Higher education ban busting at the seems ? (page 2)

SuzieQ

A JW neighbor of mine once said she didn't have to worry about retirement and did not have any plans for retirement because THE END is so near there's no need. She was in her late 50's at that time, single, low income and now I'm sure she is just getting by on the little money she gets from part-time work! I'm sure those assholes at the microphone at the Hall don't think about all those who are getting older and more unable to work with their bodies such as construction, janitorial, electrician, plumbers and all the other trades that do not require college. They also think Jehovah or Jesus is going to fly in to rescue them from their debt and work worries. In my case not even the local cong. came to my rescue! I had been a housewife for 8 years and found myself without a way to make a living; I had a child to raise and no financial help from the father (a baptized member). I've learned you have to make your own way in life; don't wait to be rescued! Q in Calif.

5go

5go....same scenerio in Oz...cheaper labour and more immagrating....the WTBTS have made life hard for the previous generations of b/s many now have nothing to retire on, I would love for someone to debate them on national TV about all the stupid laws or suggestions they laid down over the century, they surely should be held accountable, but hey they always blamed over zealous brothers.

Also kind of rubs it in when the spanish congregation triples in 7 years.

BizzyBee

If the WTS really had "the Truth" they would have nothing to fear and everything to gain by having an educated membership.

But since they don't have "the Truth" an educated membership is a hole in the dyke that they cannot afford to leave unplugged..

daniel-p

Where I grew up higher education was very much frowned upon. People in the congregation still believed you could just get a job to support yourself straight out of highschool. Of course, the only real option was to go into construction. Sure, you could make a good living during the construction season - but you know how it is when your self-employed and have to pay for your own health insurance. Huge burden if you have a family or want one. Then of course you realize you have nothing you can do when you get older when your back starts giving out or your knees are shot. Needless to say I saw all the elders in my hall going through that and coming into the hall complaining about being on a roof in 100-degree heat for 14 hours straight or some absurd scenario - almost bragging about the unpleasantness of their job.

Anyway, I now have a bachelors and am now considering law school (no, not that kind of lawyer). While I'm retiring with a steady income, they'll be maoning about all their woes and trying to appeal their Medicare decisions. I'm not trying to be arrogant - just realistic. I didn't want their life for my family so I didn't take it.

5go

Anyway, I now have a bachelors and am now considering law school (no, not that kind of lawyer). While I'm retiring with a steady income, they'll be maoning about all their woes and trying to appeal their Medicare decisions. I'm not trying to be arrogant - just realistic. I didn't want their life for my family so I didn't take it.

I so hope I can join you

Forscher

In my congregations from 1975 to end of the ban sisters going to college to get nursing degrees were not looked down on.

Brothers,on the other hand, going to college for any reason was verboten and could lead to loss of privileges in a hurry, not to mention the vicious gossip that would occur. Technical schools were acceptable and especially those programs, such as welding or automotive mechanics which would provide potential trained labor that brothers in business could exploit. I do know of several sisters who went all the way to a graduate degree in nursing and became the director of nurses in several institutions who were the pride of the congregation.

When I started college in 1991, the gossip which went around about we was positively vicious. Ironically, it was a brother who'd gone to a two year college before he became a Witness and didn't even complete an associates degree who spread the most of it with the blessings of the elders. I guess they figured the brother's former status as a college student gave him the best grounds to spread the gossip. But I didn't let it intimidate me and went on to get my bachelors, with honors to top it off.

Forscher

XJWNB

Go to college, 5go, don't worry about what people think or say. What you do is your business, not theirs.

Good Luck.

itsallgoodnow

still working on my undergraduate degree, which I have stopped and started a couple of times over about 10 years. I'm not stopping until I'm done this time. It's gonna take awhile because I have a pretty demanding job and it's sometimes not easy to pay for a full time schedule.

I had to finally have the talk with my parents about this and they were trying to persuade me to quit again. I told them that I'm not married and if I stayed single and never married and never had kids, I would have no retirement savings and nobody to take care of me by the time I retired. I have to be realistic about what it will take to save for retirement, and if I don't start now it could be too late.

Of course, no JW needs to worry about retirement, right? However, my parents are in the thick of it and without us kids, they wouldn't be able to handle it. I know they learned the truth younger than I am now and never imagined they would go through retirement with money problems, yet here they are. So, they couldn't argue with me, and they didn't try any more.

What gets me peaved is when I hear a brother give a part about avoiding college when his own 2 kids are in college right now. So, why don't you practice what you preach?

daniel-p

Anyway, I now have a bachelors and am now considering law school (no, not that kind of lawyer). While I'm retiring with a steady income, they'll be maoning about all their woes and trying to appeal their Medicare decisions. I'm not trying to be arrogant - just realistic. I didn't want their life for my family so I didn't take it.
I so hope I can join you

I don't know what your situation is, but I'd encourage anyone to go to college full time as long as they were commited to it and wanted to. My wife has been working to help us through and I've been taking out loans - but not too much to over-burden us. After getting hired (a job in my major, nonetheless) I can safely say I'll have my student loans paid off within two years. Not bad, for such a great investment in your lifetime money-making potential. Law School is entirely another matter. if I get into the schools I want, I can assume to pay over 100k for my law education. However, when 98% of the graduates from these schools have jobs before they graduate at an average salary of 150k/yr, paying 100k is peanuts. Not only having the ability to practice well into you're retirement. We'll see - I'm not dead set yet, but we'll see. In either case, my BS has paid off by getting me started in a great career, and already I'm the first person in my family to have earned a job with good pay and health benefits! That says a lot when you come from a relatively poor background as a first-gen college student, who grew up living off the gov. system through Medicare, food stamps, etc. I have no problem in doing that if need be, but it sure feels good when you can rise a bit above your condition using your own determination, and without getting embittered at the system, like so many JW's do. In any case, I don't wish you luck - because its got little to do with that. just learn the system and work it. Going to a public university sometimes involves redtape; being able to play their game. Accept their rules and learn to work it. The gov. wants to get you through college because they recieve way more tax from you over your lifetime - so take advantage of subsidized loans and stay away from the unsubsidized ones and you'll be OK. Oh yeah, and work your ass off and do your homework. I've spent weeks doing class and homework up to 16 hours a day. just do what it takes and you'll be rewarded. Someone will always be there in your life to be proud of you as long as you reach out to others along the way. -dp

5go

so take advantage of subsidized loans and stay away from the unsubsidized ones and you'll be OK. Oh yeah, and work your ass off and do your homework. I've spent weeks doing class and homework up to 16 hours a day. just do what it takes and you'll be rewarded. Someone will always be there in your life to be proud of you as long as you reach out to others along the way.

I am minimizing them. I have a couple of subsidized loans. Fortunaly they have called and said I can get more if I need them.

Higher education ban busting at the seems ?

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