Reply to WashPost: College is remade as tech majors surge and humanities dwindle

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Society devalues the humanities. That's why our society is in such a sad state.[/quote]

Wrong.  The society of today is not devaluing humanities.  Universities’ humanities departments have devalued humanities degrees in the last few decades.  In the good old days when few people went to college and fewer studied humanities, those with humanities degrees were the few, the elite of the society.  Most of them came from noble families.  They didn’t need to get “jobs” to make a living.  Then starting in the 1980’s the society was sold the idea that EVERY high school graduate should go to college.  Or at least most of them.  It was easy money for universities.  No labs were needed (unlike science and engineering), and a history class can be held in a big lecture hall of 500 people.  Therefore, the society has not devalued humanities, but universities have definitely devalued humanities degrees. [/quote]

Er, Hello, the universities don’t exactly operate in a vacuum. They mirror what society wants[/quote]

Agree.  But the society “wanted” it because the political elite has been pushing this ridiculous idea of “every child must go to college” for the last 40 years.  Germany and Japan are advanced economies but they are fine with most of their youths not going to college.  In Germany, a child as young as 11 or 12 years old decides whether he/she wants to go on college track or trade track. [/quote]

Do you think it is a good thing to decide at 12?  What about late bloomers?  Also, in Germany, you learn one skill and people don’t really ever switch careers.  I can’t imagine not having that flexibility.

I agree, though, that pushing everyone to college is probably not the best thing.  The problem is it was (still is?) very much a class thing.  Which of us wants to be first in not sending our child?  We do it because we think it is expected of our class and we want them to have the opportunities.  I don’t see that ever changing.  UMC/UC folks will always send their children to college.[/quote]

Also, it's not really the child who decides at age 12.  It is decided based on testing. So yes, a late bloomer would miss out.  I personally don't think it's a good idea to track kids at age 12.  I know kids who were only on grade level for math in 6th grade and who hate science who go on to be successful engineers and doctors.  But they wouldn't have been put on the "stem college track" under this system.  
[b]I much prefer our way of kids getting to select their major path when they are adults/18+.[/b]

I do agree we need more Vocational High schools as an option for kids who want that.  No kid should be forced to take ALG 2 like most states require----a kid not heading to college would be much better off having some modified version that focuses more on practical applications/math for the vocational areas/financial literacy than being forced to struggle thru normal Alg 2.   Likewise, rather than taking a FL in HS a kid not planning on college who loves to work "with stuff" would benefit from HVAC, auto mechanics, basic IT training, etc as half their day. It was done in the 80s/90s and was a huge hit for those kids on that path.  2nd half of the day they take eng/hist/math requirements but focus 3-4 periods a day on something the kid actually likes and is learning skills for going onto the trades upon graduation.  
 [/quote]

You mean basing it on parental wealth instead of testing? [/quote]

Nope.  Based on their own academic merits and ability at age 18.  Every kid can find a school to major in CS or Engineering if that is what they truly want to do.  Might not be VAtech or GA Tech or MIT or Stanford, but they can find a school and get the degree.  There is a path to college for most kids, even if parents are NOT wealthy.  It just may not be at an elite school.  You go the local route or where you get scholarships (a tier below where you might get into as a reach).  Most states have schools that are only $25K/year, so with student loans and working on all breaks, the kid only needs to have parents pay $5-7K.  There are affordable paths, just not what you think your snowflake should have.

12 Yo should not be tracked for their future careers/academic path without much recourse for changing.   Some stars at that age burn out/dwindle by age 18/22.  Others come into their own at a much later date.

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