Quote:Why not it's what we eventually do anyway. Let's face it by the time they're in high school it becomes pretty obvious which ones are going to get colleges degrees and which ones need a trade. Heck most of the guys I knew growing up, myself included would be 100 times better off if we'd spent the last 2 years of school learning a trade. I was never going to be an engineer, lawyer or doctor.


I'm all for pushing kids into a trade school or training we need more skilled laborers anyways. Instead we graduate 18 years olds that have no business being in college but have no skills to earn a living and face adult life expenses. The kids screwed unless they luck out and someone says hey come learn how to build this or fix this.

 

We don't separate kids into "who goes to college" and "who goes the trade route".  That decision is pretty much the child's and their family to make.

 

If I'm not mistaken, based on other posts/threads that I have read, you are a mechanic.  Would it have been beneficial to you to learn the basics of your skill at an earlier age?  Perhaps you might have already known some of the basics from tinkering around with cars, farm equipment or even a lawn mower engine while growing up.  The point is, is to graduate students from high school that know the difference between a 1/2" wrench and a 9/16" socket or a 10mm wrench and a 14mm socket.  That's simple math.  Many come out of high school that have no real concept of math.  What about an alignment on a car?  A wheel might need to be adjusted 5 degrees in a certain direction.  Again, it's simple math.

 

Another example might be a paralegal.  The skills for that are mostly being able to read and write.  Kids don't have that simple skill coming out of high school.

 

What about becoming an electrician?  What education does someone need to do the job?  Well besides math and the ability to be able to read, they also need to have a basic understanding of electricity (physics).  A plumber, a roofer or even a carpenter has to have basic knowledge of math.

 

My point is that children are graduated out of high school without these basic skills, and they are coming from the public (government) school system.  There are many programs out there right now that people can qualify for, not just those fresh out of high school, that can teach the skills needed to do these jobs.  The problem is, there are far too many that don't have the basic knowledge in order to succeed.

 

This subject is kind of intertwined in K-12 education and further education after traditional schooling.  Regarding the K-12 part, I believe and Marco Rubio has been an advocate of parents being able to have a choice regarding where their children get their K-12 education.  Part of it is in place with the "magnet school" programs and part of it is in place with the school voucher programs.  This gives people a "hand up" rather than a "hand out" when it comes to basic education.

 

When it comes to continuing education, the idea floated regarding college could also apply to trade schools.

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