I've been holding back, but here's a rant.
Item A
Vocational programs fading out of standard public school systems is a crying shame and tragedy, but the track system we had was also terrible. Kids were placed in "tracks" for a long time which were highly discriminatory, not baed on aptitude or interest but on socio-economic and racial background (to a lesser extent, gender). I think that vocational programs should be a prominent requirement in all high schools for all students, not just a shop class here and a lighting elective there. I was very close with two boys who went to a vocational high school and left as a pastry chef and mechanic respectively. The pastry chef went on to study philosophy, and the mechanic is teaching English and holds an MA. Liberal arts and vocational studies are not and should not be mutually exclusive.
Item B
The current blue collar trades are under assault, at least in my area, from temp work agencies that place unskilled laborers in skilled trade positions and depreciate wages across the board. Painters, construction workers... these used to be good jobs that are being dragged down by people desperate for temporary work at minimum wage, and often they are not hired in as temporary of a way as it used to be but are rather used as a fundamental workforce.
Item C
The mammoth push to put all high school graduates through a four-year degree has allowed these institutions to exponentially increase tuition prices, and it has raised competition in formerly less competitive state schools while, in my humble opinion, lowering educational standards the institutions provide. They have a massive pool of applicants, in most cases, from which to choose, who are willing to spiral into debt just for the accreditation that says they have a BA.
Item D
People who would have never pursued a graduate degree in a different job market are now going into more debt to compete with the ridiculous saturation of BA-holders. These MAs may be effectively useless in their field. Again, it's all about being able to list the initials on your resume.
Item F
Programs are now able to crop up everywhere offering MAs and even PhDs without nearly the same level of rigorous expectations these degrees usually entail. In my graduate school search, I've found several of these programs which are basically degrees for sale. There are no requirements save for money! You pay, they get you the initials. Then when you actually try to apply these degrees, you are essentially untrained for the job you should be able to fill with that degree. Then you are in debt, jobless, with letters you thought would take you to a great salary.
Item G
And then you have all of those people who would have excelled at trade work who, because they were told they were bright and needed to pursue all of these levels of higher education, never even considered skilled trades like the ones mentioned here. And then the "old" blue collar workers, who are getting their wages slashed by cheap labor agencies, also have no idea how to access this type of education, because they perceive education as being an insanely long, expensive road to a desk job, not a fast-track, affordable investment that will enable them to use their skills in an active way.
*deep breathing*
It is so FUBAR out there.
[/rant]
