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Christa Wike English 112-15 Megan Keeton 2 May 2013

Freeman, Melissa. "Removing Stigmas of Vocational School Will Improve U.S. Education." 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2013. http://www.policymic.com/articles/3322/removingstigmas-of-vocational-school-will-improve-u-s-education This article Melissa shows that attending a Vocational school is not a bad thing, and there is nothing that should be looked down upon. Melissa uses several statistics to show how average Americans perceive the role of Higher Education, and how removing the stigmas of Vocational schools could open up so many doors for future children and expanding their knowledge of what a College is. The recent Presidential election has affected sentiments that everyone should want to go to college; he specifically used the word not Vocational or secondary as if they are not an option. Melissa also shows how the perception of College changed dramatically after World War II when all of the Veterans came home from war they would receive with one year of schooling. This put a spike in university enrollment, because now everyone could go to college The belief is that going to a university will put students on the path to success and happiness, and only a four-year university can get you there. In our world today stigmas are very significant on students, the students are persuaded by the smallest things and any negative influence can change their view points. In todays society citizens think that students that did not want to attend college after graduation need special encouragement, but maybe thats not the case. Four year Universities arent the right choice for everyone, but yet the stigma that we

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have put on the children is that everyone does and there are no other options. The article was very strong in proving their points of showing how universities are better, but they never showed the other side. Weaknesses of this article are that they were narrow minded they did not care to express other options or even the fact that there were other options. This is why there are so many different options that people can choose from in todays culture, such as Vocational schools and Community Colleges. Having other choices is a great thing, not all students learn the same. So they all shouldnt be taught the same. Im going to use this article to prove how the society has too much input on what people believe, and to illustrate how people go off of stigmas and past beliefs just because of what they have heard in the past I will show what Vocational Education can offer is amazing and how they save time and money while still offering you the same education as going to a 4 year University. This article has statistics based on how people feel about Community colleges and Vocational schools, or that they are not equal to a 4 year University. There is a need to show that they have important traits to be taught and how the manner of their teaching styles work. This information will help my point of removing past stigmas, and moving vocational education into a new light. According to a Pew Research poll, only 50% of all females and 37% of males who have graduated from four-year colleges give the U.S. higher education system excellent or good marks for the value it provides, especially given the money spent by these students and their families. Many people prefer to learn outside a classroom or dont enjoy the broad general education college requires, and the current perception of education in the U.S. prevents them from meeting their needs.

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America needs to remove the stigmas associated with a vocational education so that the system may grow, which will in turn improve the American education system as a whole and the value student receive from it.

Levinson, David L. Community College A reference Book. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara, USA: N.p., 2005. Print.

The book Community College written mainly by David Levinson, describes many parts of Vocational Education, from the funding to why they use certain methods of teaching. He talks about how the main focus of a Vocational/ Trade school is to provide students with skill-based curriculum without the cost of a Liberal Arts School. Basic missions for Community Colleges are to ease the transitions from High school to Vocational School to Work place; such skills are not taught at your average 4 year University. Vocational schools do not depend on Marketing or anything else to get people in the doors of their school, they just need people who want to learn a specialized skill that can lead them to a job opportunity not a pointless degree. The book showed how the success rate in vocational schools are much higher due to their tech-prep programs; vocational programs are oriented towards training for the workplace, rather than teaching a study about a certain field. Throughout the book he talked about how you are taught through hands on experience rather than taking classes that will later help you earn a degree in a broad field of study. After completion you have direct entry into a specific occupation rather than a wide range of work. They can achieve this type of academic achievement die to their combination of academic and vocational courses that are linked into advanced technical education programs in community colleges. These hands on experiences clearly develop not only concepts of their job choice but technical competencies.

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I plan on using this book to help me show people how we have so many Vocational schools around people just dont know. For instance most people dont know that a Community college is considered a Vocational/Trade schools and how their teaching is the same as a 4 year Liberal University. The only major difference between the two is number one the price, and numbers two the personal experience that you receive from being able to actually talk to your teacher on a personal level. Most people still only view Vocational schools as High schools or auto tech, nothing more. Tech-Prep programs would include applied academic instruction-Teaching academic materials in a practical, hands-on way- and the development of clearly defined technical and academic competencies. Instead of watering down of neglecting academic content, schools were to find effective ways, to teach students who learn best through tangible experience. Defined in a number of ways, the liberal arts are held to represent a compendium of disciplinary knowledge that a well-rounded person possesses. Typically, this includes a basic understanding of the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences. In contrast, vocational and technical education are often looked down upon. Vocational Training-programs that are oriented toward training for the workforce In community colleges, it is typically associate of applied science programs that are vocationally oriented, in contrast to associate of science or arts programs, which are oriented towards transferable to a four year college.

Ranadive, Vievk. "A Liberal Arts Degree Is More Valuable Than Learning Any Trade Forbes." Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. Forbes,

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13 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/vivekranadive/2012/11/13/a-liberal- arts-degree-is- morevaluable-than-learning-any-trade/>. Going to school to earn a Liberal Arts degree will help you throughout your life not just one small job during your life span, this is the main point Vievk stressed in this article. Learning one trade is not beneficial to a person, there is a huge chance in todays fast pace world that your job will be obsolete in a matter of years. This means there needs to be more of a surplus of Liberal Education because that will be the knowledge and key of the future. As of now we as a country are competing not only with other countries but with computers and technology as well, these are slowly taking over the left brain jobs. Society needs to teach people how to use their information to connect the dots and help our economy climb. Vievk showed his strong opinion of how trade schools are bad for everyone because learning one trade is not beneficial to ones self. Even though he quoted himself as the poster child for a left-brained education, he continued to prove his point of how he made it his life goal to learn things in which he knew nothing of. Showing how it was valuable for him to expand his mind by thinking creatively and generate ideas, all which are traits that he doesnt believe trade schools offer. He went on to talk about how vocational education does not teach basic life skills, that are other wise offered at a four year university in a liberal arts setting, and how students wouldnt be able to make it without these skills. Traits like decision making are not taught at trade schools because when you are there you are taught how to do one specific job. He used points like that to show that vocational schools are only trait oriented. I plan to use this article as my counterpoint to show how close minded people are when it comes to how people perceive vocational schools ,and to prove that they are close minded and do

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not see the benefits that they provide to blue collar workers and where we would be if we didnt have vocational schools. Also to prove the point that not everyone is a critical thinker and can work in an office job, some people need to be able to work with their hands and use the knowledge that they learned from a young child to do something that makes them happy. Left brain and right brain people need to be able to work together, with only one everyone would be alike and thats no fun. Ive made it a lifelong habit to do things I know nothing about. So, if anyone is the poster child for a left-brained education, its me. However, I still believe a liberal arts degree is more of an asset than learning any trade. Any job that can be outsourced eventually will be, from IT to back-office medical of financial work, for a fraction of the cost. Also whatever can be done by a computer will be done by a computer. The people who will succeed in more expensive labor markets like the U.S. will be those who can think creatively and generate the ideas that will propel economic growth. Such skills are best fostered in a traditional liberal arts environment. If anything, I think we should make liberal arts education more rigorous. If, you teach students one trade, that skill might be obsolete in a few years. But if you teach people how to think and look at lots of information and connect the dots- all skills that a classic liberal education gives you-you will thrive. Clark, Kim. "Community Colleges: Cheaper but Not Necessarily Better - College Knowledge (usnews.com)." US News & World Report | News & Rankings | Best Colleges, Best Hospitals, and more. N.p., 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 6 Mar. 2013.

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<http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/collegeknowledge/2009/01/09/communitycolleges-cheaper-but-not-necessarily-better>. Kim speaks about how Community colleges are a waste of and the little money that people spend to attend community colleges could affect their income in the long run of things. Kim does show that she understands that the economy is at a very low point and it can be a very bold move to take out student loans, only to have to pay them back after graduation. She points out the fact that the money you spend at a community college could change your way off life. Buying a smaller education; buys you a smaller salary. Kim speaks of the seven steps in which one needs to go through when picking a community college, to ensure that at the end of their education they are set on a path to succeed. She shows how the steps are valuable learning tools in which students need to focus on when determining which will best suit their needs of education. Her main point was of how attending a four year university without doing the proper research could in fact ruin your life goals and take away from your work earnings. This article shows that she did the research herself and that it has been a useful path for students to follow to put them on a path to success. I intend to use this article to show how people are secure minded of what community colleges (vocational schools) can offer, to help show how community colleges dont only save you money for your education, but how it can help you in the long run because you do not have student loans to pay off upon graduation. Melissa unintentionally helped me show that students who attend community college receive more help from teachers, because of smaller class sizes students actually have a bond with their teachers and can go to them for help, not hurt their education.

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Counselors across the county warn, however, that sometimes students get what they pay for.

Choosing a two-year college could actually harm students long term prospects. Since employers tend to pay those who actually earn a degree more than those whove had only a few years of college, saving a few thousand dollars on tuition when you are 18 might end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime if you get discouraged in community college and dont persevere to a bachelors.

Trell, Lauren. "Is Vocational Education the Future of Our Youth? By Lauren Trell and Jonathan Sawits | NY Teachers." NY Teachers | A blog on issues surrounding curriculum and the profession of teaching. N.p., 7 Feb. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. <http://nyteachers.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/is-vocational-education-the-future-of-ouryouth-by-lauren-trell-and-jonathan-sawits/>. Lauren and Jonathan state that vocational education is the future of our youth in America, it has been a long time coming but the information has come about that it is one of the best schooling opportunities we can offer. It has come to site that not every student is meant to attend a 4 year university and they should not have to if it is not right for them, this is the main reason in which we need to offer more vocational education in America. Other countries, such as Europe have offered vocational education for many years and all of them say that they take pride in their schooling, as should we. Lauren and Jonathan try to offer both sides of the article showing their opinion of how vocational schooling is beneficial and then why some people believe that it is not. In the long run of their article they show why they are right and the reasons to back it up. They spoke of how we

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needed to train all kids in America for all of the jobs, not just the high paying ones. They showed how beneficial it would be to have more vocational schools and offer vocational education to stop neglecting the students who are better suited for less academic careers. The part that really makes their argument strong is when they start comparing between the two options, this shows that they are not afraid to talk about the benefits and downfalls of their points. I plan to use this article to show how knowing both sides of vocational schools can only show you how wonderful they are, to express how there is a strong need for them in our society so that we can educate all students, not just the ones who want to be doctors and lawyers. If thats all we had in society we would not have cars or interpreters or anyone who is an individual. Being an individual is something that is not taught at a four year university, but is at a trade school. Many believe that by educating our students in this fashion we neglect those students who would be better suited for a less academic career in the long run. This would provide students the choice to advance to a vocational high school and pursue a less academic career path that could be very fitting for many students. However, half of the jobs created in the next decade will be well matched to those with associates degrees or vocational or technical training, including middle skills jobs such as construction manager or dental hygienist, it stays. Many of those jobs pay more than jobs typically help by workers with only high school diplomas, and some even pay more than the average job held by a fouryear college graduate.

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Europe has been using the vocational education system for many years. They pride themselves on being able to give a more complete education, by preparing students for their career jobs at an earlier age.

On one hand, there may be certain side-effects, however, the benefits far outweigh them.