Blogs: Anthony Cody
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?
Reader Comments
Finally some validity to what I have been saying!
Our school district has pushed the notion that everybody is going to go to college. While I understand that everybody should have the opportunity to go to college, not all have the tools nor desire to go. I think we are missing a large portion of our students when we have this elitist approach to education.
I think the national rankings in US News and World Report and Newsweek are hurting not helping education. Students are being pushed into Advanced Placement (AP) classes because the numbers look good for the rankings.
We have created a monster. looking at education through a pedagogical eye rather than a practical one has weakened our fragile system.
Rethinking college and vocational education
Thanks for the thoughtful article. While my wife and I both have advanced degrees, we recognize that a happy and productive life for our now-14-year-old son does not necessarily depend upon his receiving a college education. But, as you point out, wonderful vocational programs are not calling out to us the way colleges did when our daughter was nearing the end of high school.
High schools as college revenue streams
This is a recurring theme for me on my blog as well, most recently in a May posting. and earlier in March.
Our state, Colorado, has a new law requiring college readiness. Click on the CAP4Kids tag on the left side to see posts related to the new law. It seems we are getting into the business of providing a consistent revenue stream for colleges and universities.
Questioning the Purpose and Value of College for All Students
This is my first time blogging and while it was a "must do" assignment from my Masters Course, I'm really happy that I stumbled across this blog.
It seems like those people that do not decide to attend college not only develop a negative stigma by others but they still end up paying.
I read the below statment at www.barrachobama.com and began wondering, if college is going to become more affordable via taxes who will be taxed? Will those individuals that decided not to attend college still have to pay for those that do desire to attend college?
Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit: Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year's tax data to deliver the credit when tuition is due.
Rethinking vocational education
This article was very interesting! I am a teacher in California and my significant other makes much more than I do as a senior paralegal. Although he does not have an advanced college degree like I do, we are doing well because of him. It makes me wonder if he would have benefitted from a vocational program at his high school. It seems like all schools in California are so focused on standardized tests and NCLB that the students' needs are being wholly overlooked.
College, vocational studies and options
The author wrote: "The majority of the jobs of the future in Wisconsin and the United States are low- or average-paying jobs" and he is correct. However, how many teachers want their students working a low- or average-paying job? Who ever tells another to strive for the mediocre? As teachers it is our responsibility to ensure that students succeed in life, and by succeed I mean that students do their best to become the best that they're capable of becoming. (John Wooden) By letting students quit when things get challenging we lay a foundation for repeat performances in the future.
I believe that vocational programs are an excellent idea, but let's pretend that 10 years after graduating from high school and working on cars, a former student wants to pursue a new career. Well, with the primary focus of their education being on the career they are choosing to leave, a transition to a new job would be excedingly difficult. Preparing for college is simply preparing students to choose to have more options available for them. A college degree makes one more marketable and gives one higher paying options to choose from. I believe that students should be prepared to go to college, but have the option to take vocational specific courses in addition to the college prep courses.
What do you think? Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Taxes and college attendance
Wow, you raise an excellent question! Most tax money comes from people who are finished with college or simply did not attend, so it would seem that those peoples' money would be used to help others who the taxed have little or no connection with. It is silly to take taxes from people who never went to college and use their money to fund others' college education, however the same type of taxation is already being used. If a parent wants to send their student to a private school, they are still obligated to pay taxes that will benefit the public education system that their child is not a part of. I believe that the typical argument is that public education benefits all people in society, even those not directly engaged in the process. I would bet that the same logic would be used to rationalize the taxation of non-college attendees to support the current college students.
Thanks again for raising a great question and have a great day!
College and vocational studies
You write: "By letting students quit when things get challenging we lay a foundation for repeat performances in the future."
Unfortunately, unless we make attendance compulsory for high school students, they are free to quit after age 16. The dropout rate indicates a large number are taking that option, and I am suggesting that the current single-minded emphasis on college-preparation may be partly to blame.
A student with a college diploma does has a significant advantage -- but he has paid a significant cost, and many recent graduates struggling to pay off their debts may wonder if it was worth it. This is a question that students and their families should weigh, and make an informed decision about. But the schools are laboring to maintain a costly illusion -- that the only viable careers are ones that require college degrees. As the report suggests, that simply is not the case. The majority of new jobs being created now -- and presumably in ten years, assuming current trends continue, will NOT require a college degree.
I also feel it is disrespectful to the many people who do excellent work without having a college diploma to suggest that these careers are by definition mediocre. There is nothing that says a student must attend college in order to become the best they are capable of being.
This is not to say that we should NOT prepare students for college, if that is their aspiration. I feel that is a strong imperative for our schools. But I think our k-12 schools, like our colleges, should prepare students for a wide range of possible futures, and allow the students to develop their talents in the directions they desire.
Rethinking the purpose of schools
In "Teacher Expertise and Development,"Dr. Sonia Nieto questions how we prepare today's students for the future. She cited research that indicated that half of what is learned in school will be obsolete in college. She further discussed the ever-changing professions due to changing society and increasing knowledge. It really makes us wonder what school is really there for if so much is changing. Not everyone pursues careers that require the same level of college degree. Schools definitely should not be standardized-test based (as it currently is). It does not mark true creativity, a love for learning, critical thinking, and inquiry. Schools should be there to help guide students to be critical thinkers, and want to be lifelong learners, so that they may look at all that they have learned, and make their own decisions as to what they want to do with their future. I think it is a good idea to require school, but maybe to offer more choices in high school that will prepare them for what they want in the future. I think it is important for students to have a taste of different career fields in high school, so once they get to college, they can master what interested them. Many times, students come in to college still unsure of what they want to do because much of the focus in school is to pass exit exams, state tests, and SAT's. Once students exit high school, they should be more readily prepared to decide, "What is my goal in life? What degree should I get to pursue that goal?" Instead of focusing on how many years of schooling to take, it is more important to get students to find a passion for something, and do whatever it takes to pursue it. This definitely is not easy to set the foundation for in schools because of the focus on meeting specific standards, and reaching certain benchmark test scores. But if we could get students to start early on to love learning, to question the knowledge base, and find their niche in a field, then we have found the ideal to truly prepare students for the world.
College vs. vocational school
To hinge on your statement regarding the fact that our K-12 schools, like our colleges, should prepare students for a wide range of possible futures, and allow the students to develop their talents in the directions they desire, I, as a high school teacher of fifteen years and a parent of a 2006 graduate, feel that our college preparatory program leaves little room for students to truly research their goals in life. So many courses are demanded in the CP curriculum that the students do not have space in their day to take electives that might broaden their horizons regarding their futures. Don't we simply need to encourage our students to further their education, regardless of direction, since it seems that we are going to witness the end of the assembly line(minimum wage)job? I am concerned about this new wave of every student receiving a college preparatory diploma because as educators, we know that every child does not come into the world with the same gifts/talents. What is going to happen to the less educable student who is truly the greatest candidate for vocational school when he feels little satisfaction with his high school education? Will he turn away from education completely? We have the POWER in our hands to control the future. We must think carefully.