Here is your degree... It makes for a good placemat.

Did the school system fail you? Did you leave with nothing more than a sheet of paper and a vast knowledge of useless information? Were you bored? Unchallenged? Lost? If you answered yes then join the club.
The American education is so archaic and redundant it is no surprise that we continue to fall behind the other world powers. How much longer are we going to waste the youth of our children teaching them lies and outdated information? How many more young men and women have to find themselves stuck at 23 years old with a sheet of paper, insurmountable debt and no prospects?
We bombard our children from the moment they can understand us that they have to go to college if they want to amount to anything. We fill their heads with nonsense saying that they are too young to know what is good for them and a few more years of advanced education is just what they need to find their path. We continue to portray the working "stiff" as an oaf; ill-mannered and slow witted. It is a shame and a horrible injustice that we do to our youth.
First, let me begin by saying that I am all for furthering your education. I love the quest of knowledge and feel that people who have the urge should always continue to make strides in their desire to better themselves. But what about those who are barely getting by in high school? Why terrify them with the false notion that the only chance they have at the "American Dream" is with a college education?
Years ago all schools offered automotive technology, work and apprentice programs that offered plumbing, construction, electrician, etc... These are all occupations that make up the backbone of our society as much as our doctors and lawyers.
Now we force our school age young adults to take six years of French and a year of calculus to prepare them for a college that they might have no interest in attending. Generations ago there was a noticeable gap between college grads and non college grads. And the gap grew exponentially with grad school and beyond, Today there is almost no gap between those who graduate college and those who do not. Considering the years that you were out of the workforce pursuing a degree and the amount of money spent on college, some individuals take decades to just catch their peers who entered the workforce right after high school.
Again, I am not saying that college is a waste of time. But telling our youth it is the only option for success is a outright lie. Let our children pursue their passion, let them know that it is okay to dream big outside of the lines, Let them know that the blue collar union worker is just as important as our professionals. Because, when it is three in the morning and you are standing knee high in sh*t water in your basement... you're writing your plumber a check regardless of how fluent his/her French is...

If you enjoy my writing please check out my first full novel God Quit!

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/God-Quit1