In response to my blog about “A Confusing Job Market,” a reader proposes that the Department of Education merge with the Department of Labor.
Maybe the U.S. Dept. of Labor and the U.S. Dept. of Education should work together. In order to save money and improve test scores my suburban/urban ring high school has eliminated auto, electricity, wood-shop, culinary arts, and child development. Aren’t schools supposed to prepare students for employment and civic responsibility? The Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table 6, lists the 30 occupations with the most employment growth – http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t06.htm. It’s clear that ALL children don’t need to go to college. It’s also becoming clear that education is becoming the newest pyramid scheme. I’ve noticed a proliferation of post-secondary career and technical schools which teach skills that used to be taught in comprehensive high schools.
What careers do standardized tests prepare students for? Psychometrician? I don’t see it listed in the top 30. |
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This is not a new idea. Before there was a federal Department of Education, there was the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. As the federal government’s programs grew, HEW became too large, and discussions began about breaking it up. One proposal was to have a Department of Education and Labor, but eventually the two were separated into two departments. It might have made just as much sense to have a Department of Health and Education, had we honored the age-old principle of “a sound mind in a sound body.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So next year in our state all students will be able to use vouchers to obtain training and classes not taught at the high school. So with the budget cuts done to save money we will still be paying for 50% of the fees for these kids to get the skills and training we cut from the schools? The money wasn’t there for the after school programs with tutoring so now the vouchers will pay 50% of the cost for them to go to a for profit tutoring center? I must have heard the message wrong. This can’t be right? Did I miss something?
Although I think education serves as an invaluable resource to life-long well-being, the importance of both education and health are such that they should stay apart. The same with the merging education and labour. It is important to have conversations, but they serve different purposes for people at different times in their lives.
The other risk is that in a day and age of corporate influences in education, will the door open for more without being fully checked.