Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone pushing the trades over college is gong to regret it. Most Americans have historically been in the trades, but they wanted their kids to attend university instead - it was considered progress.

One day the tide will turn - trade work will become saturated, lose its luster, and people will wish for a better future for their kids.

+1. It also feels behind the curve now. People have been pushing this for over a decade. Enrollment growth in trade schools has been strong since 2020. For the right people it is still a good idea, but it seems like it is becoming saturated.

Try finding a reasonably-priced plumber or electrician and then come tell me the trades are saturated

There are plenty in my area.

But most of them are still in school. The point is that the strong enrollment growth means you are going to have a bunch of them hitting the market in the next several years.

We definitely need stronger VoTech options that also include the classes students need if they decide they prefer college. The problem with some of these programs in the past was they did not allow for on/off-ramping into different options.

Back in the 80s, my DH was from a working class family that never considered college. He did their district's VoTech program in radio/TV repair. That included an internship with a local company. Through that experience he got interested in how the electronics worked, was encouraged by his supervisors to consider college, ended up going to their local university as a commuter student and became an electrical engineer. And became a person who expected his kids to go to a 4-year university.

Later his nephew went to the district's (still good) VoTech program for automotive mechanics. Worked for a while at a dealership through a school-industry partnership program. Then started his own successful business.

Technical education can support a variety of paths - jobs, businesses, and, for some, college.

Almost all students need some kind of post-HS education, unless (like my nephew) their HS incorporates the trade education/AA/certificate you might get through a CC or other program. Or, a lot more businesses need to be willing to hire HS grads and train and promote within. My niece was lucky to land a call center job with a big insurance company after HS and they did train/promote internally. She's now doing well as a claims adjuster.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone pushing the trades over college is gong to regret it. Most Americans have historically been in the trades, but they wanted their kids to attend university instead - it was considered progress.

One day the tide will turn - trade work will become saturated, lose its luster, and people will wish for a better future for their kids.

+1. It also feels behind the curve now. People have been pushing this for over a decade. Enrollment growth in trade schools has been strong since 2020. For the right people it is still a good idea, but it seems like it is becoming saturated.

Try finding a reasonably-priced plumber or electrician and then come tell me the trades are saturated

This is true, I’m not shocked.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone pushing the trades over college is gong to regret it. Most Americans have historically been in the trades, but they wanted their kids to attend university instead - it was considered progress.

One day the tide will turn - trade work will become saturated, lose its luster, and people will wish for a better future for their kids.

+1. It also feels behind the curve now. People have been pushing this for over a decade. Enrollment growth in trade schools has been strong since 2020. For the right people it is still a good idea, but it seems like it is becoming saturated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I clearly remember Obama trying to push college on *every* kid. It was shocking.

He proposed one year of education beyond high school

Skilled trades!
Scandalous!

https://www.npr.org/2009/07/15/106636657/should-everyone-go-to-college

It's always interesting how much people what people "clearly remember" differs from reality.

Everyone pushing the trades over college is gong to regret it. Most Americans have historically been in the trades, but they wanted their kids to attend university instead - it was considered progress.

One day the tide will turn - trade work will become saturated, lose its luster, and people will wish for a better future for their kids.

FCPS needs a legitimate Vo Tech school or two. Not the academies, which are hard to navigate and require kids drop electives for transportation, but legit Vo Tech schools. Schools that kids can choose to attend and earn their HS diploma while being exposed to different trades and choosing one to work towards the initial certificates required for that trade. It is crazy to me that a school district as large as FCPS does not have a real Vo tech school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I clearly remember Obama trying to push college on *every* kid. It was shocking.

Are you pushing college on your children? If so, why?

My kids are high class. Of course they will go to college.

Anonymous wrote:I clearly remember Obama trying to push college on *every* kid. It was shocking.

He proposed one year of education beyond high school

Skilled trades!
Scandalous!

https://www.npr.org/2009/07/15/106636657/should-everyone-go-to-college

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I clearly remember Obama trying to push college on *every* kid. It was shocking.

Are you pushing college on your children? If so, why?

PP is not.

Anonymous wrote:I clearly remember Obama trying to push college on *every* kid. It was shocking.

Are you pushing college on your children? If so, why?

Not everyone needs college, no. But our educational system fails so many kids that are capable by not at least giving them the option because they haven’t been adequately prepared, not because they can’t handle it.

I clearly remember Obama trying to push college on *every* kid. It was shocking.

An excellent interview with Randi Weingarten. We need to help all kids succeed and that includes non-college and apprenticeship options.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0-ZMd-vHpw