I’m a father of a 9th grader in West Virginia. This past spring, she was required to choose a concentration after a brief evening orientation meeting in which the general requirements were discussed. No individual guidance nor in depth discussion of the details or implications of their choices. Just here it is….go make choices. Well OK…until you dig into the details. Because of the early requirements of these concentrations, especially in math and sciences, a student picking one may not be able to switch later without doing some remedial work e.g., taking on extra classes during the year or taking classes in summer school. This is especially true for a student picking a concentration in the arts or literature that may decide later to move into a concentration n the health sciences or engineering/science. In addition to picking a concentration, they must also pick or request a track, in essence Advanced Placement, college track (which, in the details, would find them non-competetive for anything above a mid-level university or college)or career/technical school/trades track).
I don’t believe that college is the right answer for everyone and there are certainly many valuable, well-paying jobs in the trades and technical tracks. We need great people doing those jobs too. My concern is that we are forcing children to self-select a life’s course before they have the requisite perspective and experience to do so.
How horrible that we are forcing children, BEFORE they even enter high school, to make life and career decisions. My daughter has a good head on her shoulders and can achieve at the highest levels should she choose to but…she doesn’t have the perspective nor maturity to make these decisions. Children at this age are very susceptible to making choices based on social considerations…..what are her friends taking or what’s the “cool” major. Further, they are asked to consider careers in engineering, science, health, the trades, etc. before they have been exposed to them in any meaningful way (beyond the general science presented in middle and elementary school). By the time they have an opportunity to be exposed to a particular science or technical subject, it will be too late to change concentration or track without significant extra time and effort as discussed above.
At our urging, my daughter has already taken a summer school course before she started 9th grade just to preserve as many options as possible. But not every child has the foresight nor time to do the same. My wife and I will work with my daughter as she moves through her high school years, ensuring she is preserving as many options as she can and is making good life choices. Sadly, not every child will have that guidance…and may end up having made a choice as a 13 year old that may dictate the course of their adult lives.
Dad in WV
