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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It think Arlington tech should be a vocational school. [b]Look at how few kids apply for top schools out of Wakefiled. Those kids need career/job training.[/b] We need that more than another TJ. [/quote]

kids who don't apply for "top schools" =  kids who need vocational school? huh?[/quote]

Yes. Wakefield is full of kids who are not on track to attend any college. They need training. Arlington tech is really needed. [/quote]

what about kids from the other four high schools who don't "apply for top schools" - do you send them to career center too?[/quote]

No. It's just for Wakefield :roll:

Wakefield has a much lower number of kids applying to college, so it will be really beneficial to that part of the county. W-l I think will benefit as well. I don't really see many Yorktown kids taking this route, and certainly not 200. I could be wrong. Either way Yorktown is supposed to have less crowding right? We have a sizable cohort of kids in Arlington that aren't on their way to college. What we offer them is likely much more important than GT programs. [/quote]

Look, unless the reason they aren't applying to college is that they just arrived in this country in the last two years and speak no English and had no prior formal schooling (and I am sure there are a number of these students in Arlington) and have no hope of succeeding in college, we should NOT be pushing kids to a vocational track. For what? All those good factory and manufacturing jobs that no longer exist? Yes, we still need plumbers and mechanics and street sweepers, but kids shouldn't automatically be put into this box if they can be pushed toward college. I know many of you don't believe that it's possible for these students to graduate from college and find gainful employment in jobs that aren't dirty and hard on the body and that offer benefits like 401K's. But it is possible, and if we allow them to settle for less, they will. Each child should be pushed to reach their highest potential, regardless of their country of origin, their native language, or their current zip code. I know the helicopter brigade up at Yorktown isn't going to let their snowflakes be pushed to Arl Tech, even if their natural ability level indicates Vo Tech would be a better fit than college, so why should we allow this to happen to Wakefield kids?

[/quote]

Wow. People like you are a huge part of the problem. Yes, Wakefield has plenty of kids that are poor and English is not their native language. They would be best served with vocational training. Manufacturing jobs? No. Trades? Yes. 
Your privledge and elitism isn't helping those kids, even if it's well meaning. [/quote]

Well I guess you haven't met any poor immigrants who went to college and not into trades, but I assure you it's possible. I know this because I've lived it. Would some students be better served going into trades? Yes. But they aren't exclusively immigrant and poor. Your racism and xenophobia is showing. [/quote]

You are very intellectually lazy if your only retort is to cry racism. As it stands right now, Wakefield is geared toward kids aiming for college. Plenty of AP courses are offered. There is nothing wrong with making a living. I find your condescension toward blue collar work very offensive. [/quote]

Who should go to college and who should go into trades should be based on potential, not on current SES status. But that's (unfortunately) not how the sorting is done now.[/quote]

Be as philosophical as you like, but these are real young people. We should be doing everything we can to get them ready for the work force. High ideals aren't necessarily helpful. Learning a trade is a great opportunity for many to ascend into the middle class. [/quote]

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