@iggy and @alio. Im not going to argue with you guys on this topic because its clear that we have different viewpoints on the purpose of college. I do want to bring up one point that iggy mentioned which is what im alluding to when i talk about "knowing" what you want to do with your life when you graduate.
Internships.
There is no reason why a high school student can not do the internship work of a college student. Hell I've joked with my friends when we first entered the workforce that our entry level jobs couldve been done by our highschool selves.
I can barely tolerate the recent college grads that work with me. I'd strangle a high school kid by the end of the first week.
To piggyback on one of your points. The issue is that companys force you to get a degree to land a job. I think alot of our workforce issues could be fixed if business leaders adjusted their mindset on what they need from employees. The graduating students of this generation will be so much better off spending 6 months interning in a field theyre interested in before going to school for it. This precents a waste of time and money on classes youre not interested in, and will provide motivation in college. "Oh if i want to be an accountant I really need to focus on xyz because joe did that everyday".
Again, you're ignoring that evidence points to the fact that having a well-rounded education makes you a better overall employee--regardless of what job you perform. Saying that employers should adjust their mindset on what they need from employees is a bit ridiculous. You're making that argument solely for the benefit of the individual employee rather than the good of the company. I certainly trend liberal but even I wouldn't ever say a company should cater to the employee's needs over its own.
I agree with both of your points ablut being well rounded. Ive been using the past two years of my life to do just that. Hell I work in advertising, but im teaching english in Thailand at the moment, but i think there is a time and place for it.
In my opiniom clogging our universities with kids who are only going to college because its the next step is doing everyone a disservice.
Yeah that was my bottom line point of agreement with you. I think broad educational requirements are great. I just don't think nearly as many people need to be in college in the first place. It's an artificially inflated market.
I understand where you guys are coming from, I just completely disagree. Again, we unfortunately live in a country where manufacturing and farming jobs have been moved outside of our borders and they're not coming back.
There are very few jobs left that can be pigeonholed educationally. Examples like auto mechanic, physician's assistant, locksmith, and electrician--and these jobs have dedicated schools for specialized training. If you don't do that, and you don't go to college, what's left is mostly construction, fast-food work, or customer service jobs.
Where I do agree with Iggy is on the idea that we should be introducing more vocational training at the high school level. It's ridiculous that we no longer have classes like "shop" where students can determine if they'd be better off working with their hands. But that likely comes down to ever-shrinking educational budgets. It's probably also why Iggy's seeing a decrease in PE classes. Because why invest money into schools?
