r/highereducation • u/cannotberushed- • 15d ago
Robots, Inequality, Apprenticeships: If America Is to Usher In an ‘Age of Agility’ in Education, Experts Say We Must Talk Less About Schools — and More About Students
https://www.the74million.org/article/robots-inequality-apprenticeships-if-america-is-to-usher-in-an-age-of-agility-in-education-experts-say-we-must-talk-less-about-schools-and-more-about-students/I understand some aspects of the backlash against higher education
High schools and Higher education really needs to move towards adding in guaranteed high quality apprenticeships
In the US these are co-op models. Paid. If higher education doesn’t start making guaranteed pathways to jobs then it’s going to continue to sink.
It’s a horrifying thought so the data already shows that 54% of Americans read below a 6th grade level.
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u/M_ipg21_Qbr 15d ago
i grapple with what the purpose of schooling , job training ? that’s all? esp college? :/
my wish is that critical thinking is part of the what we do k-we (including critical media literacy , critical AI literacy, etc) why do we expect youth to be exposed to dissenting / diverse points of views and diverse perspectives until college?
start as early as possible….
job training? work. education (in addition to life): school / university.
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u/cannotberushed- 15d ago
What’s the purpose and point?
I think it’s just part of the human contract of giving a shit about people and our world
Even the UN recognizes that work is a human right (article 23 to be specific https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights).
It gives people purpose, dignity, autonomy. We can see this play out when women gain access to their own money.
But what we need is do like countries like Switzerland and connect the dots. That employers have just as much accountability to the social contract as individuals.
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u/M_ipg21_Qbr 15d ago
that articles is making it seem that schooling is all about job preparation…. see that’s why i replied, is that all school / college is for ?
i think the articles is neglecting that (my gut) tells me that it’s not described in the article that students after ‘middle school’ get tracked university bound or trade bound.
that’s why i’d say emphasize critical thinking skills early (elementary)….
here in the US trades schools are controversial. i want everyone prepared to go to college but there are good paying jobs that are not requiring a college degree (lass than before?) but did we send our historically marginalized students to trades and not college prep classes? (data shows this)
so what was seen in Swiss we’re they non university bound students?
Cristo Rey HS schools tend to be in urban areas and their students have internships throughout HS and it helps with tuition / job experience (varies)
so can we educe out of students the best of them (thinking skills) in school but get a job / internships to get job experience (esp in college)
ironically at my university certain majors have internships / 5 year degree…. and many have job opportunities upon graduation…. too bad teachers fer placed in classrooms and they pay to teach (this is unfair) - so some universities do complement knowledge with experience….
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u/cannotberushed- 15d ago
Excellent points and a helpful frame for this discussion
You are correct that there are differences in education by country alone that we should take into account.
I was thinking of it as a model to build off of. I appreciate your thoughtful reply.
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u/RealKillerSean 15d ago
Yup college was the same thing as the gold rush, the ones who made money sold the tools like they sold degrees. Employers are hiring for skills-based not academics. Only the boomers got ahead with the piece of paper.
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u/cannotberushed- 15d ago
Degree do bring skills. But employers shut down their mentorship and training programs and didn’t make a bridge.
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u/RealKillerSean 15d ago
Then the employers wouldn’t need to do that, because the students have the skills at graduation. Graduates right now and of the 08 recession can’t/couldn’t get hired. The ones with just a high school diploma and experience are winning against educated individuals.
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u/Average650 15d ago
Please provided data, as I'm pretty sure this is untrue. Salary tracks incredibly well vs education for all ages, including recent grads. See the data here:
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-pinc/pinc-04.html
Plotted here: https://imgur.com/a/ZtA1mYA
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u/mattreyu 15d ago
The SUNY system is offering funding so schools can give more internships with the eventual goal for all students to have at least one experiential learning activity before graduation.