Don’t judge based on a college degree
“I feel that every child should have the opportunity to attend college, but I don’t think every child should be made to feel they are less if they choose not to go to college. My son is a high school junior, and he is feeling the pressure to attend college—but he is still unsure if college is right for him now. He is thinking about the military or culinary school. I agree that every student should be encouraged to consider college, but not made to feel they are less valuable if they choose not to attend college. Some students are just not ready right out of high school (I worked a year and then attended college myself) and need the break or need to work first to realize that college is valuable for their future. The other factor to consider is the cost of college. Some students I know would love to attend college, but their parents can’t afford the cost and the students are afraid of the large student load debt. With the present high unemployment, students are more aware that college does not equal a guaranteed job when they graduate.” —Rita Lechlider, Marysville, Wash.
“Too many students today go to college because of peer and parental pressure, when they would be better served by learning a trade. Skilled tradesmen are in short supply in many areas and command good wages. Why go to college to take majors for which there is no demand in the workforce, incur heavy debt, and then find that the only job available is one that requires only a high school degree? College is not for everyone. It is a conceit to think so.” —Roger Burtner
“I am an educator, and I have some real worries with the way we all push college as the destination for everyone. Many students are not stellar academic students, and these students are dropping out of the system. They feel there is nothing for them. We are not addressing their needs and, in many cases, [are] making them feel inferior for their lack of academics. We do need to be pushing further education for these students, but not an academic college education. With training in a trade, these students could live very successful lives, and in many instances, make more money than the college-prepared students, but this direction has not been a respected direction in the push to send everyone to a college education. … What we need to say is everyone needs to have the opportunity to go to college, and if that is not for them, they need the opportunity to be trained for a job they can do to provide for themselves. We need to value their choice either way.” —Cindy Carson, BJHS, Health Sciences, Anatomy and Physiology
There’s a middle ground between Obama and Santorum
“As an educator of nearly twenty years, I believe the idea that not every student wants to or will go to college. No Child Left Behind was the beginning of an era where too many students have been pushed in directions that might not suit them. Funding and governmental policies have pushed out too many programs that used to prepare students for vocations other than jobs that required higher education. … Today’s environment of standardized testing and believing everyone will go to college are a bit off the mark and need to be adjusted to take into account these subtle nuances that non-educators never consider. Santorum might not have worded it so nicely, Obama may have lofty expectations, but the truth of the matter falls somewhere in between—and we should strive to develop or reinstitute programs to reflect that.” —Russell J. Holstein, educational technology specialist, Eugenio Maria DeHostos Intermediate School 318K, Academy of the Arts and Sciences, Brooklyn, N.Y.
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