Despite the title, it's not just White Girls that are useless, it's pretty much ALL the school-age kids - AND their chaperones.
If they wanted to send kids abroad who have some skills and work ethic, they could do worse than hit up the rural and mountainous regions to do so. In those places, either their parents have taught them useful skills, or they've got a vo-ed program in school. For example, the school I was working for the last years before retirement had a terrific Work Prep program. Among the skills learned:
- Welding
- Construction
- Carpentry
- Cosmetology
- Home Health Care/Nursing Assistant
- Commercial Cooking/Dietary Aide
Useful things, primarily. The kids took their studies seriously. During the time I was there, ALL the students in the Cosmetology program got their licensing on the first try (not an easy test, BTW - SC women take their beauty SERIOUSLY).
We could do that in our own country, as well. Rather than send kids who are not trained to assist to flooded parts of the country, have them fund-raise to help someone else. Save the do-gooder help for projects closer to home. Our cities and rural communities have LOTS of problems, and opportunities for kids to help. It might knock some of that "White Privilege" stuff out of them if they actually worked with some down & out pale-skinned people.
Maybe they would start seeing CLASS as the dividing point between privilege and non-privilege.
Problem is that the purpose of education at the high school level is to require more education: a.k.a. College.
ReplyDeleteHere they learn barely enough practical knowledge and virtually nothing worth while especially if they take (insert your special group name here) STUDIES.
The fact is that the kids that are STEM oriented generally are motivated enough to learn whatever they need to. The kids who are 'floating along' will end up with a diploma that is not worth the paper it is printed on and even less if the student cannot read it.
The quasi-intellectuals look down their nose at vocational training. Since no parent wants to think of their child as less mentally endowed, all students end up in an academic focused program even when their best skills are found elsewhere.
My boys were raised up until their teenage years when we had a farm and they learned every manner of skills necessary to get the jobs done and they understand and value hard work and are not afraid to get dirty if the job requires it. It was funny that when we moved to a town where most kids had never been on a farm that my sons' friends were amazed at the things my boys knew how to do and did without fuss.
Education these days reflects the society and the fascination that people have with the immediacy of communications. Between this and participation trophies it is a wonder our kids can do anything difficult at all.