--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Other people's children went off to…" description: "\"“Other people's children went off to college, which for years Ronald had interpreted as a positive thing. Lately, though, he wasn't so sure. The childr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/dan-baum-40383_children_other-people-s-children-went-off-to-coll_1261034.jpg" --- # Other people's children went off to college, which for… ![“Other people's children went off to college, which for years Ronald had interpreted as a positive thing. Lately, though, he wasn't so sure. The children who went off to college hardly ever came back. It was as though the hard work of getting that college degree bent them out of shape, focused them…” quote by Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/dan-baum-40383_children_other-people-s-children-went-off-to-coll_1261034.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/dan-baum-40383_children_other-people-s-children-went-off-to-coll_1261034.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08f/dan-baum-40383_children_other-people-s-children-went-off-to-coll_1261034.jpg) > ““Other people's children went off to college, which for years Ronald had interpreted as a positive thing. Lately, though, he wasn't so sure. The children who went off to college hardly ever came back. It was as though the hard work of getting that college degree bent them out of shape, focused them too much on their own personal achievement. Once you got that degree, it was all about getting ahead in that monetized struggle, and they forgot the community that raised them. Ooh, live in the Lower Nine; not me. Ooh, do a day's work with your hands; I won't touch that. The neighborhood gained something when one of its children went off to become a doctor or an engineer, but it lost something, too.”” [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Higher education can distance individuals from their community, turning personal success into isolation and neglect of communal roots. **In simple terms:** College can separate people from their community. Key Takeaway Balance personal achievement with community involvement. Themes education community success identity social responsibility Mood reflective concerned Type sociological observational When to use this quote - career planning - family discussions - community projects - mentorship programs Key Concepts social mobility collective identity economic pressure Questions to Reflect On - How can graduates stay connected to their hometowns? - What community roles can educated individuals fill? A Different Perspective Not all graduates abandon their roots; many give back. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Getting ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-ahead/) [Personal achievement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-achievement/) ## Related quotes > [When in college, I would hardly attend classes. In fact, we would go to other colleges and hang out there. 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My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-danes/college-is-hardly-just-being-a-kid-it-s-really-hard-i-was-such-a-nerd/) [Claire Danes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-danes/) > [Those who improve with age embrace the power of personal growth and personal achievement and begin to replace youth with wisdom, innocence with understanding,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-who-improve-with-age-embrace-the-power-of-personal-growth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Someday America will have its very own commercial-free TV and radio station devoted to only one thing: to teach people, in their homes, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/someday-america-will-have-its-very-own-commercial-free-tv-and-radio/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Think of success as a game of chance in which you have control over the odds. As you begin to master concepts in personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-of-success-as-a-game-of-chance-in-which-you-have-control-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I shall either find a way, or make one (attributed)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/i-shall-either-find-a-way-or-make-one-attributed/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [All personal achievement starts in the mind of the individual. Your personal achievement starts in your mind. the first step is to know exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-clement-stone/all-personal-achievement-starts-in-the-mind-of-the-individual-your/) [W. Clement Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-clement-stone/) > [Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/obstacles-are-what-you-see-when-you-take-your-eyes-off-your-goals/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [That's what makes the Ryder Cup in golf so much better than the Masters or the U.S. Open. To be a part of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hamilton/that-s-what-makes-the-ryder-cup-in-golf-so-much-better-than-the/) [Scott Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hamilton/) > [We always planned to move back to the Republic but it never happened, I'm not sure why. My dad is one of those immigrants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/we-always-planned-to-move-back-to-the-republic-but-it-never-happened/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [Making people laugh is one of the highest achievements you can have. 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Vast, grassy ranges stretched in every direction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/the-place-looked-more-like-a-genteel-horse-farm-than-the-roar-and/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“Anybody could rise above anything in America. ... No, they can't, Marie said, from the backseat. How was I supposed to break out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/anybody-could-rise-above-anything-in-america-no-they-can-t-marie-said/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“That was the point of Mardi Gras, was it not? To serve and honor all the people, to bring into hard lives a touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/that-was-the-point-of-mardi-gras-was-it-not-to-serve-and-honor-all/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“But this home over here: it needed paint but had flowers neatly planted all the way around it. That one over there had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/but-this-home-over-here-it-needed-paint-but-had-flowers-neatly/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“An armed man is a little republic unto himself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/an-armed-man-is-a-little-republic-unto-himself/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“The first time I saw Marcey Parker she was happily firing a submachine gun through a window.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/the-first-time-i-saw-marcey-parker-she-was-happily-firing-a/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“In New Orleans, no matter how much money you had in the bank, you looked on poverty every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-baum/in-new-orleans-no-matter-how-much-money-you-had-in-the-bank-you/) [Dan Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-baum/) > [“Life in New Orleans is all about making the present--this moment, right now--as pleasant as possible. 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Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Other people's children went off to college, which for years Ronald had interpreted as a positive thing. Lately, though, he wasn't so sure. The children who went off to college hardly ever came back. 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