousands of their dollars that there was an easier way to get where they got, or worse, that they aren't happy with where college led because they were disillusioned about the reality of their chosen work.

“From being involved in a real and practical way from an early age I now have hands-on experience not only in the publishing industry, but in the small business world in general. And now, at the age of 23, when most people my age are struggling to get through college, to find jobs or to figure out what to do with their lives, I’ve already started a business that I love and am supporting myself with it (with a little help from the old family business!). Because I was deschooled and because I had the chance to do real work on a real business as I was growing up, I already know what I want to do with my life and I’m already doing it!” - Heidi Priesnitz, former homeschooler, and author of two books about deschooling.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Books:
In his book, Education and Jobs: The Great Training Robbery, Ivar Berg analyzes the worth of an expensive college education undertaken in preparation for employment.
Uncollege Alternative by Danielle Wood is available at FUN Books, http://fun-books.com

Articles and Websites:
CLAWS: Creating Livable Alternatives to Wage Slavery, http://www.whywork.org/index.html Recognizes that work and ‘a job’ are not the same thing.
’Revisiting the Idea of College,’ by John Andersen, http://www.unconventionalideas.com/wizar...
’Why We Should Question Our Support of the Higher Education Industry,’ by John Andersen, http://www.unconventionalideas.com/quest...
’Seventeen Creative and Intriguing Alternatives to College, by John Andersen, http://www.unconventionalideas.com/sevnt...
’Seven Great Alternatives to College,’ by John Andersen, http://www.unconventionalideas.com/altco...