The Vocational Education Enigma

I found Jay Mathews’ Class Struggle this week particularly interesting. Vocational Education is a topic that I don’t hear discussed meaningfully nearly often enough. Probably because it involves facing realities that make those who believe in equal opportunity through education (myself included) pretty uncomfortable.

The e-mail exchange between Mathews and California HS Teacher Chris Peters covers both sides of this debate well. Most resonant to me on the Voc Ed side was the ‘elitism’ argument advanced by Peters. We all know that a four-year education culminating with a White Collar job is better-regarded than a HS degree and a Blue Collar one. Considering that most educators see themselves in the “equal opportunity” business, why would they ‘doom’ a kid (or allow a kid to consign himself) to a life of less prestige? Instead, let's just train every student to go to a 4-year college!

BUT. In the end, if a student has barely scraped by in a college prep track and cannot (because of financial barriers) or will not (because of personal preference) pursue higher education, is this a situation where our mighty ideals are actually preventing us from providing solid opportunities for kids that desperately need them? I’m convinced that the marginalization (and overall poor quality) of Voc Ed today is largely a function of our ambivalence toward the jobs at the other end of the vocational track.

Despite the practical possibilities of vocational education, I’m torn. I know how such programs have traditionally served as educational ghettos within schools, where kids learn neither the academic nor vocational skills they’ll need to hold a good job. And if part of the reason that these programs have been terrible is that we don't value the work for which they train students, is this likely to change?

The solution, I think, is two pronged. First, develop vocational programs that deserve respect. Second, respect them as a legitimate choice. The reality is that skilled labor jobs require literacy and math skills, and kids won’t be successful in turning HS vocational training into a stable job if they can’t read, problem solve, and compute. Solid training in a vocation shouldn't preclude a student’s further formal education, but establishing good vocational courses would require us to admit that 4-year college at age 18 isn't the right path for every student. That would be quite a shift for some of us!