As a high school teacher, I have recognized this problem for a long time. The message being sent to students is that you have to go to college in order to have a good future. I teach in a school where about 65% go onto college (and there is no follow-up to see how many have actually completed a program), yet the program is a college-prep program.
This past summer I needed to replace the window sills and trim around my windows because of rot, a project too ambitious for me. In the end I called 34 different people-most of whom said they could do it--but only one every came out to give me an estimate. All of them were booked for months, and the per hour charge varied from $85 to $125 an hour. That would make for a good future. "Shop classes" are being taken out of the high school, vocational programs are being scaled down--all because we should be preparing everyone for college. Paul On Sun, 26 Dec 2004, Paul Smith wrote: > Perhaps I missed it somewhere in this thread, but I haven't seen a > comment about what seems to me to be a big contributor to the situation: > the fact that we have come to expect that anyone can go to college, and > that almost everyone should. I don't think it's very realistic to say > "we want college students to be there because they love learning and > inquiry" and then to also say "and if you want to work, you need to get > a college degree, whether or not you love learning and inquiry". > > As a college professor, I probably shouldn't say things like this, but I > believe that a lot of people who currently attend 4-year colleges would > be far better served by other more technical/career-oriented programs, > or just simply getting a job. I also think that by not regularly > challenging the suggestion that having a 4-year degree somehow makes one > better than the person without one, we have contributed to our own > problem. 50 years ago people expected to make a good living with > essentially no education other than on-the-job training in a > manufacturing position - and many of those people earned a better > standard of living than I ever expect to see (and I do mean that they > _earned_ it). While those opportunities are rarer today, I really don't > believe that it's true that a college education is the sole gateway to > opportunity. And whether it is or not, the suggestion that it is leads > those "less-than-true" students to enroll in our colleges. It's not > really their fault. > > Paul Smith > Alverno College > Milwaukee > > > Christopher D. Green wrote: > > Dear Gary, > > > > I think you thoughts about being a "real student" are essentially > > correct. I also think, however, that there are many non-intellectual > > factors that have led us into the situation we currently find ourselves, > > and that idealistic talk about "true students" isn't likely to change > > much at this point. These other factors include: 1) class size, 2) > > teaching support, and 3) administration support for teacher's decisions. > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
