As a society, we’ve worked to improve the educational opportunities for those at the top and bottom of the ladder. So why do we neglect the needs of the majority in the middle?
About 30 percent of young people graduate with a four-year college degree, and a little more than 10 percent receive special education services. These two groups receive a disproportionate amount of curriculum opportunities and funding, at the expense of the majority. I’m troubled by the increasingly frequent “college for everyone” rhetoric by public officials and presidential candidates, because it leads to funding priorities that are out of touch with the needs of the majority of American students — those who dream of careers as paramedics, electricians, computer specialists, farmers or carpenters.
Vocational and technical education programs are on the chopping block. The Bush administration’s 2008 budget proposal slashes over $800 million for career and technical education, which is more than half of 2007 expenditures. The administration proposed completely eliminating federal funding for these programs in previous years. At the same time, the federal budget maintains billions of dollars for special education programs and for students who are preparing for and are enrolled in college.
Our schools should offer strong vocational and technical education programs for students who want to pursue careers that don’t require a four-year degree, and for many other students who will go on to earn a college degree but would also like to take vocational or technical classes in high school.
Loveland High School offers a Geometry in Construction class. There, students receive rigorous academic instruction and then apply these skills to a real-world task: building a small cabin. Students use math skills in framing, dry walling, roofing, etc. The building is then auctioned off and the proceeds help deflect the cost of the next year’s construction project. Can you imagine how much real-world experience these kids learn compared with those in traditional math classes?
With Christmas only a couple days away, I can’t help but point out that Jesus was a carpenter, and nobody thinks He didn’t live up to His potential. His income may not have put Him in the upper class, but He didn’t define success in material terms.
Politicians often say that the average college graduate’s income is twice that of the average high school graduate, as if this statement alone justifies focusing a majority of resources on preparing students for college. But a four- year college degree doesn’t necessarily bring higher earnings. Nationally, automotive service technicians, paralegals and real estate agents use their technical certificates or associate’s degrees to earn the same salary as teachers.
Four-year colleges do not teach the entire skill set necessary for a society to function well as a whole. The Bureau of Labor Standards projects that 8 of the top 10 occupations with the largest job growth through 2014 will require an associate’s degree or vocational training.
If Americans don’t fill these jobs, who will? I can imagine a day when immigrants with technical skills may become far more valuable to our economy than those with advanced degrees.
Here in Colorado, our community and technical colleges often have a terrible time securing funding, according to Linda Bowman, president of the Community College at Aurora and VP for the Community College System. These programs don’t have the state constitutional protection that so many other sectors do. TABOR means that their funding is threatened every time there’s a shortfall in the budget. “In Colorado, we’re importing our degrees from other states,” she said, “but we’re not educating our own, especially for the majority of jobs required by our economy.”
Jackie Avner of Highlands Ranch (jackie.avner@gmail.com) grew up on a dairy farm, worked in the U.S. Senate, and is now a full-time mom to three young children.
