A degree in Role Playing?

[ShadowHM]

Hi

You raise a topic that I have been pondering for a while now.

My eldest son will finish high school this week. He wants to pursue a career in the Tower Crane Business. Until recently, the formal part of the education required for this career path was comprised of two semesters at a technical college, in between periods of apprenticeship to a qualified Operator.

The rules have (very) recently been changed. Now he need not take any formal classes, although the six year apprenticeship length is unchanged. Instead, he has the option of home study for the qualifying exams, under the tutelage of his employer. I suspect that he will opt for this route, as he does have a 'Master' that he will be working under, who will ensure that he learns not just operation, but the more technical sides of 'why and how', as well as the more specialist area of tower crane repair.

This means that he will, for the relevant planning horizon, be finished with formal education as of this week.

He has two passions at the moment. He loves the mechanics of the big cranes and the challenge of the big machinery. He also loves Drama. It was his sole love among the high school courses he took, and he particularly loved directing.

My fear is that he will be losing out on the 'fun' side of the more formal studies that he could undertake in an educational institution. I know I learned a lot more in University than I expected, just because of the synergies with other courses than the ones I originally signed up for. There were other 'General Education' courses that were so much fun that I ended up exploring other directions as well. It was easy to do so, because I was there and the courses all ended up being applied to the degrees I eventually earned.

I have been counselling him to enrol in night classes at the University closest to his employment to take Drama courses, just for the fun of it. That way he can accomplish several ends. He can meet people other than construction workers. :P He can explore another side of his personality and abilities than the purely technical education he will receive at work. And he can have an outlet for energy that will get him out of his apartment of an evening.

But it will take more energy / focus to make that happen than it would if he were in a University setting to start with. And I am not sure that he will be able to make that happen.

As a mother, there is a comfort zone in knowing that my son has chosen to pursue employment in something that he does love and that will earn him a very good living. But, also as a mother, I worry about the limitations it might give him in exploring all the other things he doesn't even yet know about that he might love too.