Recently, I came across a wonderful article by Arthur C. Brooks, a Harvard professor. His son decided against attending college and that led him to do some serious soul searching. As third in a long line of college professors, he really struggled with the idea of his son skipping college. In the end, he and his wife gave him their full blessing. They (and their) son have no regrets on the decision.

He is, as a translation of the second-century Saint Irenaeus puts it, “a man fully alive.”

Although my eldest is only eight years old at the moment, I often have the same type of conversation about college with my husband. But, perhaps, what we should be doing is asking my daughter directly. In the end, it is her life and she will know best what is right for her, and maybe that includes college or maybe it’s a different path. Of course, we are there to help guide her and give advice from our own perspective, but what I really want for her is simply to be “fully alive.”

Coincidentally, Acton Academy has recently initiated a partnership with an incredibly interesting program called Praxis. They describe themselves as “a college alternative that builds your skills and network.” The world is fast waking up to the fact that there are many ways to build a happy, meaningful, and productive life that doesn’t have to include college. And, at Acton Academy Taipei, our learners are awake to all the different possibilities from an early age. What’s important is that you honor your own Hero’s Journey and discover your gifts to change the world in a way that’s right for you.

Brooks ends his article with a summary that captures our own philosophy well:

The college-for-all fever that has overtaken so much of our culture is a crass and classist mistake, because it ignores the gifts that people like my son have to develop and share. Maybe my son will still decide he wants to go to college someday. Maybe he won’t. But he is building his life with integrity and grit. And, frankly, that’s all a father could ever ask.