I think there is a large section of the U.S. population who had to work very hard for their own education and now hold the opinion 'I had to work for my education and struggle and it made me a better person.' These parents feel it will build character if their children have to work hard for their education and struggle through college.

I felt this way for quite sometime myself. Now I am of the opinion that I want my child to attend college even if it means that I must pay for it entirely myself. Afterall, the more money she makes in life the better she can support me when I am old and feeble... :o)



>>Going way off topic here... there is an interesting parallel between Jews and Chinese. Both in recent history were discriminated against openly and it was difficult to find employment. Segments of both populations gravitated towards professions that allowed self employment such as being a doctor, lawyer or dentist. From what you said, there is a finality in Judiasm, but I think this is also true in Confucianism. Both groups are dispersed around the world living in cultures (at least before becoming assimilated) that are different from them. Both groups at some level forced to live in their own section of town. Every major city world wide has or had a jewish quarter or a 'chinatown'. This is just a random thought that popped into my head while reading your post.
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>Yeah, I think there is a parallel between the two groups. In both cases, in the US, immigrant parents sacrificed greatly to see their children educated.
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>I've been having an ongoing discussion with some other FoxFolk about who pays for higher education. There was never a question in my house that Marshal and I would put our kids through college and help them through graduate school. (There was also never a question as to whether they'd go to college. That was assumed, and grad school was considered likely.) Our take was that getting our kids educated was one of the main things we've been working for all these years.
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>I've talked to some of my friends in the Fox community whose view is that their kids would appreciate the education more if they had to work for it, and whose expectation was that their kids would help pay.
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>I've been trying to figure out the basis for this difference and am starting to believe that it's at least partly a religious difference. I don't think I know very many Jewish parents who wouldn't pay fully for college if they can afford it.
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>I haven't explored this fully yet, but it may also be a generational thing. All four of my kid's grandparents are college graduates (though two were first in their family to college); on my father's side, we have several generations of college graduates. (In fact, we have several generations of Ph.D.s.) So there may be something there, too.
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>Tamar