All children are required to graduate high school, but pursuing higher education is only recommended. While high school curriculum is designed to prepare students for higher education, students learn essential career readiness skills while enrolling in higher education classes. Since students are not obliged to pursue higher education, many students who decide not to continue their education lack the skills necessary for future careers.
While some schools hope to implement career readiness for either all their students or for only the students who do not wish to pursue college, other schools do not want to offer career readiness programs as they believe that it offers incentives for students not to attend college. Schools should require all students to take career readiness classes as it provides all students with necessary skills that can be used both in higher education and future careers. One option is to require all students to take career readiness programs since they can be used once students enter the workforce.
Skills that are necessary in the workforce such as key cognitive strategies, content knowledge, and relevant techniques can benefit both groups of students: those that wish to attend college and those who wish to skip college and go straight into the workforce. Unless they intend on never working, students can use the skills taught in career readiness programs at one point in their life. For the students who plan on working right away, they will receive immediate use of these skills as they start engaging in different careers. Even though they never attended college, these students can be prepared for all the demands of working.
For the students who plan on attending college to further increase their knowledge on these skills, the foundation provided in high school will offer them an advantage in college, resulting in more successful workers. Since all students benefit from taking this program, schools should make this course an obligation for every student. Others believe that another option is to offer career readiness programs for the students who do not wish to continue school after high school and who have a high risk of dropping out. Initially, the logistics of this option seem ideal as it targets the ble students while keeping the students who are pursuing further education unaffected. Although this option targets the group of students that need career readiness programs the most, it provides incentives for all students to consider not attending college in the future.
When students who are planning on attending college realize that only those students who are planning on stopping their education after high school are able to take these beneficial classes, they will consider not attending college so they can learn these skills while they are already required to be in school. fix wording Overall, this option fails to consider the possible incentives that could arise as a result of offering career readiness programs to only the students who do not plan on furthering their education. However, some believe that college is the best way to train students future workers and do not wish to offer any additional classes for the students who do not want to attend college. This option encourages all students to strive for further education since the school does not offer any classes that would be repeated in college.
Instead, students would understand that attending college would provide them with additional skills needed for them to succeed in the future. In fact, learning these skills in college are even more beneficial as they focus on a certain field of study, teaching students more in-depth skills relating to their preferred area of work, rather than giving students a general overview of all the skills in high school, before students have decided on their future career plans. Despite the benefits, this option promotes failure for the students who are planning on stopping their education after high school.
Without an opportunity to even learn about the skills they could be lacking, this option leaves students ignorant to the necessary skills of the workforce, causing these students to lead unsuccessful lives and contributing to an unqualified and uneducated workforce. As a whole, the first option mentioned is the most beneficial as it provides all students with equal opportunities to succeed by offering career readiness programs for every single student. Skills learned through career readiness programs such as cognitive thinking and content knowledge can be utilized both in the workforce and while pursuing higher education.
In college, cognitive skills are essential in many aspects including comprehending texts and writing papers. In addition, the career readiness programs offered in high school can help college students decide on their major. Since the program in high school offers students a basic understanding of skills need in the workplace, students can build on their knowledge in college while focusing their studies on skills that they found interesting while attending the high school level class. Since some students do not plan to attend college in the future, schools can no longer lack career readiness classes.
