Reply to The USA should adopt the German high school model

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "The USA should adopt the German high school model "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]The US already has highly intense social stratification and "the myth of meritocracy." Do we really need more of it?

The thing with Germany is that they have a strong social safety net. One of the best in the world, actually. When you have that safety net, it is comforting (if you will) to know that whatever track you end up on, there is universal free or highly accessible health care, medication, child care, nursing, pensions, parental leave, etc. Not such the case in the US - your ability to afford that stuff is highly dependent on your employment with more skilled workers (i.e., college+ educated) being 
far more likely to have generous benefits that allow for quality of life.

Further, earning power for both workers and employers in Germany assures an adequate income to meet the cost of living. There is no exaggerated difference between the compensation for blue-collar workers and white-collar employees, although upper levels of management earn generous incomes and benefits. But regardless, a basic standard of living is universally accessible in Germany. In the US though? The majority of people -- but ESPECIALLY people without advanced education -- are one bad accident or job loss or period of illness away from losing everything.

I think people who bring up how "respected the trades are" in Germany and the benefits of tracking are missing the point and do not appear to have a basic grasp on the economic/welfare differences between the US and Germany. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics