By Karen Cates
July 29, 2014
In a recent article, I suggested that we should stop feeding high school students the myth that college is right for everyone. Higher education has a role for many young people, but as an instructor in college classrooms for almost 25 years, I have met plenty of young people who weren’t well-suited to it.
For some, college represents great stress, failing grades, and an inability to succeed in the classroom despite extra help. This has nothing to do with being smart. It has everything to do with the lack of alternatives for young people who deserve a better definition of success post-high school.
Parents, leaders, educators, and employers should work to discover children’s strengths and provide options to develop t_hem. Many readers agreed with my last article, but I received a lot of e-mails concerned that our lawmakers and educators might adopt as a solution Europe’s early “tracking” programs, which divert children (without choice) to college or a trade profession. One of the hallmarks of American culture is the idea that we are free to choose our own paths.
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