55°f/13°C, hazy from Canadian wildfire smoke.
Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! Happy June, friends. Wishing you all luck, fortune, and health this month. If you can only have one, which would you choose? For me, it would be health. Although fortune sounds pretty good!
Yesterday was granddaughter Michaela's graduation party. She received her degree in forensic chemistry from WVU earlier this month. I am so proud of her, as that degree was no cake walk. I cannot even fathom how one's mind understands chemistry, but Michaela loves it.
Michaela with her mom and her brother James. My son Aaron is her Dad, but he was on the road for work when this was taken.
The party was in Fairmont, about 2 1/2 hours from here if we don't stop. But of course we stop so it takes us 3 hours. It was a beautiful day, highs in the 60s, and just the beginning of the arrival of the Canadian wildfire smoke.
Fairmont
I felt so blessed to have 5 grandchildren and one great-grand all in one place. Michaela is the youngest of the grands, and all the rest are working, and scattered from Florida to California.
From left: grandson James, daughter-in-law Jaime Haley's partner Desiree, Haley, Michaela, Aaron, Hannah, me, and Kaye with baby Jonny.
I sometimes joke that the next time all 14 will all be in the same place at the same time will be my funeral! But that might be close to the truth, actually. Just so hard to get 14 young people with busy lives together. But all of them are well and thriving.
I was thinking this morning about the grandchildren's life choices. Of the 14 of them, 8 have college degrees. Of the six without degrees, one is full-time National Guard, one is in the Navy, one is currently in electrician trade school, one is a songwriter/bartender, one manages stores, and one is currently unemployed but was an office manager. Four of these have some college credits, and two own their own homes. Two of the college grads also own homes. Three of the 14 have children. Quite a crew!
Neither of my parents went to college, although all of Dad's siblings did. Of us 13 children, I think 6 have at least a 2 year degree, and 2 of us have Master's degrees. One brother has enough credits for a four year degree but was pretty eclectic in his class choices so never really put it all together and didn't care---his interest was geology so he took courses related to that. None of us with college backgrounds had any parental assistance, of course, and none had GI Bill benefits either, so we managed on our own with scholarships and grants and working.
I wonder how our large family stacks up against national averages? For the grandchildren, with 12 of 14 having some college, they are well above the national average of about 66%. The same is true of my siblings--for our age group (60+), the national average is about 42%, so with 7 out 13 having some college, we are at about 53%.
Well, all of this is probably boring to anyone but me! I do wonder, though, with the current push to discourage college in favor of trades, what these statistics will be like for the next generation. Will they choose college, go to a trade school, or eschew formal education altogether? The Pew Research Center noted that college enrollment fell from 70% in 2020 to 62% among high school grads in 2022 (most recent available figures). Is this a continuing trend, or another effect of the pandemic? Are kids today opting for a more "free" type of life, free-lancing, working multiple part-time jobs, choosing the gig economy over a longterm career? This may well be the new trend.
I must say, I have enjoyed my retirement "jobs" of storyteller and reseller far more than I enjoyed my traditional career as a librarian. There is something to be said about controlling your own time and schedule. Of course, I have the safety net of Social Security, which may have fallen by the wayside by the time today's generation reaches retirement age. There may not even be such a thing as retirement age by then! Even today, most retired people i know have some sort of side gig.
Changing times for sure. More exciting, or more worrying? What do you think?
Ending today with last night's sunset. That Canadian smoke makes for a pretty sky as the sun goes down!
Out of my 5 kids, 2 have college degrees, 2 have PhD's, and 1 took college courses but didn't finish college. Luckily, they are all working so that's good. My 7 grandchildren range in age from 19 years old to 18 months old. The two oldest graduated from high school but have no plans for further education at this time. The others are too little to predict yet!
ReplyDeleteWell done! It us fascinating to see what our grands do, isn't it?
DeleteWhat fun to spend time with your grands! I think College or a Trade school is the way to go...education is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI agree. There is di much to learn about our world and our history. But it seems many nowadays are content to just live in the moment, and rely on social media for information.
DeleteWhat a great diverse group you have in your big family! It's interesting to look at stats, but what is most important is how they care about each other (IMHO). Speaking of weather, they say the aurora borealis will be visible tonight quite a ways south...in case you have clear skies. We probably won't here in western NC.
ReplyDeleteInteresting things to think about. For a time, the way to bigger earnings was a college degree. Then everyone had one and they weren't so valuable. The pendulum is swinging back as people realize that there is good money to be made as a tradesperson.
ReplyDeleteThe Canadian smoke should be here tomorrow. I don't like the hazy air, but it does make pretty sunsets.
Interesting statistics. We anticipate that granddaughters will go to college and have been saving towards funding that for them with 529 accounts.
ReplyDeleteI can hardly fathom why the fires are burning so at this time of year. We are got getting smoke in our location at present.
ReplyDeleteHappy June, Sue! Congratulations to Michaela.
ReplyDeleteFirst, before I forget, that rabbit print is gorgeous! We've been talking a lot about trades v. college and I fall into the college camp. I know we need good tradespersons but I think for those who choose to go into that arena, there are good options for training, not the least of which is apprenticeship. (Frankly, I don't know if we need MORE, but we need better ones who at least return calls and show up after they make appointments!) But college brings more to the table than just in the area in which one majors. (In fact, I don't know a LOT of people who are doing now what they planned to in college, or certainly undergrad school.) But it teaches you how to think outside the box, meet deadlines, adapt, sort out ideas. You become exposed to a variety of ideas and people from all cultures and backgrounds, which is very important. In my wildly crazy imaginary world I would love to see undergrad (or at least the first two years) be free or very limited in cost so more kids could participate. Not going to happen but it's a nice thought.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Jeanie. College broadens our minds and experiences, and can also lead one into an unexpected and more satisfying career field. One thing people forget when pushing for more kids going to trade schools: trades are hard work, often physically demanding and even dangerous, and work can be unsteady, especially in certain parts of the country. Plumbers will always have work but if in the union it is hard to get ahead,. My grandson is a journeyman electrician. He has to take classes, is out of work because his work depends on the union getting contracts. Moving from one union hall to another isn't easy. My husband was a bricklayer, same problems. He was non-union most of his working life but that work, during winter and recessions, etc was undetectable so he often had another job. Trades are hard on the body too. Welders' eyes get damaged, plumbers have back and knee issues. My dad was a lineman and was severely burned twice. Same for my brother. Another brother, also an electrician , was severely burned and a neighbor was electrocuted while working at the state Capitol. I don't think those pushing kids to go into trades tell them all these negative factors.
DeleteI know we need tradespeople. Goodnes knows it's almost impossible to get a umber around here! But the facts need to be made clear. It's like the military recruiters who paint such a rosy picture of the military life. They gloss over the boredom and the danger and other downsides to that career.
Kudos to Micheala! That is an impressive degree. I think part of the reason college has fallen out of favor is the cost. So much debt when you are just starting out in life.
ReplyDeleteYes, cost can be a factor. I had only $5000 in loans when I finished, but I worked part-time while attending full time, and of course my husband worked. I also had several kids still at home lol. I think kids expect to continue living as they did at home, when Mom and Dad paid for everything. So they get loans to have all the clothes, car, etc. But yes tuition, books, room is all much more expensive now for sure.
DeleteYipeee on the achivement, chemistry was a horror to me!
ReplyDeleteI sadly think you might be correct.
For my Mom´s funeral all her siblings showed up (she was the youngest). Even from Switzerland they came, had not seen them in ages.
That was 2012.
Why do people do that? But then, I do not visit, either. life is just too fast these days.
Bro and I do have master´s degrees but I just saw a docu that these days... down the drain in Germany.
And yes, the pandemic sure is one factor! My friend has teenage-twins who stay by themselves, no friends. At least they have each other!
I do new jobs all the time. My younger brother the same job since age 16 - how boring.
I can´t wait to retire! There is so much to do!
And yes, you are right. Reired people here, if not saved enough (I do) have to collect recycle bottles etc for a "better living". It´s a very big shame!
Refugees live "for free" here. It hurts to see that.Once an elderly woman asked me for money for her medication!!!! That is Germany.
More worrying!!!
Bitter-sweet last pic!
Just be like . . . someone . . . and don't inhale.
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