Getting schooled on the cost of education

All of this discussion about the $10,000 to $20,000 school loan forgiveness program has me thinking of my own university days way back in the hazy past.

Back when I was looking for an institution of higher education to attend, it was a good thing that I was one of 10 siblings whose Dad earned less than $12,000 a year because that guaranteed some pretty good financial aid.

And from the time we knew what college was, Dad made sure we knew that we were going. That meant saving half of anything I earned babysitting went directly into the savings account.

Since I started babysitting at age 12, you’d think I would have had quite a nest egg built up, but I only earned 35 cents an hour. And the later the parents stayed out, the small my hourly remuneration.

Still, by attending two years of community college while still living at home (I paid minimal rent), and the couple of grants I was awarded, I managed to graduate University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire debt free.

That’s right. No loans.

It wasn’t easy. I cleaned bathrooms in the women’s dorm on weekends. (Women were as piggish as men in the messes they made.) But I was determined to make it without loans and that’s how I did it.

It also helped that I qualified for a $2,000 Basic Educational Opportunity Grant in the first year they were granting them. My brother, Jim, who was a year ahead of me, didn’t qualify. That seemed unfair so I gave him half my grant. I also got an $800 a year grant from the state of Minnesota, which I had to give up when I transferred out of state to UW-EC my junior year. It was the biggest stumbling block for me but my very smart Dad pointed out that I was giving up $1,600 vs. the probability of what I would be earning for the rest of my life.

He was so right. When we toured the campus, we were told that 98 percent of journalism graduates were placed in their field. I knew I wasn’t going to be in the other 2 percent.

I graduated with $100 in the bank and Dad helped me buy a giant Thunderbird when I landed a job at the La Crosse Tribune three weeks after graduation.

Back then, I didn’t realize how lucky I was. Yes, I scraped by and ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches, but I graduated WITHOUT debt.

What college grad can say that now?

So I don’t begrudge the loan forgiveness. But I do think more can be done. Why is it so dang expensive to get an education? There’s something wrong there and that needs to be addressed.

I am also a big proponent of trade schools. The trades are our last defense of exporting our jobs. Hard to get a plumber from India to fix your sewer pipe.

But I also think we have to look at how much we require in college curriculum. Though I loved taking languages and the humanities, does every college student need that? With so much expense, maybe some college degrees could be a three-year course.

In the dark ages, when I attend UW-EC, I paid for 12 college credits but some semesters I took as many as 21 credits. Those extra classes were free! And I was going to take as many as I possibly could because I knew I wouldn’t be coming back.

I want us to have a well educated country, but the kind of education we receive doesn’t have to be the same education for all of us. And it should not require anyone to mortgage her or his future.

Biden’s plan is a good beginning. Now we have to figure out how to do more.

I’ve been thinking

It’s the middle of the night. Well, is 1:49 a.m. actually the middle of the night? It feels like it is when I waken at this time.

Anyway, as usually happens when I’m awake at times I should be asleep, I start thinking. I know, I should think all the time, but at this hour I think about weighty matters.

Such as, whatever happened to acid rain? Do we still have it? I’m pretty sure we must since it’s all about harmful emissions and we haven’t progressed very far on that. Still, I haven’t heard about it in years. Just wondering.

And when did meteorologists fall in love with dew points? They used to just talk about humidity and now it’s all about dew points. Just tell me if it’s going to be hot and sticky tomorrow.

Why do I like vintage things? It’s not as if I grew up with all the groovy things I like now. We kids broke just about anything that entered the house so it’s not like I’m nostalgic for things we never had while growing up. I don’t remember many vintage glass ornaments hanging on our Christmas tree. Mostly, we had ornaments made by me and my siblings. I don’t have any of those but I have hundreds of glass Shiny Brites.

I just bought a milk can at an estate sale this summer, the first one I’ve acquired in years. I used to be able to buy one of those for a dollar or two, but those days are long gone. At one auction a few years ago, shortly after I sold the last one I had for $10, people were spending $40 a can. Why? Were they suddenly going into the dairy business or was the market hot for milk cans turned into planters?

Why are bean bags back in vogue? I sure wouldn’t buy one now. If I plopped down in one these days, I would be incapable of crawling back out of it. Have at ’em college students.

The word “curmudgeon” is mostly used to describe grumpy old men. That stops here and now. I’m grabbing that word and hanging on tight because I feel like I’m turning into one. Look out, world, the curmudgeon just chased a bunny out of the hosta garden.

What would the twice-impeached president do if he was found guilty of any of the many things he is obviously guilty of doing? Would the FBI have to send in a fleet of agents to arrest him? Now, that is a cheerful image. I may be able to go back to sleep now with sweet dreams of the impeached one being dragged off in hand cuffs.