There’s little reporting of “the scandal that afflicts the vast majority of young Americans,” he writes. “Namely that our K–12 schools only prepare about one-third of our students to succeed in postsecondary education, even as they encourage two-thirds of eighteen-year-olds to give college a try.”It's not that we're preparing too few, it's that we're pushing too many.
Seriously. Has anyone ever called out the people who say every child should go to college? Should that golden day ever happen, will every one of them have a college-level job waiting for them on graduation day? Think the student loan crisis is bad now, what happens when 2-3X as many young people try to pay back student loans when they can't get a decent paying job.
ReplyDeleteThe demand for more college! free college! ends up with a "free" K-14/K-16 system which still falls short of education.
ReplyDeleteI've taught for over 30 years. Every school that I've taught at has offered a curriculum and instruction that, if taken seriously by parents and children, provides opportunities to be prepared for college, work, or other choices. What I see, in so many of the thousands of students I've taught, is that THEY do not take advantage of the chance to learn and prepare for their futures. Is it the school's fault if students are "prepared" for post-graduation life?
ReplyDeleteThe whole “everyone should go to college” push is based on the fact that college grads historically did better on xyz metrics. The edworld and the politicians immediately jumped on the idea that a college diploma caused all the good outcomes, instead of a predictable correlation; that kids with college diplomas - in the era before remedial classes and non-academic majors - were essentially different, in ability, preparation and/or motivation than kids without them. A college degree meant that grads had more valuable knowledge, skills, behaviors and habits than those without one.
ReplyDeleteThat is changing, because a college diploma no longer requires the same level of ability, preparation or motivation and does not indicate the same knowledge, skills etc, (outside of STEM, accounting, finance etc). Many grads are not employable in the well-compensated jobs post-graduation. Underemployment is a problem, especially with loans - as it is for dropouts.
You guys are forgetting that in 1920's, 8th grade is all you need to enter either College or High School! Yes, education is watered down, and High School became a prerequisite to College. Diluting 8 years of material into 12 years is not enough. Now, it needs to dilute into 16 years.
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