Tough on trade (schools)
The bias against blue collar is hurting the country and its students
When Aidan, who requested his last name be omitted, graduated from north Seattle’s Roosevelt High School in 2016, he knew almost nothing about vocational schooling.
“I feel like Roosevelt was pretty focused on getting students into college,” Aidan said. “Most of the time it felt like the only option that I had after high school.”
Aidan’s experience in high school was not unusual. The emphasis to ensure that high school students pursue higher education has come at the expense of vocational education. A 2017 PBS Newshour piece revealed that 28 percent of students in California’s community college system were in a vocational field of study, whereas in Finland, according to a 2012 Washington Post piece, 45 percent of students chose to pursue a technical track following completion of their basic education.
Beyond hurting institutions dependent upon skilled technical workers, this prioritization of four-year college over vocational education perpetuates class-based discrimination.
“There is a general social perception that technical schools are looked down upon and considered ‘second class,’” contributor Sothy Eng wrote in a 2015 Huffington Post piece. “Attending a college might be seen as a value associated with the dominant class whereas technical training school [might be associated] with [the] working class.”
The association of white-collar careers with success fails to recognize the fact that, according to a study released by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, “27 percent of people who get a vocational license or certificate after high school . . . earn more than the average for those with a bachelor’s degree.”
There is also a failure in society to recognize the importance of trade-workers.
“As an aerospace engineering student, little emphasis is placed on the physical skills compared to theory and computational skills,” UW junior Danny Roberts said. “Those trade school skills are directly needed for applications of what we learn and design.”
This bias against trade schools and those engaged in them can be observed at institutions such as the UW.
“It’s insane how much we take trade school grads like plumbers for granted,” Roberts added. “[They are] definitely seen as less prestigious and lower achieving.”
Some of those who argue against the merits of vocational education claim that the system’s flaw lies in its inability to provide students with an interdisciplinary education achieved at most four-year colleges.
Students at four-year institutions like the UW cover various credits intended to foster a more interdisciplinary learning experience. However, evidence has shown that more students are receiving these credits through other means such as AP high school courses and Running Start, thus denying them of this supposedly varied interdisciplinary higher education on campus.
While liberal arts institutions often pride themselves on catering to a wide array of student interests and talents, the fact that nearly “40 percent of students who begin four-year college programs don’t complete them” indicates that many students do not find such educations worth their cost.
After a year at the University of Montana, Aidan became part of that 40 percent.
“I realized that I needed more experiences in life before deciding what I wanted to do in school,” he explained.
Now studying machining, Aidan is far happier and hopes that others will be able to have the support and information to pursue their interests, whether through academic or technical education.
Sophie Aanerud is a student at the University of Washington. This article was originally published in The Daily and is posted here with permission from Sophie Aanerud.
Like most of the pictures on TeensParentsTeachers, the picture posted with this article is courtesy of a free download from Pixabay.com.
Vocational Schools
Vocational Training