Liam dressed himself at his friend "Big Abby"'s house.

Education for “education’s” sake. What is a bachelors degree worth?

Recently Brady and I were talking about our college degrees- their value, their abilities to get us a job, the work we put into them, the people they shape us into, the way they enrich our family and increase our potential to serve.
College is expensive and time consuming. I wonder if most people are reaping from their college experience what they intended. Tell me what you think.

As far as the job market goes Brady and I have somewhat “useless” undergrad degrees (Psychology and Exercise Sciences.) Both of us selected our undergrad majors as a means to get into grad school. When I tell people my major l generally roll my eyes to suggest “Yes, I do realize that I didn’t select the most useful, lucrative bachelor’s degree.” But should it matter?

What makes a college education worthwhile?

Needless to say, now my days are not filled with anything scientific but spent counting to 20 and singing the ABCs. I finished my undergrad 4 years ago and those days at BYU seem so long ago, so distant.
I really cannot remember a thing I learned my first few semesters while taking general education classes. At the same time I will never forget many of the friends I made, the fun I had, my host family during my study abroad, and the way these changed my view of myself and the world. Were those 2 semesters of mediocre grades "time wasted?"

Many people have different reasons for going/ finishing college. Some of them are laudable, some I think are bogus.

Sometimes women in college feel they have no incentive. They want a family and will never use their degree. Is it okay to pick an easy major, do easy classes until one gets a ring on their finger or a positive pregnancy test? Is it okay to go to college just until something better comes along?

If women just want to be mothers should they have to challenge themselves academically? How much weight do you give to the “just in case my husband dies” attitude towards women’s education?

Often people don't finish college because their career doesn’t require it – artists, sales reps, military. . . is it okay that they completely missed out on this social rite of passage? Are they skipping out on life’s lessons?

Is it alright to spend time and money on a degree that you are only half–heartedly interested in but that is easy and quick?

Should we be pushing our kids towards getting graduate degrees now that the job market is flooded with 4 year degrees?

Are some degrees truly “better” than others? (Of course the world needs philosophers, anthropologists, art historians, but enough to warrant getting a degree?)

Should people only study majors that can land jobs?

If we are truly looking to develop personal attributes why don’t more people spend 4 years volunteering, traveling, and soul searching?

After saying all that, basically I think the ideal cases for going through school are a) if you are pursuing something you are passionate about and or b)if you'll make money because of it.

My parents always assumed and expected us to get at least a 4 year degree. As much as I think that people should pursue their lives as they see fit, I would flip if one of my own kids told me they were opting out/dropping out of formal education. There is something commendable about taking on any challenging, lengthy task and furthermore finishing something that you started.

Summer

Nude gardening, Liam's favorite summer activity. Well I guess tied with nude sandboxing. (A second after a snapped this photo I got squirted in the face.) We have been doing tons of swimming in lakes, going to parks, splash pads, museums, gardens, and ice cream stores. We love summer.

Liam loves to build forts and towers out of pillows. They are generally dangerous but he would have it no other way.

Pretty sweet music, an awesome blend of both songs (regardless if you like Taylor Swift)

The Case Against the Naked Frog Boy

1-Liam likes playing in his sandbox.
2-There has been a frog living in his sandbox.
3-After repeatedly finding the frog in his sandbox, Liam has spent more time pretending to be a frog.
4-This involves imitating the frog by croaking, ribbit-ing, hopping, and jumping.
5-Tonight Liam was found playing in his sandbox completely naked.
6-Frogs, in fact, do not wear clothes.

Related? I think so.

Detroit has seen better days

Poor Detroit. They lost the Stanley Cup in the NHL playoffs on Friday and that is really the least of its worries. This weekend we went on a family field trip to inner city Detroit to check out the 'hood. The scene was sad.

It would be very difficult to sum up the issues and conflicts that face Detroit with real accuracy, but the one thing that seems clear is that Detroit is a good example of what happens when a community puts too much faith in a single entity- in this case, the auto industry. An industry that was rollin' in money for decades, but did little to give back to the community that facilitated its growth. The auto corporations became so powerful that they could just completely have their way with this city, and when the time came to pull out, they let this city crumble. It makes me mad.

While Motown has been on the decline for decades, most homes started emptying out in 2006. Now entire city blocks of businesses have been shut down, pillaged, graffitied. Most streets have houses that had been vandalized, burnt down and boarded- up. Many of these trashed houses were occupied by homeless people without a place to go. Other are used as drug houses. Meanwhile toddlers and elementary school kids rode their tricycles outside and played in the condemned buildings. Adjacent to a raided, torn up, house would be a home with a well kept lawn and a bed of marigolds planted out front. People are still trying to survive and exist amongst the devastating poverty and crime. How could this happen in America?


But feel free to come and visit us in Michigan any time :)

Let's Have a Repeat!

Do it again boys. As Dani says, Michigan needs all the glory it can get!!

Liam's Sandbox

Liam and his friend "Little Abby" being silly in the sandbox. They both managed to get both sand and bubbles in their hair by the time they were done playing. (Both Liam's doing) Liam plays in the sandbox everyday with his shovel, animals, and Diego tractor. I am constantly finding random things he has been hoarding in the sandbox (the sprinkler head, his sippy cups, a wrench, my gardening tools,our rabbit Gabe's food. . .) and perpetually cleaning up sand everywhere.

Splash Pad Fun

We have a really fun group of moms and 2-3 year olds that make up a little play group. Liam loves having all the friends and has crushes on all the cute girls. Yes, he is wearing a speedo and no, Brady didn't know about it :)