There seems to be a mentality in this country that if you work a blue collar job, you’re some kind of idiot who couldn’t hack it in school.
Not only is such an argument complete nonsense, it serves only to dissuade young people from pursuing honorable and important jobs. And that’s a shame.
Think about it. . .
I know investment bankers who can afford $70,000 SUVs, but can’t drive them unless a mechanic can fix them when they break down.
I know a lawyer who live in a small mansion, but doesn’t know how to fix the furnace if it craps out during the dead of winter. No, someone has to come and repair that furnace to ensure that his family is kept safe and warm during those below zero days we seem to be getting more and more of.
I know CPAs who dine like royalty every night Yet most couldn’t grow a single vegetable or slaughter a single animal if they had to. No worries though, because a faceless farmer does all that dirty work. You know, so they can live.
This idea that blue collar jobs require little skill or little intelligence is absurd.
Do you know how to rebuild an internal combustion engine? Can you grow enough food to feed thousands of people every year – and do so on a very limited budget?
Truth is, many blue collar jobs require a very high level of intelligence. And we dismiss this reality at our own peril. Texas, I’m talking to you!
The following was recently featured in an AP article. . .
The state [Texas] that started a trend by making high school students tackle algebra II is now abandoning the policy in a move praised by school districts for affording more flexibility. . .Supporters say fewer course mandates give students more time to focus on vocational training for high-paying jobs that don’t necessarily require a college degree, such as at Toyota’s factory in San Antonio or oil and chemical giant BASF’s facilities on the Gulf Coast.
Folks, just because you don’t need a college degree to work some blue collar jobs doesn’t mean we should water down our education standards. It’s bad enough that this nation is overwhelmed with high school graduates that can’t read beyond an eighth-grade level or do even the most basic math and algebra equations.
We already have such low standards set for so many kids, why would we want to set them even lower?
You know, it’s OK for our electricians, plumbers, farmers and mechanics to reach their full potential while in school. In fact, it should be expected, not trivialized. Are we trying to make future generations dumber?!
Competition in the global marketplace is only going to get heavier, and we’re sitting here talking about eliminating Algebra II requirements in high school. By the way, millions of children in China and India are tackling Algebra II before they even step foot in middle school!
I don’t know about you, but I always thought that there were few things more American than healthy competition and hard work. So needless to say, it disgusts me when I hear about a bunch of lazy bureaucrats setting standards that do nothing but further erode the ability for this nation to compete in the 21st century.
