This article about a Maine school board member asking her district to stop using the word “college” when speaking to students about their future plans seems, on the surface, to be more than a little absurd.
But in some ways, the story points to an increasing tension in this country, as some people begin to question whether college – especially with its increasingly exorbitant cost – is really the best choice for most of our students.
Of course, it is difficult to imagine a logical argument for banning all references to the word “college,” since surely even the strongest vocational and technical advocates would acknowledge that college really is the best choice for at least some of our students.
But what do you think? Is it possible that our K-12 schools really have placed too much emphasis on attending college? Should we, instead, be speaking to students more about other options, including technical schools and vocations that do not require a college degree at all? And if we do increase our emphasis on vocational training, how do we ensure that students are not pigeonholed unfairly, based in part on stereotypes about who should go to college and who shouldn’t?
What do we make of this story and the tensions it represents?
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