Is it okay for only one third of our population to be "good citizens"?
Okay, I started this as a Facebook post and it grew too big for that.
So I read this article...
I think that this article and maybe the whole liberal arts based core curriculum of college educations places too much emphasis on the learning of what you need to be a "good citizen" at a college level. Only 33.5% of 25-29 year olds have at least a bachelor's degree. So that's only 1/3 of students (if they learned and retained everything they should have haha) that have what it takes to be a "good citizen."
This stuff needs to be taught at a high school level and not just as part of the college prep.
If all of these things were taught in high school rather than college then 81% (the percent of high school graduates) of the people in this country would be qualified to be "good citizens" instead of just 33.5%. Everyone in the united states who is over 18, is a citizen, and isn't a felon has the right to vote. That means they all need to be educated so that they can understand the way the government, the businesses, and even their religious groups are manipulating them to vote the way they want them to.
Every single political party and group of any kind uses manipulation to try to get you to do what they want. That doesn't necessarily mean their way isn't the right way, but you need to be able to recognize the fact that everyone is going to be trying to do it. Most of all you need to be able to recognize the lies, because those are out there too. We see them more and more with the rise of social media. If something sounds so insane and horrible that it can't possibly be true, then for heaven's sake do some research. You have the internet. You have the world's information at your fingertips. Please make use of it. Sometimes the really crazy things are true, but more often than not they're taking a tiny fact and trying to turn it into a HUGE lie.
And now that we're on the failure to launch subject, students in high school need to understand how to balance their checkbook and pay their bills, and the basics of cooking and sewing that Home Economics provides. They also need to know the basics of home repair, using tools, and how to go out and look for a job.that Career classes provide. These also need to be moved closer to the time that you graduate instead of in the 8th grade. (maybe it has been by now, but that's when it was when I was in school) The problem is that if you don't have really fantastic teachers for these two subjects like I did, then you don't retain that information all the way through high school and college/trade school so that you can apply it to real life.
But more than any of these other things we need to be teaching these kids at home to rely on themselves. They need to be held responsible for their actions. We need to let them fail. We need to pick them up after that and give them a hug and tell them to keep trying. They need to know that they can count on us to support them but not to do everything for them. And they need to learn to work HARD!
There is nothing wrong with hard work. NOTHING. Whether that hard work is as a factory worker, a hair dresser, an engineer, a scientist, a custodian, or a teacher. As long as you enjoy your job and the opportunities that it brings you, then you should be proud of that job and no one should make you feel ashamed of it. The only thing anyone should be ashamed of is just putting forth enough effort to get by. If you hate your job, work hard at it, and in your spare time further your education in whatever way would lead you to a job you love. Because even if you finish a college degree, when you apply for jobs you're going to have to list your previous employment, and if they hear you were a lazy cashier at McDonalds then what's to make them think you won't be a lazy laboratory scientist?
So I read this article...
I think that this article and maybe the whole liberal arts based core curriculum of college educations places too much emphasis on the learning of what you need to be a "good citizen" at a college level. Only 33.5% of 25-29 year olds have at least a bachelor's degree. So that's only 1/3 of students (if they learned and retained everything they should have haha) that have what it takes to be a "good citizen."
This stuff needs to be taught at a high school level and not just as part of the college prep.
- They need to understand the basis for our government and the history behind it's creation. No high school graduate should not be able to tell you why we have a balance of power between the three branches of federal government.
- They need to be taught how to read an article and recognize if it's sources are worth listening to, and they need to fully understand that no matter WHAT you read it's all biased because a human being wrote it and human beings are incapable of not putting their own spin on things.
- They need to know how basic economics works. Supply and Demand and how current world events are going to be effecting the costs of things.
If all of these things were taught in high school rather than college then 81% (the percent of high school graduates) of the people in this country would be qualified to be "good citizens" instead of just 33.5%. Everyone in the united states who is over 18, is a citizen, and isn't a felon has the right to vote. That means they all need to be educated so that they can understand the way the government, the businesses, and even their religious groups are manipulating them to vote the way they want them to.
Every single political party and group of any kind uses manipulation to try to get you to do what they want. That doesn't necessarily mean their way isn't the right way, but you need to be able to recognize the fact that everyone is going to be trying to do it. Most of all you need to be able to recognize the lies, because those are out there too. We see them more and more with the rise of social media. If something sounds so insane and horrible that it can't possibly be true, then for heaven's sake do some research. You have the internet. You have the world's information at your fingertips. Please make use of it. Sometimes the really crazy things are true, but more often than not they're taking a tiny fact and trying to turn it into a HUGE lie.
And now that we're on the failure to launch subject, students in high school need to understand how to balance their checkbook and pay their bills, and the basics of cooking and sewing that Home Economics provides. They also need to know the basics of home repair, using tools, and how to go out and look for a job.that Career classes provide. These also need to be moved closer to the time that you graduate instead of in the 8th grade. (maybe it has been by now, but that's when it was when I was in school) The problem is that if you don't have really fantastic teachers for these two subjects like I did, then you don't retain that information all the way through high school and college/trade school so that you can apply it to real life.
But more than any of these other things we need to be teaching these kids at home to rely on themselves. They need to be held responsible for their actions. We need to let them fail. We need to pick them up after that and give them a hug and tell them to keep trying. They need to know that they can count on us to support them but not to do everything for them. And they need to learn to work HARD!
There is nothing wrong with hard work. NOTHING. Whether that hard work is as a factory worker, a hair dresser, an engineer, a scientist, a custodian, or a teacher. As long as you enjoy your job and the opportunities that it brings you, then you should be proud of that job and no one should make you feel ashamed of it. The only thing anyone should be ashamed of is just putting forth enough effort to get by. If you hate your job, work hard at it, and in your spare time further your education in whatever way would lead you to a job you love. Because even if you finish a college degree, when you apply for jobs you're going to have to list your previous employment, and if they hear you were a lazy cashier at McDonalds then what's to make them think you won't be a lazy laboratory scientist?
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