skip college
Plan B: Skip College
WHAT?S the key to success in the United States?
Short of becoming a reality TV star, the answer is rote and, some would argue, rather knee-jerk: Earn a college degree.
The idea that four years of higher education will translate into a better job, higher earnings and a happier life — a refrain sure to be repeated this month at graduation ceremonies across the country — has been pounded into the heads of schoolchildren, parents and educators. But there?s an underside to that conventional wisdom. Perhaps no more than half of those who began a four-year bac helor?s degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years, according to the latest projections from the Department of Education. (The figures don?t include transfer students, who aren?t tracked.)
For college students who ranked among the bottom quarter of their high school classes, the numbers are even more stark: 80 percent will probably never get a bachelor?s degree or even a two-year associate?s degree.
That can be a lot of tuition to pay, without a degree to show for it.
A small but influential group of economists and educators is pushing another pathway: for some students, no college at all. It?s time, they say, to develop credible alternatives for students unlikely to be successful pursuing a higher degree, or who may not be ready to do so.
Whether everyone in college needs to be there is not a new question; the subject has been hashed out in books and dissertations for years. But the economic crisis has sharpened that focus, as financially struggling states cut aid to higher education.
Among those calling for such alternatives are the economists Richard K. Vedder of Ohio University and Robert I. Lerman of American University, the political scientist Charles Murray, and James E. Rosenbaum, an education professor at Northwestern. They would steer some students toward intensive, short-term vocational and career training, through expanded high school programs and corporate apprenticeships.
“It is true that we need more nanosurgeons than we did 10 to 15 years ago, ” said Professor Vedder, founder of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, a research nonprofit in Washington. “But the numbers are still relatively small compared to the numbers of nurses? aides we?re going to need. We will need hundreds of thousands of t hem over the next decade.”
And much of their training, he added, might be feasible outside the college setting.
College degrees are simply not necessary for many jobs. Of the 30 jobs projected to grow at the fastest rate over the next decade in the United States, only seven typically require a bachelor?s degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Among the top 10 growing job categories, two require college degrees: accounting (a bachelor?s) and postsecondary teachers (a doctorate). But this gro wth is expected to be dwarfed by the need for registered nurses, home health aides, customer service representatives and store clerks. None of those jobs require a bachelor?s degree.
Professor Vedder likes to ask why 15 percent of mail carriers have bache lor?s degrees, according to a 1999 federal study.
“Some of them could have bought a house for what they spent on their education, ” he said.
Professor Lerman, the American University economist, said some high school graduates would be better served by being taught how to behave and communicate in the workplace.
Such skills are ranked among the most desired — even ahead of educational attainment — in many surveys of employers. In one 2008 survey of more than 2, 000 businesses in Washington State, employers said entry-level workers appeared to be most deficient in being able to “solve problems and make decisions, ” “resolve conflict and negotiate, ” “cooperate with others” and “listen actively.”
Yet despite the need, vocational programs, which might teach such skills, have been one casualty in the push for national education standards, which has been focused on preparing students for college.
While some educators propose a radical renovation of the community college system to teach work readiness, Professor Lerman advocates a significant national investment by government and employers in on-the-job apprenticeship training. He spoke with admiration, for example, about a program in the CVS pharmacy chain in which aspiring pharmacists? assistants work as appre ntices in hundreds of stores, with many going on to study to become full-fledged pharmacists themselves.
“The health field is an obvious case where the manpower situation is less than ideal, ” he said. “I would try to work with some of the major employers to develop these kinds of programs to yield mastery in jobs that do demand high expertise.”
While no country has a perfect model for such programs, Professor Lerman pointed to a modest study of a German effort done last summer by an intern from that country. She found that of those who passed the Abitur, the exam that allows some Germans to attend college for almost no tuition, 40 percent chose to go into apprenticeships in trades, accounting, sales management, and computers.
“Some of the people coming out of those apprenticeships are in more demand than college graduates, ” he said, “because they?ve actually managed things in the workplace.”
Still, by urging that some students be directed away from four-year colleges, academics like Professor Lerman are touching a third rail of the education system. At the very least, they could be accused of lowering expectations for some students. Some critics go further, suggesting that the approach amounts to educational redlining, since many of the students who drop out of college are black or non-white Hispanics.
Peggy Williams, a counselor at a high school in suburban New York City with a student body that is mostly black or Hispanic, understands the argument for erring on the side of pushing more students toward college.
“If we?re telling kids, …You can?t cut the mustard, you shouldn?t go to college or
u niversity, ? then we?re shortchanging them from experiencing an environment in which they might grow, ” she said.
But Ms. Williams said she would be more willing to counsel some students away from the precollege track if her school, Mount Vernon High School, had a better vocational education alternative. Over the last decade, she said, courses in culinary arts, nursing, dentistry and heating and ventilation system repair were eliminated. Perhaps 1 percent of this year?s graduates will complete a concentrat ion in vocational courses, she said, compared with 40 percent a decade ago.
There is another rejoinder to the case against college: People with college and graduate degrees generally earn more than those without them, and face lower risks of unemployment, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Even those who experience a few years of college earn more money, on average, with less risk of unemployment, than those who merely graduate from high school, said Morton Schapiro, an economist who is the president of Northwestern University.
“You get some return even if you don?t get the sheepskin, ” Mr. Schapiro said.
He warned against overlooking the intangible benefits of a college experience — even an incomplete experience — for those who might not apply what they learned directly to their chosen work.
“It?s not just about the economic return, ” he said. “Some college, whether you complete it or not, contributes to aesthetic appreciation, better health and better voting behavior.”
Nonetheless, Professor Rosenbaum said, high school counselors and teachers are not doing enough to alert students unlikely to earn a college degree to the perilous road ahead.
“I?m not saying don?t get the B.A, ” he said. “I?m saying, let?s get them some intervening credentials, some intervening milestones. Then, if they want to go further in their education, they can.”
千万不要上大学？
发布时间：2012-05-09
文章出自：译言
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四年的高等教育将带来一份更好的工作、更高的收入和更幸福的生活这一理念，已经被灌输到学生、家长和教育工作者的潜意识之中。虽然上大学似乎是高中教育的目的所
在，但不是每个人都适合上大学。对于一些学生来说，接受昂贵的高等教育是一件得不偿失的事情。
在美国，成功的关键是什么？
答案是死记硬背（除了成为电视真人秀节目明星之外），一些人肯定会下意识地声称：获得一个大学学位。
四年的高等教育将带来一份更好的工作、更高的收入和更幸福的生活这一理念，已经被灌输到学生、家长和教育工作者的潜意识之中。这个月，在全美各地的毕业典礼上，我们肯定会再次听到这一老生常谈。但这项人们普遍认同的观点也有其阴暗面。根据美国教育部的最新预测，在2006年秋天开始为期4年本科生涯的学生当中，仅有不超过一半的人将在6年内获得学士学位（这项数据不包括未被跟踪调查的转校学生）。
对于那些上高中时排在班里最后四分之一的大学生来说，这项数据则显得更加难堪：80%的人或许永远拿不到学士学位，甚至连为期2年的大专学历（associate?s degree）亦无法获取。
这就意味着，在支付了一大笔学费之后，没有拿到一个可予以证明的学位。
一些经济学家和教育工作者（人数不多，但颇具影响力）正在推动另一条路径：对一些学生来说，最好不要上大学。他们表示，是时候给那些不可能成功获取学位或不准备上大学的学生，发展一些可信赖的替代之策了。
是否每个人都得上大学，并非一个新问题；在各种书籍和论文中，这个话题已经被讨论了好些年。但经济危机导致许多财政困难的州削减了对高等教育的资助，进而使人们更加关注这一问题。
呼吁拓展高等教育替代路径的人士包括，俄亥俄大学经济学家理查德·韦德（Richard K. Vedder）、美利坚大学经济学家罗伯特·列尔曼（Robert I. Lerman）、政治学家查尔斯·穆雷（Charles Murray）以及西北大学教育学教授詹姆斯·罗森鲍姆（James E.
Rosenbaum）。他们呼吁，通过延长高中教育和在企业实习等方式，使一些学生在短期内获得集中的职业技能培训。
“跟10到15年前相比，我们的确需要更多的纳米外科医生，”华盛顿非盈利研究机构高校学费与绩效中心（Center for College Affordability andProductivity）创始人韦德教授说。“但跟护士助理未来的需求量比较起来，这个数字依然相对较少。在未来10年，我们将需要数十万名护士助理。”
对这些人才的培养，或许可以在高等教育体系之外来进行。他补充说。
许多工作根本不需要大学学位。美国劳工统计局（Bureau of Labor Statistics）的资料显示，在美国未来十年预期增速最快的30种职业中，仅有7种工作通常需要学士学位。
在增速最快的前10种工作中，仅有2种需要大学学位：会计（需要学士学位）和高校教师（需要博士学位）。但跟注册护士、家庭健康助理、客户服务代表和店员的需求量相比，它们的增量就显得微不足道了。这些工作都不需要学士学位。
韦德教授经常提出这样一个问题：联邦政府1999年的一项研究显示，15%的邮递员拥有学士学位，为什么会出现这种现象？
“其中一些人本可以用他们上大学花的钱购买一套房子，”他说。
美利坚大学经济学家列尔曼教授表示，对一些高中毕业生来说，学会如何自律，如何在工作场所与人沟通，或许对他们更有好处。
对雇主进行的多项调查显示，这些是雇主最为看重的技能，甚至排在了学历之前。2008年对华盛顿州2千多家企业进行的一项调查发现，在许多雇主看来，刚加入公司的员工最为欠缺的似乎是，“解决问题和决策、”“处理冲突和谈判、”“与他人合作”及“积极倾听”等方面的能力。
然而，尽管用人单位有此需求，但在推行全国教育标准（这些标准所关注的，是如何让学生为上大学做好准备）的过程中，或许将传授这类技能的职业培训项目，一直充当着牺牲品的角色。
一些教育家建议彻底变革传授工作准备技能的社区学院体系，而列尔曼教授则主张，政府和雇主应该向在职实习培训项目投入一笔可观的资金。比如，他以赞叹的口味提及CVS连锁药店的一个项目：许多怀有抱负的药剂师助理，以学徒身份在这家连锁药店旗下的数百家店铺工作，其中的许多人实习完后继续深造，最终成为正式的药剂师。
“医疗卫生领域是人力资源情况不理想的一个明显例子，”他说。“我将与一些重要的雇主合作，开展这类培训项目，进而让实习生熟练掌握这些对专业知识要求很高的工作。”
就此类项目而言，没有哪个国家拥有一项完美的模式。但列尔曼教授引用了一个德国实习生去年夏天对德国在这方面的做法进行的一项研究。这位女实习生发现，在通过毕业考试（Abitur，这项考试可以让一些德国学生上大学几乎不用交学费）的德国高中毕业生当中，有40%的人选择在贸易、会计、销售管理和电脑等行业实习。
“一些完成实习工作的学生，比大学生更受欢迎，”他说，“因为他们已经拥有了工作场所的管理经历。”
然而，在敦促一些学生远离4年大学教育的同时，包括列尔曼教授在内的学者们也正在触及与教育体制相关的一项不可侵犯的理念。至少，有些人或许会指责他们降低了对某些学生的期望值。一些批评者甚至声称，这种方式无异于教育歧视，因为许多从大学辍学的学生，都是黑人或非白种族的拉丁裔人。
佩吉·威廉姆斯（Peggy Williams）是纽约郊区一所以黑人和拉丁裔学生为主体的高中的指导老师。他深知，让更多学生上大学，是一种更稳妥的做法。
“假如我们对孩子们说，…你不符合条件，你不应该上大学，?那么，我们就是在剥夺他们经历一种或许可以让其成长的环境的机会，”她说。
但威廉姆斯女士说，如果她所在的弗农山高中（Mount Vernon High School）的职业教育项目能更好一些，她更愿意建议一些学生离开为上大学做准备的教育轨道。她说，在过去10年间，烹饪、护理、牙科和加热和通风系统维修等课程被取消了。在今年的毕业生中，或许仅有1%的学生完成了职业培训课程，而十年前的这一比例为40%。
还有另一条反驳别上大学的理由：美国劳工统计局的资料显示，拥有大学学位的人通常比没有上过大学的人挣得多，失业风险更低。
平均而言，甚至那些上过几年大学的人，也比那些仅仅高中毕业的人挣得多，而且面临更低的失业风险，西北大学校长、经济学家莫顿·夏皮罗（Morton Schapiro）如是说。
“即使你没有得到那个用羊皮做的证书，你也会获得一些回报，”夏皮罗说。
他警告说，对于那些或许不会将所学知识直接应用于所选工作的人来说，不要忽视大学教育（即便是一个不完整的经历）带来的无形收益。
“这不仅仅关乎经济回报，”他说。“无论你是否完成大学学业，上大学有助于培养审美力，有助于改善健康状况和投票行为。”
尽管如此，在提醒不可能获得大学学位的学生对前方的危险道路保持警觉方面，高中指导老师和教师现在做得还不够。罗森鲍姆教授说。
“我不是在说，不要拿学士学位，”他说。“我说的是，高中毕业之后，让一些学生先获得一些资质，取得一定的进步，然后，如果他们想进一步深造的话，他们就可以这样做。”
本文由由译言网Kevin.Ren提供