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Higher Education, or Hire Education?: Questioning the Purpose and Value of College for All Students
By Anthony Cody
7/7/08
Every once in a while, a contrarian appears and challenges some of our basic assumptions about schooling in today's society. One of the biggest assumptions we have is that it is the job of school to prepare all our students for college. The jobs of the future require a four-year degree, at least. Students who do not go to college will be unable to find decent paying jobs and will be unable to support their families.
But I have wondered about this assumption for years. The majority of Americans still do not have college diplomas, yet they seem to manage to survive. Furthermore, it is unclear to me where all the highly paid jobs are going to come from if, all of a sudden, everyone earns a college degree. Everything I've read says that it is the service sector of the economy that is growing the fastest, and most of those jobs require little or no college education.
From Dennis Redovich at the Center for the Study of Jobs & Education in Wisconsin and the United States comes a report that says the following:
"The great numbers of high-paying jobs of the future that are claimed to require college graduation and high academic skills for all high school students are a hoax. The majority of the jobs of the future in Wisconsin and the United States are low- or average-paying jobs that require short-term or moderate-term on-the-job training and do not require high-level academic skills in any academic areas, particularly in higher mathematics."
The report then goes on to explain:
"Technology makes jobs simpler, not more difficult, and makes workers more productive. The great majority of the jobs of the future are the same jobs of the twentieth century with new technological tools that make these jobs easier to do. The jobs of the future in Wisconsin in 2016 are essentially the same jobs in existence in 2006. A majority of jobs in 2016, about 52 percent, are projected to require short-term on-the-job training or experience (less than a month) or moderate-length on-the-job training, experience, or education (one to twelve months)."
This conclusion has a lot of implications for our schools, especially on the high school course sequence. The report has this to say on that subject:
"It is not appropriate or constructive to require all high school students to pass three years of higher math and science courses and to meet the requirements for a four-year college to earn a high school diploma. No more than 5 percent of all jobs might require higher math and science skills, and only about 23 percent of all jobs require a bachelor's degree or more. Short-, moderate-, or long-term job training, work experience, postsecondary vocational training, or an associate degree is required for about 77 percent of all jobs. There is an abundance of well-educated people for jobs that require higher levels of education and training. The problem is available jobs, not public education."
This analysis also suggests we ought to take a second, hard look at vocational programs. Perhaps if we had more programs that prepared students for jobs in the real world they are entering, they might find school to be more relevant to their futures and stay to graduate rather than dropping out. When the only purpose of high school is to prepare you for a four-year college, those who are not college bound have little reason to stay.
I do not want to suggest that high school is simply here to prepare students for jobs. A high school education should -- like a good college education -- open students' minds to their possible futures. Students should be intellectually challenged in new ways. But our students come to us with different aspirations, interests, and abilities. The challenge of solving a quadratic equation is a noble one. But is the challenge of crafting something useful in a shop class any less noble?
So, what do you think? Should we structure our schools based on the assumption that everyone should go to college? Or should we listen to Dennis Redovich and rethink our approach?
Live for the present while preparing for the future
Submitted by Diane Rener (not verified) on September 7, 2008 - 10:44.
Every village needs a mechanic. There is no shame in doing a job that is not based on a college degree. We are teaching students to aspire to live their lives doing something that makes money and not to live their passion. In fact, we are educating passion right out of our students. They have no desires, goals or even feelings for what they want to do because education is telling them what they should be doing. Education should focus on teaching the beauty as well as workings of the world around them and, at the same time, teach basic habits of mind—creative problem solving, humor, etc.—so that they might succeed in whatever they are going to choose to fill their time with. We are so focused on preparing for the future and we never get to enjoy the present.
Higher education for all?
Submitted by Ruth Crates (not verified) on September 3, 2008 - 07:28.
Since I am a high school intervention teacher who works with a population of students who will not attend college, I have great concerns. The push is for more academics and more rigorous instruction. That is awesome for College Prep kids. We need to push them. However in my school system, we no longer have Industrial Arts or other vocational programs that benefit the students I work with. Yes, they can attend the Vocational Career Center (but its 30 miles away from our home school) and now even the vocational center is stepping up its game to eliminate some of the programs that were a good fit for my Developmentally Disabled students. I am close to retirement, but still worried about what will happen to these kids in the future.... how are we preparing them for LIFE? I teach a Life Skills class, there are still a couple of Family and Consumer Science classes at our building and a vocational agriculture program but ...... that's it!
College Bound for All
Submitted by Patricia Tomlinson (not verified) on July 22, 2008 - 20:32.
I agree, all students will not attend college even though the political push seems to be in this direction. I believe this huge push is actually creating a generation of drop-outs. The idea that we have pretty much dismantled our vocational educational programs in this chase for all students being equal puzzles me. I think in some ways it is some sort of class issue. If you do not have a college degree then you are not as good as those who do. So everyone needs to have the same playing field which is the college degree which may or may not help one get a job.
At the moment I teach third graders. One of our discussions at the beginning of each year is "What job would you like to have as a grownup?" The answers are varied from the veternarian, doctor, to the shop owner selling art supplies. So, we have lots of discussion throughout the year how school will help them achieve those nine year old goals.
I also agree our schools have the responsibility for sending out into the world students who have skills as well as the belief in themselves they can make decisions about how best to provide for themselves and their families and positively impact the world around them. A college degree is not necessary for all.
Patricia Tomlinson
Howell, Georgia
From the perspective of an
Submitted by Amanda (not verified) on July 22, 2008 - 19:18.
From the perspective of an elementary teacher I see how the pressure of good grades and high standardized test scores affects the students even at a young age. Students are told from the beginning of their school careers that they have to go to college to get a respectable job, when in reality there are numerous jobs out there where they can make a decent living without a college degree. Hopefully when it comes time to choose a career and further their education in whatever way they choose it will be because they are in a profession that they are passionate about, not just for the money. I think it is important that everyone be given the same opportunities, however, high school students should have the chance to explore everything that is out there not just the colleges and universities.
Too much emphasis on standardized tests
Submitted by Dawn (not verified) on August 2, 2008 - 19:47.
I agree that way to much empahais is placed on standardizd tests and not preparation of skills needed to be a successful person in the community and in life. Equal opportunity for all students is important. Has anyone started reporting and assessing using "standards based reporting"? It is more of a portfolio method and I feel a truer picture of what a child can do.
Purpose Of College
Submitted by Nate Kretzmann (not verified) on July 22, 2008 - 18:47.
If the sole or even main purpose of college is to get a job to make a living we have missed the point, or the target has moved dramatically. A full spectrum liberal arts college - one that develops EQ as well - prepares one for ALL of Life. It prepares us to live with a nobel cause as citizens in a free country.
Education Should Exapand & Enlighten
Submitted by Maria Summers (not verified) on July 22, 2008 - 14:57.
Education should exapand and enlighten the mind and cause students to want to reach out and learn more, no matter what the field of choice. That is what the business of education has forgotten in its process of high stakes testing and reform after reform. I feel if students want to go to college they should be prepared for it. But if they want to go into a vocational school or into the job market they should be prepared for those as well. Keeping in mind however, just because one chooses a path at 17 or 18 doesn't mean that they will stay with that path way through out their career.
Higher Education, or Hire Education
Submitted by Lisa Moorehead (not verified) on July 21, 2008 - 22:31.
As a teacher,I do believe that our educational system needs to be re-evaluated. Everyone assumes that you have to go to college to be successful, but if we look in the news, we can see that it is not necessary. Many people leading the way in the field of computers are not college graduates. In fact, a lot of them are still in high school or have dropped out of college or are still in college. The creators of "Facebook" were in high school at the time. Look at the creators of many of the other search engines. The list can go on and on. I am not saying that we should inform all students of these success stories, because in reality, the likelihood of our students being the creators of the next big thing on the internet is slim. However, I do think we need to look at our students for the talents they do have. I believe that many of our students have strengths and in order to give them the best chances at success, then we should educate according to those strengths, whether it is in math, science, or automotives.
What truly defines success? If it is money, then I guess we, as teachers, are not successful at all. Our society tries to brainwash us into believing that you are only successful when you make lots of money and are famous. But, I believe that success comes when a job is done well. Obviously, we want our students to have as many opportunities as they want and need, but not everyone is meant to be a rocket scientist. I would love to see students have choices when they get to the high school level. If they knew that they would start really preparing for jobs when in high school, then I believe that more students would work harder to receive their high school diploma. The 100% graduation rate in the No Child Left Behind Act would be easier to enforce if a student was studying something that would truly be beneficial to him.
Why all of the pressure to attend college?
Submitted by Michael Bilello (not verified) on July 21, 2008 - 08:00.
This blog and the responses to it should be shared with every high school student. I teach 10th and 12th graders in New Jersey and my students feel such pressure to skip learning and worry about grades. Why? to get a good GPA and go to a good college. I ask, "Why are you putting all of this pressure on yourself at such a young age?" The answer that I get most of the time is, "If I don't get into a good college, I won't get a good job." This is drilled into their heads at such a young age and it is making students learn less and be less creative.
I have first hand experience with this topic as I watched as my parents forced my younger brother to attend a community college after he graduated high school with below average grades. They insisted that he would never amount to anything without an education. He countered, that he hated the classroom setting and wanted to work on race cars. They battled for a few years until he picked up and headed to North Carolina. After bouncing around for a year he landed a job in the engine department at Joe Gibbs Racing and makes a fine living. My parents weren't trying to hurt him or stop him from living his dreams, they just did what they thought was best. They didn't have the opportunity to get a college education and wanted better for their kids. The question is, what is better for today's children.
Most people argue that children today play to many video games. They are probably right but just last week the FAA started recruiting students right out of high school to work as air traffic controllers. Why would they do this when the job is so important? Because children who play video games learn the necessary skills for that particular job by just playing.
More research on career-centered learning
Submitted by S. Morford (not verified) on July 21, 2008 - 07:51.
Jay Matthews at The Washington Post's "Class Struggle" blog has an interesting article this morning about new research on the effectiveness of high school Career Academies. In a nutshell, the long-running study found that even though the academies didn't improve test scores and graduation rates, they did produce students who today have higher paying jobs and tend to have more stable family lives than their counterparts. The academies still use a college-prep curriculum, but they are organized into small learning communities with career themes that help to make math, science and language arts lessons relevant. Hands-on projects and apprenticeships let the students put what they're learning to use. This is one alternative style of learning that allows schools to keep expectations high and meet required standards while also keeping students engaged with topics that interest them. You can read the study at www.mdrc.org.See Michelle Kraus' post (7/20) on a similar program in New York state, too.
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