We often hear from our families that the process of college selection can be overwhelming. This year at Trinity, we have responded with a dedicated College Counselor and a sophisticated college software toolkit (Naviance) to narrow down the field. Still, how do we decide on something so strategically important? What criteria do we use?
On these questions, we must think deeply and personally, lest our children be swept up by the cultural tide, and perhaps find themselves Academically Adrift. That's the title of a book I read several years ago that published the results of a major study on student learning at American colleges and universities. The study (which mentions no school by name) revealed a negligible gain in student learning, shockingly so, through the first two years of college. The very careful and sophisticated research revealed some reasons for this. In general, the cultural expectation of a college education and market forces have turned college into more of an industry where degree attainment becomes more important than actual learning. Also, students have sought out college more for the cultural experience of it, a sort of rite-of-passage, that often "has little to do with academic learning"2. Across the board (with a few notable exceptions) college students are not getting much of an education, and the "intellectual life" matters little to students who go there to discover themselves, and happily find a suite of experiences sold to them.
At the same time, colleges will challenge our children's whole view of the world and God's part in it. College professors are not neutral, and they will attack (sometimes very deliberately and directly) our children's confidence in their faith and God's Word. While we at Trinity promote inquisitiveness and freedom of thought, we also want our children to stand firm on what they know to be true, just as Paul exhorts a young Timothy to "guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called 'knowledge'." (1 Timothy 6:20)
Therefore, we need to know our children and think in terms of what will be good for their soul. It could be a Christian college, a private secular college, a major state university, or a 'federal' college (I went to the U.S. Naval Academy, where I found ballast in my life via a campus ministry and local church). There are advantages and disadvantages to all those types of schools. But, we'll need to go further to research specific ones and think hard about the effect they may have on our children. To summarize: know your children and discern what is uniquely good…not just for their credentials, but rather for the development of their minds and especially their souls.
At TCS, we want to support parents not only in the mechanics of a college search but the long-term development of a soul. Just take a look at our TCS Profile of a Graduate. While TCS will equip our students with academic credentials, most of our goals have to do with character, faith, habits, and values-- what will truly sustain them wherever they may go upon graduation.
In Christ,
Stephen Sprague
Headmaster
1For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36)
2Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa. University of Chicago Press, 2011. Pg. 3