KIDS THESE DAYS:

As one who does not believe that every high schooler is college material, it has become increasingly frustrating as our second and last child goes through the public school system.

I don’t know whether our son will attend college. I hope he does, but if he chooses not to, I know his alternate choice will be something productive.

In other words, sponging off mom and dad is not an option.

Unfortunately, there are still too many decision-makers who believe all kids should go to college. What they end up doing is increasing the level of frustration and hopelessness among kids who aren’t college material.

Many of those kids end up dropping out of school altogether. The ones who do stay and suffer through higher-level courses that will have no real-world use for them are looked upon as failures because they did not pursue the college option.

For those who choose after high school to do something other than attend college, one option is military service.

But in most homes and to many of their peers, military service for young people is still viewed as a desperation move, not something honorable.

It does not help that an entire city recently voted to ask a Marine recruiting office to leave town.

Up in Berkeley, the City Council voted 8-1 to tell the United States Marine Corps that its year-old recruiting station on Shattuck Avenue in the city’s downtown was not welcome and that “if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome guests.”

But wait, there’s more. Not only did the city council members ask the Marines to leave, they also aided and abetted an anti-war group known as Code Pink.

The City Council did this by granting the peaceniks a designated parking space right in front of the recruiting office on Shattuck from noon to 4 p.m. every Wednesday for six months and issuing them a free sound permit during those same hours.

Those eight members of the City Council also urged Code Pink to “impede, passively or actively,” the work of Marine Corps recruiters.

Fortunately, U.S. Rep. John Campbell introduced legislation that would rescind more than $2 million in hidden earmarks for Berkeley in the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, and transfer the funds to the Marine Corps.

Last week, I caught up with Campbell and asked him why any young person should consider a military career.

“Over my career in politics and business, I have seen many people work in a job they don’t like,” Campbell said. “They do it for the money, or because the commute is short or because it’s easy. But they hate going to work every day and find no fulfillment in it.

“If someone is considering a career in the military, they should do it because they love the job and they find meaning in serving the country. If this is true for that person, then they can find no better or more rewarding career.”

Students in this school district should not be shoe-horned into a college track.

I support and honor those students who graduate from high school, decide that college is not for them and opt instead for the armed forces.

And I would be very proud of my son if he chose that option.

So, Berkeley City Council, issue your meaningless proclamations. In the meantime, however, when you are facing terrorists in your silly city, call the Marines. They know about honor and will still defend your right to be thoughtless and obnoxious.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to [email protected].