Belling the Cat

How do you change the educational philosophy of a whole state?  I honestly have no idea.

Currently our philosophy is "all students should go to college".  I won't get into the reasons why think this or why I think it's a bad idea, suffice it to say that they do and I do.

Why do I care?  Well, the emphasis to all students is the failure they will become if they don't attend college.  In the eighth grade they are asked to fill out a "High School and Beyond" plan which asks if they are going to go to college.  Predictably most of them do.  This wouldn't really matter except...

around about the 10th or 11th grade they are asked to choose a third year high school math class.  If they have checked the "college" box, they have to take Algebra 2.  If they have checked the "other" box, they can take any math class that fits in with their plan.

This is where I come in.  Algebra 2 is low level college math.  For students who struggled through Algebra, this class is almost impossible.  If you aren't comfortable with linear equations, how comfortable are you going to be with exponentials and logarithms?

Three years ago I pitched a third year math class that would emphasize the math skills you need to be a carpenter, a welder, a plumber, an electrician, a mechanic, a nurse, etc.  I have personal knowledge of the topic because not only was I an engineer, I have spent the last twenty years working full and then part time as a Harley Davidson mechanic.  I know what is needed and I have a love for the trade.

Virtually no one signed up.  We had 9 the first year, 10 the second year, and 1 the third year (at which point the class was cancelled).  The problem is that kids have two choices.  Sign up for Trades Math which requires rewriting their whole HS&B plan or just take Algebra 2 with everyone else.  Which sounds harder to a high school student?  If you guessed the first you would be right.  I have about twenty students this year who are planning on being (fill in trade from above list or other) but are in Algebra 2 because it was the path of least resistance.  Half of them are failing.

Unfortunately in order to make our system (and therefore my class) work, I have to convince the state legislature and the whole educational establishment in my state, to change course.  Throw the helm over on the supertanker and bring it around 180°.  There's a reason, however, that the Nimitz class carrier that I served on didn't pick up their own "man overboards".  They don't turn that easily.  Same reason aircraft carriers run over inflatables full of Greenpeace protestors.  Not because they want to (although to be fair it is sort of fun) but because 100,000 tons doesn't turn that quickly.

Which brings me to my point.  Those students would benefit in every aspect of their lives if they could leave school at 16 or 17 and join an apprenticeship program.  It's what they do every weekend anyway, just mostly not for pay and not officially.  Talked to a contractor yesterday at the gun store and he told me that he is desperate for labor.  People to do grunt work and learn the trade.  He can't hire anyone under 18.  State law.  Meanwhile these kids could be learning a trade and when their high school friends graduate, they'd already have two years of experience under their belts with all the pay raises and seniority that come along with those years.

Objections?  Sure.  Maybe we should make them take a math class and an English class to make sure they have a basic education.  For Pete's sake though, they've been sitting in school for ten years.  Have they learned nothing?  I'd be willing to be they have learned enough to be successful and, if they discover that moving up the ladder takes a couple night classes, they'd be willing to do it.  Heck, I went to bartender's school, Harley's EFI Management Class, and Western's Postbac Teaching Certificate program.  All three of them improved my job prospects at the time that I took them.

Which rolls us back around to the original problem.  How do you change the educational philosophy of a whole state which is geared towards "college, college, college"?  How do you convince a whole legislature, which to be fair has much bigger problems on their plate, that they are failing to serve a substantial minority of the school age population?

I don't know.

Thoughts?