Baltimore Sun: More than one path to success
It's time for our schools to move beyond a focus on college preparation, which drives many black and Hispanic youths to drop out
There is a disconnect in the American education system. Blacks and Hispanics drop out of school in huge numbers, leading to high incarceration rates. Meanwhile, the schools impose a one-size-fits-all curriculum that envisions four-year college as a universal goal and marginalizes and minimizes alternative career paths.It's time to connect the dots. Real reform, especially in large urban school districts, cannot occur until we recognize the reality that many students will not attend a four-year college - and provide alternative avenues to success for those students.
In his speech to Congress in February, President Barack Obama correctly noted, "The U.S. has one of the highest dropout rates of any industrialized nation," and said, "Our children will compete for jobs in a global economy that too many of our schools do not prepare them for." He recommended that students must "commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training."
Noble goals indeed - but first things first. Students need to graduate from high school before than can aspire to anything grander.
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