If you’re like most parents, you want what’s best for your kids. You want them to get the kind of education that will help them get have a great life and a good, steady job where they love what they do and have a chance to advance.

And if you’re like most parents, other than that initial trip to visit college campuses with your kids, you didn’t really check out all the little “extras” they will learn while away at school.

One would expect institutions of higher learning (you know, our wonderful university and colleges throughout the country) – which, in many cases, are subsidized by our tax dollars – to focus on teaching the foundations required for our children to excel in their chosen field of study.

When they enter the universities as young adults, we hope the knowledge they gain will help prepare them for the real world and teach them to be an adult, show up on time, be engaged and involved in school, go to class, and so on. Right?

Unfortunately, a majority of the colleges in our fine education system are run by some very left-leaning, progressive, socialist Americans. Follow me here.

I expect colleges to hand out information at the beginning of the school year about “Dealing with the anxiety of attending college,” “How to manage your time,” and “How to study.” But if you plan to attend the College of Charleston, one of the first introductions you will receive is, “Find your erotic self” … in comic-book form. This comic book is a memoir about a woman coming to terms with her sexual identity and her closeted gay father, who had a relationship with an underage male babysitter.

This is reality? This helps prepare our young adults for the “real world”? What does this have to do with entering college and excelling in a career?

Shouldn’t I “find myself” before I find my “erotic self”? How about I find my dorm room first, and then the bookstore? A grocery store would be nice, and even the nearest clinic or dry cleaner.

Somewhere, about 400 items down on the list, might be what’s in the comic book that explores gender and sexuality issues.

Apparently the college thinks this is one of the first things every incoming freshman needs. Do you suppose they shared that “welcome packet” with the parents when they came for that school-site visit, before they signed on the dotted line for all of that tuition? Doubtful.

One of the directors at the school said, “This book will open important conversations about identity, diversity, sexuality and finding one’s place in the world.” Newsflash: This is a professor who could be teaching your son or daughter.

What they are really trying to impart is that no matter what the young person was taught at home, no matter what his or her moral compass or religious belief is, students need to check out their erotic side, sleep with members of the same sex, pretend you’re a man when you have female parts – you get the gist. The college believes you need to explore this “real-world knowledge” to be successful in life. In what universe?

Isn’t it more important to teach these kids how to cope with being away from home for the first time? That they need to push themselves to do well and excel in life? That they need to choose their friends wisely? Why is it that the “educated left” thinks anyone with moral values or a religious belief is backward?

The board at the University of Connecticut recently voted unanimously to forbid “amorous, intimate or sexual contact” between school faculty and students. Wait. This wasn’t already a rule? And if not, why wasn’t it?

Forget about the sexual issues; how about the moral issues? Does the student get a better mark depending on how many dates there are? Or how the student kisses? Or even how they perform sexually? And what happens if and when there is a breakup? Isn’t it just common sense to keep things professional?

Not in the world of higher learning. It took finding out that a teacher had sexual relations with many students over his many years at the college. For him, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. These campuses are supposed to be safe places where we entrust our children to be educated.

Colleges now have courses on sex and sexual behavior, the proper sex tool and how to use it, how to have safe sex (even bestiality), and how to navigate pornography. Harvard University sanctions a “Hook Up Week” where students are encourages to blow off steam by indulging in their raw, sexual desires.

I guess “Do your homework day,” “Return your books to the library day,” “Help out another student week,” and “Volunteer at the local food bank month” are out of the question. Why do we have to pollute the college experience with immorality and encourage unbridled sexual behavior?

Having a mindset of “free love and free sex” and exploring any and every sexual thought is dangerous. Having a healthy fear of and respect for God and a solid moral compass is healthy.

Check out the stats. They prove me right.

Joe Messina is host of The Real Side (TheRealSide.com), a nationally syndicated talk show that runs on AM-1220 KHTS radio and SCVTV [here]. He is also an elected member of the Hart School Board. His commentary normally publishes Mondays.