So now Mr. Shumway (Des News 3/1/11) opines that "By 2020 every graduate in Utah needs to obtain a post-high school credential." Citing that old bugaboo “global economy” he seems to think we won’t need plumbers, carpenters, mechanics, landscapers, pipe-fitters or auto salesmen any more. His ideal, as CEO of Cicero Group, matches those of other big business people: the ideal graduate to be aimed for is one trained for employment in high-growth industires [like Cicero Group].
Why can’t we get off this horse of imagining that everyone must go to college? New York and California undertook years ago to admit and fund college for every HS grad. They gave it up with the budget crunch years and the milserable graduation rates that followed.
My friend who attended CCNY at the time said many of his state-funded classmates enrolled to get away from home and enjoy the beer parties and could care less about studies. Every one of my siblings got a college degree – four doctorates, and every one of us had to work summers and part-time in the school year to make it. Mother said she watched kids whose parents [or state] funded their way and they had less appreciation for the privilege of attending and did less with their schooling. Let our college graduates earn their way and their admission; and let those with other bents pursue their ways too. One size does not fit all.
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