Epsilon Delta
Jedi Master
You know, a big problem is the fact that there's not really much of a middle ground in the United States - it's either High School or College Degree and higher. In Europe, Canada and elsewhere there's a middle ground, technical, vocational etc. schools, they're better than high school degrees but lower than full college degrees and they're massively encouraged. I'm sure there's some sort of equivalent in the United States but it's nothing like in say, Germany, where the distinctions start way before in high school, there's separate tracks that people go to depending on their plans afterwards, a track for people who only want to get a HS degree, a track for people who want to go into technical/vocational training, and a track for people who want to go to college; there's not really a stress in "college-or-nothing" type of mantra anymore. There was a good report from the OECD last year but I can't be bothered to find it right now that went at length with it.
I think the major problem is a total lack of imagination and a paralysis in the US federal and state governments, especially now. It's like you can't do anything. Can't change anything. Can't come up with any solutions because everybody's riddled with debt. It's like a big fucking ship lumbering at sea with no direction and the Captain squabbling with the Crew over where to go while the passangers are all just sort of zombying around. Who knows how long this can last.
And it's a shame, really. The only hope for the United States is education one way or another. If it can't jump into the high-tech bandwagon there's really nothing left for it to do. Before it was ok, because, you know, if you didn't have a college degree maybe you could make cars or a VCR, now those job's are entirely gone and there was nothing anybody could've done about it. Nowadays if you don't have a degree you're going to work at McDonald's, and nobody wants to do that, so of course you're going to mortgage your future for... your future. And the dismal state of math and science education means most people are indeed going for useless degrees instead of the math, science, and engineering degrees which are needed to further the productive economy.
It's a tough issue.
I think the major problem is a total lack of imagination and a paralysis in the US federal and state governments, especially now. It's like you can't do anything. Can't change anything. Can't come up with any solutions because everybody's riddled with debt. It's like a big fucking ship lumbering at sea with no direction and the Captain squabbling with the Crew over where to go while the passangers are all just sort of zombying around. Who knows how long this can last.
And it's a shame, really. The only hope for the United States is education one way or another. If it can't jump into the high-tech bandwagon there's really nothing left for it to do. Before it was ok, because, you know, if you didn't have a college degree maybe you could make cars or a VCR, now those job's are entirely gone and there was nothing anybody could've done about it. Nowadays if you don't have a degree you're going to work at McDonald's, and nobody wants to do that, so of course you're going to mortgage your future for... your future. And the dismal state of math and science education means most people are indeed going for useless degrees instead of the math, science, and engineering degrees which are needed to further the productive economy.
It's a tough issue.
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