Ping
Please. Before we do anymore pummeling of the public school system, think about what you are saying. Go visit schools in your community. I teach "career investigation" at a local high school. Students research and explore careers that are currently in the U.S. system. All careers are in "clusters". Students take interest tests to determine what may fit their abilities and interests. They job shadow a person in the field of their choice and report on that field to their classmates. Yes, there are some students who still have difficulty identifying a possible field of interest for themselves, but those students typcially have many interests. If my figures are correct, the class may save them 40k. In my years of teaching, I have observed that many college bound students drop out of college after 2 years because they haven't found a direction. The counseling programs at the college level are non existant. I'm proud to be providing a service to these kids through this course. I'm not saying that these students are locked into a career from my course, but it gives them a direction to follow. It's better to expose them to all the choices that are available to them now than to have them fumble blindly. My students are going every career direction possible. A side note: I wish I had a family member as a plumber. After my last visit by a plumber (I was surprised that it was a former student), my bill topped out at $100/hour! I can't make that kind of money as a teacher!