A few years ago, I taught a remedial reading class for high school freshmen. They all read four or more years below grade level. At the end of the 9th grade, only two of the twelve left with enough credits to be sophomores, and while they had made up some time, they all still read below grade level. Yet all but one were planning on going to a four-year university, and in the course of one discussion, they all admitted that they would consider themselves failures if they didn’t take that route. Community college, vocational schools, the military… they were all for losers who couldn’t make it. Four years later, only three of the twelve graduated on time. Did we set them up for feeling like failures by not coaching them about other options that were available?
My BFF teaches marketing as part of our high school’s CTE (Career and Technical Education) program. We’ve had many conversations about the 13th year and what we should be preparing kids for. CTE takes a five-pronged approach, where the following options are all considered honorable:
4-year degree
2-year degree
Vocational Certificate/Apprenticeship
Paycheck
Military Service
The fact is that there are jobs out there for people who have gone through all five of those tracks. Since NCLB was enacted, it has grown more and more difficult to truly prepare kids for any eventuality because with the onset of standardized testing and the push to put every child in college, a lot of good vocational programs that led to immediate job placement in the past are no longer offered at high schools. We stress college to a point that most students don’t even begin to think about other options until it becomes clear that for whatever reason (family need, finances, skill level, lack of motivation), college is not a real option. Now, students who do not go to college right after high school consider themselves failures, even though they might be successfully working in solid jobs.
Should we prepare every kid for the option of college? Absolutely. But should we set them up for failure by teaching them that it is the only good option or even the best option for them?
More familiar tales with direct echoes on my side of the pond.
The number of students that my college gets into university is considered a key performance indicator and we spend more resources on directing students to this option than any other.
Sad for those whose futures might lead profitably elsewhere.
Maybe high school students are smarter than we think they are. Maybe they want more than a paycheck doing a job that has no real purpose in the grand scheme of things. Maybe they see college as a way toward a meaningful life, where they have a sense of autonomy. Or maybe their parents, working in jobs that they really don’t enjoy, have projected that onto them. Or maybe not. On the other hand, it takes more than desire to get into college.
I still can’t quite figure out the rationale behind “everyone should go to college.” Is it some sort of patronizing effort at class equalization? I don’t get it, because it seems that college works best if you really want to go. NCLB did this – like most of its agenda – only half right. Rather than putting the resources into public education to help all children graduate with the skills necessary for college, they reduced the resources, cut many of the options, and demanded that the number one purpose of school was to put kids in college.
Kim, I love the line “college is not an option.” For many kids, it’s not, no matter how smart and prepared they are. In fact, I don’t even know if I’m in favor of my own daughters going to college right out of high school. I might encourage them to work, learn some practical life skills, and save some money.
I agree. I work in a middle school with a very high rate of free / reduced lunch. I firmly believe that children should leave school with choices…tracking them into college is as limiting as tracking them into voc/tech. We should create opportunities to let kids know the choices that are avilable and help them consider relevant sceondary options that will help them in the future they choose!
I agree that we need to help kids understand the many options for after high school. I always tell my kids that they don’t have to go to university, but they have to have a plan for continuing their development…whether military, trade school, cc, 4y, whatever. While it is just as honorable to go straight to a paycheck, I stress to them that to maximize their potential they should aspire for a paycheck in a job which will enable them to also get training and skills which will mean that when they are my age their wage will have increased not simply because of inflation but because they are worth more as a worker. I tell them that when I got my first job after high school–driving forklift on a tree farm–that $7/hour was huge, especially considering I was putting in 60 hours a week and was too tired to spend it. If I were still working there over a decade later, I’d not be making a whole lot more today. However, if I had started work with a plumber or electrician or mechanic, chances are I’d be gaining training and develop skills which would raise my value as an employee…that’s certainly valuable and those are certainly valuable occupations which should be respected. Hey, my electrician makes more than I do with my highfalutin university English degree, after all!!
We have to help them learn to think ahead and in doing so value the many important paths that they could choose. My priority is that when they walk across that stage at graduation, they step off the stairs and face a menu of options from which they can choose rather than stepping into the only job that will take them. It’s about keeping doors of opportunity open.