First, kudos to Obama for realizing that our university system needs help. But it's not just our universities. See my previous post about the sorry state of affairs in my own classroom. The real problem is our high schools. It's ridiculous that so many college freshmen need so many remedial classes each year. If you cannot pass certain basic high school classes, then you do not need to go to college. It's that simple. And, not everyone needs to go to college.
Now, before I get spammed by people calling me elitist, let me explain. There are people out there who do not like school and don't want to go to college. There are people who are perfectly capable of getting a great job in a trade, and don't need college. My cousin is 17 and is dropping out of high school to get his GED and start a welding program. Several of his friends dropped out after 9th grade and became diesel mechanics. You can make a very good living as a diesel mechanic or a welder, especially in the South. None of them wanted to go to college, and they also did not want to become farmers. So they made the best decision for them. They did not try to go to college for no reason, except that society expected it of them.
Somehow, our culture has come up with this idea that everyone must go to college. So people who shouldn't, end up going there. And many who may want to go end up dropping out. And way too many of us end up owing massive student loans to pay for our experience. We will always have a need in our society for welders, plumbers, brick layers, carpenters, electricians, construction workers, road workers, etc. And if they don't need a college education, why should they have to get one? The years we spend in college, they spend as apprentices, learning their trade. What's wrong with that?
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