Odds and ends, 4/6/07

I'm writing an editorial for weekend use on a new Ohio program that encourages middle-school and high-school kids to think about college. Ohio has a low percentage of college-educated adults. It ranks 39th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Kentucky ranks 49th, and West Virginia ranks dead lasat.

So that got me to thinking about my own kids. I can think of three major barriers to a college education.

First is academic preparation. My kids shouldn't have that problem, and if they do, it's their own fault.

Second is cost. Tuition is rising faster our family income. If Ohio and other states want more young people — older people, too — thinking about higher education, it must solve that problem, either through keeping tuition down or putting more money into financial aid.

Here's the one a lot of people don't talk about, but I have seen it drive many kids off the college campus in the first year. It's culture shock. Going from a small high school in southern Ohio to the main campus of Ohio State University is a bigger step than some students anticipate. College campuses are full of liberals and other folks that kids have heard about but not had to deal with. And there is the idea that college academic work is not like high school work. I speak of the different culture of college learning as opposed to the content.

I would like more people to talk about the last one.

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I've given up on Britney Spears as the celebrity I can't resist. My new celebrity du jour is American Idol's Sanjaya Malakar. I actually cast three votes for him last week. (Now I'm waiting to see what telemarketing list I find myself on).

Think of this kid: He was put on national TV to embarrass himself, but he embraces his awfulness. He provides entertainment. He's even better than William Hung in that regard. I hope he wins the thing. If not, I hope he finishes second. He's more entertaining than the Tampay Bay Devil Rays.

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It's been five years since I was up there, but one of the prettiest sections of the Ohio River is in Athens County, Ohio, where State Route 124 hugs the river shore. Few houses, lots of trees, a road beside the river -- what more could a guy who loves the Ohio River Road ask for?

Part of the road slipped into the river two years ago, and the Ohio Department of Transportation says it's about to rebuild it. Now I'll have to get up there this spring and take a look at the damage before the repair work begins. It gives the excuse to make a day trip to one of my favorite spots near here.

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(More to come, I hope).