Vocational/Technical High School - Liberty.me

Vocational/Technical High School

Mighty Mag October 14, 2014 at 12:20 am

As far as I (currently) understand it, vocational or technical high schools are still public schools. They receive tax money to operate and cannot make a profit. While I don’t think that is a good model to operate on, it is what it is for this discussion, I guess.

I personally don’t know where I stand on the idea of tax-based practical skill instruction (especially if good apprentice programs exist). For the time being, however, they do serve a purpose since most states don’t allow apprenticeships to substitute as “good enough” education. (I disagree, but whatever.)

I guess I would just like to know what people think on this topic. Do you think that these programs are underutilized? Should more high school students go through these programs and learn a so-called practical skill to enter the job force? Are they simply an over-skilled babysitting program? Are they a valuable tool as an alternative to the current state of public school or for kids who don’t want to or won’t ever go to college?

Thoughts?

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Anonymous October 14, 2014 at 2:38 am

Hi Mag, I wen’t to a vocational college for my final 2 years of high school. I was well suited to it as I had no intention of ever going to college (hindsight is a bitch) but I learn’t so many practical skills that I now use every day. I must say, I have never used 99% of the stuff I learn’t in normal high school studies, but all the trade training I got in metal work, engineering, marine studies, computer studies….I use this stuff every day.

The school did provide a teenage daycare in some circumstances…you really didn’t have to do anything if you didn’t want to…but the majority of students who went there were able to secure apprenticeships before they finished. It was a catholic school so there was some parental contribution but it was also funded by the govt. If the government was taken out of the picture, parents may not have been so willing to send the time wasters there if the fees were higher.

In terms of an alternative in the current statist world, I think they are great. Way too many people go to university and get degrees that they never use. A diesel fitter or driller in Australia can pull in 150-200k a year because there is such a shortage of qualified guys.

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Mighty Mag October 14, 2014 at 9:43 am

Awesome, Tom! I know that I went to college, graduate school, quit grad school, and went back to a technical education. Now, I own a business in the field that I got the technical education in, and while my undergrad does help and inform my choices daily, I wouldn’t be here without my technical degree.

Do you think that the model you went in with (parents paying part of the tuition in some cases) would fly here and keep the more trouble-making types out of these schools? I don’t know that I have seen a votech school where parents pay part of the tuition or supplies outright, so I am curious about your experience in that realm, if you care to discuss.

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