College isn’t an option in my household. My kids are clear on the fact that college is the natural progression of what comes after high school. Do I believe that being a college graduate makes a difference in your overall future and the life you will end up living? I believe it can help more than it could ever possibly hurt. In the time that we’re living in, minority children need all the extras they can get in order to be considered for opportunities. My daughter is only three years away from attending college and it’s scary to imagine the cost which is why I introduced my kids to the word “scholarship” very early on.

For generations of Americans, public colleges and universities offered an affordable option for earning a college degree.

According to Yahoo Finance, between 2001 and 2011, the Department of Education says, the number of managers at U.S. colleges and universities grew 50% faster than the number of instructors. What’s more, schools have spent liberally on fancier dorms, dining halls and gyms to compete for students. Now, cash-strapped states across the country are cutting funding for colleges and directing scarce resources to primary and secondary schooling, Medicaid and prisons. That is shifting more of the cost of higher education to students and their families.

So what are you going to do? Get an second or third job to put your kids through school? I refuse to foot the bill when I have kids that are more than capable of securing free money for their higher education. Whether academic or athletic or both, my son and daughter understand the role they play in their own futures. Their dad and I provided the DNA and now it’s up to them to make it happen. Some people may think it’s harsh or unreasonable to expect their kids to pay their own way through school. I knew way back in the day that if I didn’t jump over hurdles fast enough to secure a college track scholarship I was going to be in a world of trouble and up to my neck in debt. I never expect more than what my kids can do, so full scholarships are definitely my expectation for both my son and daughter in the near future.

MommyNoire Readers: How do you plan to pay for college?

Words by Sid Powell

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Source: Finance.yahoo.com

Sid Powell is the NAACP nominated screenplay writer of ‘Somebody’s Child’, a mother of two, and the owner of SIDPo Productions. Read more about how SIDPo Productions is ‘Changing Everything’ at www.sidpoproductions.com.