just for fun - stereotypes and misconceptions...

[bssage]

Why is it so devastating if kids decide not to go to college? <U><I>Its not devastating. But it is more difficult. You will only be looked at for entry level positions and not be in any position to negotiate better benefits. If you have neither work experience or college you likely only qualify for very base entry level jobs. The only people below that would be, no work experience and no high school.</I></U>

If they don't want to go but go anyway do they just study any old thing just so they can so "I went to college"? Or do you only go to college if there is something specific you wish to study? <U><I>I believe you can spend some time (maybe one and a half to two yrs) doing some fundamental prerequisite classes then decide. And I also believe there are some degree's which are more generic and cover a broader range of employment. A business degree for example.</I></U>

Are apprenticeships and traineeships acceptable? <U><I>There are but they are few and far between.</I></U> <U><I>Nepotism or "knowing the right people" play a large part in who is generally considered for these. We do have Trade schools for skilled/semi skilled jobs.</I></U> Is choosing to forgo college and go at a later stage of life acceptable? <I><U>Yes it is and many like myself do this. You can only get so far on good looks. But really once you move up the pay scale you will eventually reach jobs which require a degree or equivalent experience to be considered.</U></I>

Do kids defer college for a year or too and travel? Is it acceptable to work straight after highschool and work one's way up in their career that way instead of going to college? <U><I>Yes</I></U>

I am a big believer that "people skills" play as big a part, if not bigger, in how successful you will ultimately be. If you can couple "people skills" with a solid degree from a respectable institution your in a win, win situation.

 

[bssage]

are all Canadians nice??

 

[Mulligrubs]

We have universities here and we call them universities, colleges are generally...maybe what you call community college?

The universities is where you get your degrees, masters, doctorates etc....TAFE, and other colleges would be where you get your certificates, associate diplomas, and your diplomas.

Apprenticeships and traineeships are quite big here...my daughter's school, for instance, recognises that not everyone is a scholar or an accademic and they have a program to put young people into apprenticeships and traineeships after year 10 and for those who stay in school...after year 12. They also would help you find you a job and some of those jobs incorporate further study/training.

University isn't the be all and end all and it really depends on what you want to do with your life. If you want to be a lawyer...then you go to uni...a doctor = uni etc etc If you want to be a hairdresser, then you would get an apprenticeship in a salon and they will put you through the training you need, on the job as well as study through TAFE.

Trades are big here,,,,and there's big money in them since they most likely will never become redundant....One would usually enter an apprencticeship whether they finish school or not....and by the end of it they will be fully qualified.

The focus here in australia is work ethic, nobody cares what job you have as long as you are able to support yourself...those who want to further themselves within their chosen career can do so at anytime really...they can work their way up pay levels each year or they can fast track it by doing courses....usually online ones...some uni courses some not.

 

[stjohnjulie]

I am a big believer that "people skills" play as big a part, if not bigger, in how successful you will ultimately be. If you can couple "people skills" with a solid degree from a respectable institution your in a win, win situation.

I've always said that college/university is more about networking than it is about learning. I have countless idiot friends who are in high paying positions because they are people people.

I think that too much importance is put on university in the US. I think there is a certain negative stigma attached to trade schools. Like you only go to them if you can't do anything else.

Where I live now... the education system is really bad. And there are a lot of people here who do not have high school diplomas. And there are a lot of people who call going to prison 'going to school'. Because that is where they get their education

The biracial thing... Xero, I grew up in an area that had mostly white people and one town that was mostly black people (divided by a river). It always really bothered me that there was that kind of distinct segregation. And biracial relationships were few, and not viewed in a positive way. Now when I visit the area, I can see that things have changed. Biracial relationships are more accepted. More so on one side of the river than the other.... but more accepted overall.

Where I live now, we are almost a 50/50 split between black and white. But most of the white people who live here are not 'born here' as they say. So there is a complex kind of racism here that I have never experienced before. For the most part, everyone is accepting, but the handful that are not can be quite vocal about their views. But for the younger generation... I'd have to say that there are a ton of 'blendy babies' as I like to call them. When our little ones grow up I think they are going to help drown out the few racist voices we have left.

 

[MomoJA]

If you want to be a lawyer...then you go to uni...a doctor = uni etc etc If you want to be a hairdresser, then you would get an apprenticeship in a salon and they will put you through the training you need, on the job as well as study through TAFE. .

It's essentially the same here, but our schools are not really geared for this. We are going this way more and more, but our curriculum is "backwards designed" for univeristy (which is wrong IMO). It should be "backwards designed" for basic skills that EVERYONE needs in life, regardless of what career they end up pursuing. This would allow for us to focus more on communication skills and the people skills that bssage mentioned. Those who then wanted to study a trade, could go to a trade school or get an apprenticeship, and those who wanted to go to university could go to a lycee or college as you call it in Australia.

Trades are big here,,,,and there's big money in them since they most likely will never become redundant....One would usually enter an apprencticeship whether they finish school or not....and by the end of it they will be fully qualified..

There is big money in some trades here in the US as well. And entrepreneuership is big here as well. I know men my age who got their starts running a little snoball shop or a lawn-mowing business, and are now millionaires.

The focus here in australia is work ethic, nobody cares what job you have as long as you are able to support yourself...those who want to further themselves within their chosen career can do so at anytime really...they can work their way up pay levels each year or they can fast track it by doing courses....usually online ones...some uni courses some not.

I have to say that the US was founded on work ethic. That whole Puritan belief in predetermination and the Puritan/Protestant non-belief in frivolity were all part and parcel of the belief that to serve God you had to work, work, work.

And I think, in fact I know that Americans respect hard work and especially someone who has "pulled himself up by his bootstraps." Where things get warped is when we discuss education.

There are those who think that education should be the great equalizer and so everybody should be prepared for the highest level of education. The idea of equality, however, gets twisted with the idea of "same." For example, I recently had a discussion with a curricula writer about the sorts of writing assignments we were asked to give our students. The assignment in question was to write a poem. I said that some students were never going to be able to write a poem and writing a poetry analysis was much more to the point as it would better allow for practice of and measurement of the objectives. I was immediately shot down and scolded for not expecting the best from my students. I LOVE teaching poetry, but that's not the point.

 

[bssage]

One area where I really think the ball has been dropped in the US is fiscal responsability. We spend all our time trying to get kids into colleges . While spending a fairly insignificant amount of time showing them what to do and what is expected of them to do with their money.

What about other countries??

 

[DFWRusty]

On the football and cheerleading Q- In my area, which is central Texas, this is probably bigger than pro football and college football. We are talking about some serious business lol! It will shut down an entire town for a few hours!

Bi-ratial couples- Believe it or not, most people in Texas dont really mind or care. Of course there will always be a few towns that do not accept it, but for the most part people as a whole accept it.

College- In this area, I'd say it's more of a status thing than a need. I think a lot of families feel they have to send their kid off to a big name school so that they can keep up with the smith's next door. A lot of guys here make tons of money working in the oil industry.

 

[alter ego]

One area where I really think the ball has been dropped in the US is fiscal responsability. We spend all our time trying to get kids into colleges . While spending a fairly insignificant amount of time showing them what to do and what is expected of them to do with their money.

What about other countries??

I do think this is an issue with my generation. So many of my friends had credit card debts by age 19 (I was a mum by then, so no hope of getting into debt thankfully hahaa)
personally our kids are involved with the budgeting, and have allowances to by their own wants, so have to budget. fingers crossed!