Matt Damon's speech to teachers

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Many schools do still offer business/agriculture/shop/votech curricula in high school. The problem is getting it through the parents' thick head that their kid is more suited for that than they are to go to college.

I'd guess it's much closer to "some" than "many" - regardless, though, if it's a "tracked" program then it's much harder for parents to argue ... particularly if they're forced to buy into the program from the start.

America has cultural issues that work against it, but similar programs work well in other parts of the world. At some point, we have to get over the ultra-American ideal of telling a child with narrow options that they can do anything.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

I'd guess it's much closer to "some" than "many" - regardless, though, if it's a "tracked" program then it's much harder for parents to argue ... particularly if they're forced to buy into the program from the start.

America has cultural issues that work against it, but similar programs work well in other parts of the world. At some point, we have to get over the ultra-American ideal of telling a child with narrow options that they can do anything.

I don't think it's a matter of saying "your kid can't spell cat." More like you should say "he shows a real aptitude with mechanics and will probably make more, if he continues on that track, than your Harvard educated ass will ever make."

Another part of the problem is guidance counselors. Many of them suck. They want to shove the more well-off kids into college prep (and push more prestigious colleges) and the poorer kids into the trade programs, when the accident of your birth has very little to do with what you'll actually be good at and enjoy.