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Yup. Where the grandparent said "employers think college degrees are more valuable than they probably are," you've highlighted the disconnect between what empl

by sounds 13y ago

Yup. Where the grandparent said "employers think college degrees are more valuable than they probably are," you've highlighted the disconnect between what employers think they're getting from a college grad (certain skills) and what colleges actually do (teach students to think, to learn, to read). That's not High School 2.0. In fact, High School seems to be the right place for vocational training. It's the pinnacle of state-mandated schooling, and in fact includes vocational requirements. Some schools implement that as wood shop. Others focus so completely on teaching computer skills they become a "magnet school" for that one thing only. Unskilled work is disappearing and simultaneously employers are demanding more unskilled laborers. The work is disappearing because it's cheaper to have a machine do it flawlessly. The employers don't want skilled labor...labor versus capital all over again. For a while yet, it may be possible to become really skilled in computing and successfully straddle the divide: make enough money to be comfortable as a skilled laborer. But I think it would be wise for _colleges_ to cross-train all their Science/Engineering students in business. Colleges (traditionally) focus on the whole person. A person with business skills, connections, and potential funding becomes the new bar for entry. I'm always thankful my professors took the time to do that last part: take us (a team of students) into the real world.

WalterBright 13y ago
While I took mostly STEM classes in college, I did also take a couple accounting classes. If you don't know the basics of double entry bookkeeping and the jargon that goes with it, you're a bit crippled when working in any sort of business.
ahomescu1 13y ago
> Where the grandparent said "employers think college degrees are more valuable than they probably are," you've highlighted the disconnect between what employers think they're getting from a college grad (certain skills) and what colleges actually do (teach students to think, to learn, to read). That's not High School 2.0. In fact, High School seems to be the right place for vocational training. It's the pinnacle of state-mandated schooling, and in fact includes vocational requirements. Some schools implement that as wood shop. Others focus so completely on teaching computer skills they become a "magnet school" for that one thing only. I'd like to argue for the opposite. Since everyone goes to high school, it should be a place to teach people to think, learn and read (that's how it used to be in some European countries). This is where students could explore and find out what they like, as well as read as many books as they can. After that, college should be for white-collar training. You really do need several years of focused learning on certain topics before jumping in (I don't think you can ever jump straight into medicine, building bridges or designing microprocessors without a few years of reading in advance).

by sounds 13y ago

WalterBright 13y ago

While I took mostly STEM classes in college, I did also take a couple accounting classes. If you don't know the basics of double entry bookkeeping and the jargon that goes with it, you're a bit crippled when working in any sort of business.

ahomescu1 13y ago

> Where the grandparent said "employers think college degrees are more valuable than they probably are," you've highlighted the disconnect between what employers think they're getting from a college grad (certain skills) and what colleges actually do (teach students to think, to learn, to read). That's not High School 2.0. In fact, High School seems to be the right place for vocational training. It's the pinnacle of state-mandated schooling, and in fact includes vocational requirements. Some schools implement that as wood shop. Others focus so completely on teaching computer skills they become a "magnet school" for that one thing only. I'd like to argue for the opposite. Since everyone goes to high school, it should be a place to teach people to think, learn and read (that's how it used to be in some European countries). This is where students could explore and find out what they like, as well as read as many books as they can. After that, college should be for white-collar training. You really do need several years of focused learning on certain topics before jumping in (I don't think you can ever jump straight into medicine, building bridges or designing microprocessors without a few years of reading in advance).