Today I gave a tour of my college to about 15 8th graders, who were accompanied by a chaperone. These kids were in middle school. Middle school!!! They came in a larger group, with a whole busload. It felt really strange seeing a yellow school bus idling on one of the streets going through my campus. That never happens. Until today. It was basically a useless tour, because these kids aren't thinking about college. They aren't even in high school yet. It was a freebie day for them. It just felt super ridiculous, especially because the kids went to a school that was about 2 hours away, and they have a college closer to them that they could have visited.
I have a repertoire of things I talk about on my tours. Most of the time the tours are only with one family, so I tailor it a little to their interests, but the basics stay the same. I had to completely scratch that for this tour. Middle-schoolers aren't interested in gen ed requirements, or the shuttle my school has during the weekends. The details don't matter to them like they would a high school junior or senior. Instead, I gave them a PG version of a "this is what college is like" tour. I just felt silly the entire time.
As a side note, my school brings in a big name each year for a lecture. They are usually in the arena of public policy. We've had Benazir Bhutto, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, etc. Last year we had Sandra Day O'Connor speak. When I touched on this, I asked the kids if they knew who O'Connor was. I thought that I would probably sound patronizing. None of them knew who she is, or why she is a significant figure. I had to give a super short explanation of who she is, and why she is important. I was and still am aghast. They should know this. I went to school middle school in Virginia (where my college is located), and kids take civics in seventh or eighth grade. These kids were in the so-called "gifted" program. They were a select, special group, which is even more damning. These kids are America's future. God I feel old and curmudgeony.
Back to the subject: I think that touring colleges in middle school is unconstructive, because it isn't even on their radar. I gave a tour to a group of high school sophomores, and even that felt useless. College is still two years off for them, and they didn't care. Kids should be allowed to be kids. Stop pushing them onto the "educational treadmill" so young! They don't need to have the mentality that they have to succeed in middle school, so that they can do well in high school, and get into a good college where they will continue to succeed so that they can hypothetically succeed in life. Let them worry about that a bit later, like sophomore year of high school. These kids are going to get burnt out. I'm burnt out on education, and I didn't start as early as they have. I think these kids' school should focus on teaching them some basics, like who Sandra Day O'Connor is, instead of pulling them out of school to goof around on a college campus.
When was the first time people started talking about college with you? Do you feel it was too early, too late, or was it "just right"?
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