The Academic Run-Around

Friends and I have been discussing where we studied and how we ended up there and if we'd send our kids there.

I took up Psych in PNU because I ran out of options. I wanted to study in UP but was naive and weak-willed enough to listen to our HS guidance counselor who said that we're just wasting our application fees since UP doesn't accept students from private schools. So, I just never tried.

And then came college application time and I realized my Mom never intended for me to attend a private university! Gasp. Shock. Ouch. I still tried with CEU and Adamson but also never felt the fit. I gave in and also took entrance tests in PUP and PNU. Well, I got scared of the people I took exams with at PUP... and while I thought all the vandalism at their covered walk and walls were cool, I just knew my sheltered existence cannot tolerate that for four years.

Plus, I always intended to take up Psychology... so PNU was the wisest choice among my limited options since it at least had a good reputation. I graduated with Bachelor of Arts, major in Psychology, minor in Education... fourth among the graduating Psych batch and 22nd out of the entire graduating class (over 600 at least).

My mother, on the other hand, sent my brother to a private school. her rationale was, since I was already smart, I can go anywhere and still be smart. My brother needed the edge of private school education. Ouch again, but I got the point more and more as I grew up.

Fast forward to now. I have absolutely forgotten all the things I took up in college. Plus, the cum laude accolade is pretty useless since I am a stay-at-home Mom. :) Me reading to my child is more because I love to read than due to the expert recommendations of teachers and psychologists. Me signing to my child is more because I have always wanted to learn sign language. Me prioritizing family time is because I felt I didn't enjoy much of it growing up.

So, the great undergraduate degree became just that, a degree. A certificate. A piece of memory attached to a piece of paper.

Meanwhile, education has changed. Who knows by which standards I will measure it with years from now, when my sons go to college... if ever they do go :)