Some time (several months) ago I recommended a link to a column
by Mona Charen, a somewhat right of center Op-ed columnist. The column was essentially
apolitical, yet one reader chastised me for posting it because they didn’t care
for some of Ms. Charen’s opinions in other areas. I was led to this conclusion
because they took absolutely no issue with the gist of the column.
“Shooting the
messenger” generally refers to the practice of abusing the bearer of bad news,
not because of their transgressions but because the message is unpleasant. It
is childish, ill advised and typically is what I expect from Trump supporters. “Shooting”
the messenger even when the news is not unpleasant takes intolerance to a new
level. I say all this to preface my posting of a link to another Mona Charen
column. It is, again, essentially apolitical and most of it is specifically
data driven, not opinion. In a case like this not liking what the data says doesn’t
make it wrong just, perhaps, unpalatable or at odds with one’s own social
beliefs. I will post another several paragraphs below the column with my
personal views on the subject.
More Misconceptions About College
Mona Charen
When I retired from the US Navy at 26 years I was, I believe,
the senior enlisted Nuclear trained man in the Nuclear Navy/Submarine Force. While
I had two Baccalaureate degrees and a Master’s when I retired, none of those
were the reason I succeeded in my naval career field. What was essential was
the technical schools the navy provided. Other essentials included knowing how
to study, think critically, mechanical aptitude and, unsurprisingly, not wanting
to go to Viet Nam.
For many of us, college might come later, but wasn’t
instrumental to our success in the Navy. Most of the “Navy Nukes,” as well as
other technical specialists I’ve known (and there are a bunch, still in touch)
have been successful in two careers as I have. This was due not to an
immediately post-high school college liberal arts degree, but to learning a
technical skill, which prepared those who wanted to do so, for college later. Trust
me, most will opine that after Nuclear Power school, college was a breeze. I
would be among those.
Ms. Charen’s
column is, I feel, an appropriate response to the “college for all” crowd. I
have no quarrel with those who opine that College costs are out of control. I
wrote on this topic over five years ago in a piece entitled “The Next Precipice”
which warned of rapidly escalating US student debt. The column on question
points out that a college degree is no panacea nor, in and of itself, little or
no guarantee of financial stability.
The high school at which I taught for 20
post-Navy years held a PTA Open House early in the school year, and as an AP
teacher I usually had 75% of parents there in the “breakout” sessions. I usually
opened by introducing myself, followed by, “My job is to help make your student
employable.” Over the years, I learned
that for the spectrum of students, even presumptively college bound, depending
upon interest and aptitude, that might have varied meanings. While learning how
to learn is a critical necessity for most, doing it in a college setting is frequently
too late. This explained the inordinate number of my Nuclear power School
classmates with a year or two of less than stellar college behind them when they
enlisted.
When we harp
upon the “college for all” mantra, we ignore those persons who make good (to “better
than good”) livings because they have discovered that it isn’t necessarily
about a four-year degree, but about knowing how to do something someone will
pay you to do. The guy who fixes my Air conditioner is one of those people, so
is the tech who does electrical work, so are those men and women at my auto
dealership. So are the men who operate the power plants which keep the grid
alive.
In Orange County, Florida, as one example, we have a first- rate auto mechanics
vocational program co-funded by the UAW and General Motors. In fact, the
school, publicly and privately funded, offers 18 different certifications in varied
career areas from Commercial Truck driver ($70 K average, even for Walmart!) to
HVAC service tech (avg $50 K) to auto service tech (avg $47K) to EMT (avg $36K,
much higher if paramedic) to diesel mechanic (avg$45K). Graduates start work right
out of high school in many cases. A four-year BA in Psychology on the other
hand may well have $25,000 (or far more) in student loan debt and be almost
unemployable “in field”.
Even more disturbing,
at least to me, is the sad fact that, due to chronic underfunding, the vocational
testing batteries once routinely administered to high school students are a
thing of the past in most places. Sadder yet. is that many short-sighted
parents also refuse to allow or try to deter their students from taking the free, zero obligation, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. or ASVAB,
which is offered at more than 14,000 schools nationwide. For too many, this
would be the first time their real vocational aptitude would be evaluated and
guidance in the form of feedback offered. Parents resist in some cases because they
imagine some obligation, which is simply not the case, or worse find out that little bubba isn't necessarily college material, but has other strengths.
This truth is
why in many Florida Community Colleges, the formerly two-year courses have been,
in several cases, extended to four years in some technical specialties. Sadly,
meanwhile, we have superb, yet relatively under-utilized technical training
available at no cost in vocational programs at the high school level and
reasonable cost post high school.
It still simply comes back to knowing how to do something
someone will pay you to do. The “College for all” mantra makes the erroneous assumption
that one cannot be financially well off without that college education.
It would be
reasonable for example, if the will to do it existed, to prepare young persons
in high school to sit for their Licensed practical Nurse (LPN) exams at or even
before graduation from high school. LPNS average about $45,000 annually nationwide,
and some do the requisite course work on line or at publicly funded Vo-tech
schools. Meanwhile, a new hire with a degree in Social Work is looking at
(nationwide, again, around $32,000 to start and, even with a Masters, perhaps $42,000
annually.
So, back to the
Op-ed. Ms. Charen’s point regarding the “essentiality” of college is largely borne out
by my 20 years of observational experience.
Regarding the other data driven points of her
article “1) finish high school, 2) get a full-time job and 3) get married
before having children.” As ‘un-hip” as
this outlook may be in some circles, it is also absolutely borne out by data across
the human spectrum in the USA. Remember, data is impersonal, it doesn’t care
whether you like it, or if celebrities do it differently swimming against the
data stream. Good column, sound observations. Not really political, except,
possibly in the minds of those who are doing or have been forced by circumstance
or personal choice to do it differently.
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