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Member LoginAren’t They Still Our Kids?
Friday, September 15, 2006
By Jim Van WingerdenAt a summer PASSPORT session a while back a dad commented, “These PASSPORT sessions are helpful but I’m starting to resent hearing you and others here at the college continually referring to ‘your student.’ They aren’t our STUDENTS, they are our KIDS! They are YOUR students! Can’t they still be OUR kids?” The chuckles that echoed in the auditorium lead me to believe that his comment had struck a nerve with several other parents in the room.
I heard that dad’s comment loud and clear. My oldest is already in 11th grade and I too am beginning to lament the inevitable passage from home to college. That lament is universal for all parents. Even though we as parents are excited for our sons and daughters as they embark on this rite of passage called college, we still mourn as they become increasingly independent from mom and dad.