College--Are Parents Getting Their Money’s Worth- Are They Getting “More” Than They Bargained For

Guest Article by Author Unknown

March 20, 2010

This fall about two million American students will leave for college for the first time, at a yearly cost of $12,000 for a public university and up to $50,000 for a private one. Scholarships and grants reduce the cost for most families, but even so, the Wall Street Journal reports that the average student leaves college with $23,186 in debt.

The total cost of this transaction is somewhere between 25 and 40 billion dollars. Per year.

Oh well, at least families are getting their money’s worth.

Or not.

A recent study confirms what many parents have long suspected: that going to most colleges can cause students to abandon the things that are important and embrace values contrary to what they learned growing up.

Before I share this study’s results, let me say this to parents: leftist professors do not feel sorry for you. As far as they are concerned, you have been oppressing the masses to get that money anyway, so it is deliciously ironic that you not only turn your children over to the indoctrinators, but that you pay 50 to 200 thousand dollars for the privilege.

Do not take my word for it. Here is what the late Richard Rorty, one of the most prominent philosophers of the 20th century, said on the subject:

… I, like most Americans who teach humanities or social science in colleges and universities … try to arrange things so that students who enter as bigoted, homophobic, religious fundamentalists will leave college with views more like our own … The fundamentalist parents of our fundamentalist students think that the entire ‘American liberal establishment’ is engaged in a conspiracy. The parents have a point … we are going to go right on trying to discredit you in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable. We are not so inclusivist as to tolerate intolerance such as yours … I think those students are lucky to find themselves under the benevolent Herrschaft [domination] of people like me, and to have escaped the grip of their frightening, vicious, dangerous parents … [editor’s note: sorry for all the ellipses, but it is hard to summarize Rorty’s windblown rhetoric].

When it comes to reshaping values, liberal universities know precisely what they are doing. About four out of five students walk away from their Christian faith by the time they are in their twenties.

The Indoctrination Route: Citizenship Bad, Leftist Politics Good

In February the Intercollegiate Studies Institute released its annual report entitled “The Shaping of the American Mind.” ISI researchers studied students’ knowledge of basic citizenship questions, along with 39 issue-based propositions.

They found that college graduates are dangerously ignorant of basic civics. For example, fewer than one in two college graduates know that the phrase “We hold these truths to be self-evident…” is from the Declaration of Independence. Ten percent actually believe it is from the Communist Manifesto.

When it comes to political radicalism, however, colleges pass with flying colors. Graduates are significantly more likely to believe in abortion on demand and same-sex marriage, and significantly less likely to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, that prayer should be permitted in schools, or that anyone can succeed in America through hard work and perseverance.

The Transformation Route: Being Caught Off Guard Bad, Being Confidently Prepared Good

Obviously not all colleges are destructive. There are even a handful of great ones. I would humbly suggest that the one I teach at — Bryan College — is among the excellent few.

But most Christian parents feel hamstrung. They are concerned for their children but also recognize that, with few exceptions, most young people have no chance of attaining leadership positions without a college degree.

There is a solution, and it is available now. If you have a college-bound student, please listen carefully. This matters even if your child is going to a so-called “safe” college, since some nominally Christian colleges are actually more effective at convincing students to walk away from their faith than some secular ones.

At Summit, students ages 16 to 21 invest twelve days gaining the confidence they need to understand and defend an intelligent biblical worldview. They join a vast network of mentors whose books, writings, and personal encouragement help sharpen them for lifelong leadership. They stand shoulder to shoulder with newfound friends who help them remain strong.

Now Is Not the Time for Shortcuts

There is much at stake. Having your child read an apologetics book or attend a weekend conference is worthwhile, but it is not the same as a two-week Summit experience — and here is why:

1. At Summit, students can ask questions as they arise. Over the course of twelve days, students form questions and interact with top Christian professors, mentors, and classmates. As they become comfortable, they open up in small groups, around meal tables, and in open forums with speakers. This gives students confidence that ordinary people really can defend what they believe.
2. At Summit, students are given the responsibility to think through issues as adults. Summit asks students to set aside adolescence and step into mature adulthood. Over twelve days they come to believe that it can actually be done.
3. Summit breaks the stranglehold of negative peer pressure. Young adults will seldom attempt to become anything more than what their peers believe they can be. Summit students learn how to reverse that pressure and support one another in thinking and living Christianly.
4. Summit provides personal contact with expert mentors. Students spend twelve days with experts who have the depth of experience needed to engage seriously with the complex challenges they will face. These experts are selected specifically for their ability to communicate effectively with students.
5. At Summit, parents find that their role and their Christian values are affirmed and supported. Children are always asking, “Who else says so besides mom and dad?” At Summit, students are encouraged to honor their parents and be reconciled to them. This helps strengthen the parent-child relationship before sons and daughters leave for college — which is crucial.

Where Christian Leaders Send Their Own Children for Training

Summit is not a miracle cure. But for 47 years it has been a trusted resource for preparing students to be the kind of leaders who shape culture rather than being shaped by it. That is why evangelical leaders such as James Dobson and Josh McDowell endorse it so enthusiastically, and why they chose to send their own children to Summit before college. There is simply no substitute for the excellent training and mentoring that Dr. Noebel and his staff provide.

I believe in Summit. I am planning to speak at every Summit Ministries session in the United States this summer, in Colorado, Virginia, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.