How do we prepare students for college and how early do we start?
Blanca is five years old. Is she thinking about college yet? Probably not. She just graduated from preschool (www.escuelasayulita.org) and shared these words written by her family, “Thank you Cooperativa School of Sayulita for planting in us a love of learning and a passion for the world. We leave with the happiest memories carried forever in our hearts.”
Blanca lives in a small town in Mexico where family is the center of her world. In 12 years, what kind of emotional tools will she need if her “love of learning and passion for the world” means leaving her small town and family to attend college? She will have 12 more years of school, but college readiness is so much more than academic preparation. Will it be easy to leave her family? Who will take her place at home? How is college different from high school?
At the heart of my novel, Fragile Courage, is the story of Melina whose dream was to go to college. After you read the opening paragraph below, take a few minutes to think about the initial impact on her and her parents.
Pressing her fingers hard against her cheeks to stop the tears, Melina barely made out the blurred shapes of Mamá and Papá as the bus pulled away from the station. She folded herself into the sticky, plastic seat and squinted out the rear window until they were just fuzzy specks on the horizon. At the bus stop, they seemed so small. Mamá held on to Papá as if her whole being depended on it, while Papá summoned all the strength his tired body had to offer, just to hold her up. He wore his mask of courage, the one he used when the family heard a strange knock on the door, frightened it might be the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. His head balanced rigidly on his narrow, muscular shoulders, and his mouth forced into a thin straight line, as if drawn by a Magic Marker. His eyes didn’t betray him with tears as he stared straight ahead. Mamá and Papá seemed like one as they melted into each other for support. Neither appeared able to break away and stumble home.
Melina’s life so far has centered around family and community. Her parents didn’t finish school, and they depend on her for so many things. Her friends have started having babies and staying in the neighborhood. How did she muster the courage to leave and what emotional tools does she have meet the challenges ahead? Is she ready?
I hope you will join me here as I interview experts in the field of college preparation and readiness. Please add your own personal experiences and how you think the concept of readiness must evolve to reflect a more comprehensive approach to preparing students in the comment section below.