Wednesday, September 05, 2012

a soapbox of sorts

If you've been my friend for very long, you've heard me say that I'm not going to make my kids go to college.

Now, before you skip on by, chalking another weirdo idea up to the homeschooling freaks, check out this open letter to Mitt Romney from Mike Rowe.

(I promise, this isn't a political post.  But if you're interested in political posts, check out Boston Chai Party, where a couple of my sibs and I post political articles when we have something to say.) 

Mike Rowe expresses a perspective that I've also been thinking about for a while.  Politics of college education aside, I don't believe that forcing everyone into the same mold of "graduate high school, go to college," is productive for each individual or society as a whole.  We bemoan the death of American craftsmanship and the laziness of American society.  We mock the soul-sucking nature of cube farms.  We bring work stresses home and damage family relationships.  We fume over the insanity of the daily commute.  We spend money we don't have for an "education" that we may or may not actually use.

Why?

And we belittle the jobs that don't require a college education.  Yet, these jobs do require a specific, valuable skill set.  I guarantee there is none more valuable in Houston, Texas, in the dead of summer than the air conditioner repairman.

I already blogged about this, so I'm not going to repeat myself.  I just don't think that we have to continue to accept the way the game is played. 

2 comments:

Lisa said...

Two posts in one day! Awesome! I liked the letter that you linked. I can certainly see his point about needing to change the perception of the skilled trades and encouraging people to go that route. Also, ah! the return of the AC repair man! I think I mentioned AC work in my reply to your previous post because my dad had his own business doing AC, electrical, and plumbing work. Ironically, in this area the need for AC abounds but so do AC workers! My dad found that the local market couldn't sustain his company past a certain point of growth. I definitely agree people shouldn't get any type of training or education blindly. Too often young people don't connect their aspirations and training to the real world. Are there jobs available? Does it pay enough? Do I like the conditions and terms of the lifestyle this job necessitates?

Perhaps a commonality that our perspectives on education and employment share is an emphasis on purposeful and informed choices-- for potential workers to examine the needs of the market, educate themselves (or intern/apprentice) to know practical benefits and risks of the possible jobs, and match it to their individual values, needs, interests, and skills.

Amber said...

I would agree with that, as far as where our perspectives meet. I think that is one of the most significant problems in our society/education system. People are not taught to think for themselves, especially not in any way that might cast doubt on the system. And worse than that, people who do point out the flaws in the system are attacked.