Kudos to the Daily Advance, the
Perquimans Weekly, and the Chowan Herald for publishing "Progress
2013." Special Kudos to Peter Williams for bringing us up to date on the
promising future of Perquimans County's Commerce Center.
Even more important, to my mind, was
Williams's article on vocational education. The sad fact is that if kids want to learn to be a carpenter, a
plumber, a machinist, a draftsman, or a beautician, they won't acquire the
needed skills in the Perquimans County school system. We need to recognize that not all students are suited for or
want a college education. Upon graduation from high school, these young people
face the extremely difficult prospect of entering the job market without
marketable skills. The art, music, and foreign language classes they were
forced to take for credits needed to graduate simply don't enhance their
resumes.Government, as well-intentioned as it may be, creates this problem by insisting on stricter academic standards that leave little room for vocational training. Unfortunately, mandating courses with no practical application is like forcing a student to eat food that has no nutritional value.
As Williams reported in his article, Governor Pat McCrory and some members of the state legislature are beginning to see the light. It's time for a two-tiered system for high school graduations that certifies that a student is ready for college or a vocational career.
I'm not in a position to tell local educators how to accomplish this. But I know it can be done. When my wife and I were raising our children in Sussex County, New Jersey, she drove a school bus that had two routes: one to the regional high school and one to the regional Vo-Tech school.
Whether a two-tiered system in our high school, a regional vocational school, or some other solution is the right one for Perquimans County, we should be glad that our government is finally realizing that we have a problem that needs solving.
No comments:
Post a Comment