According to Kathy Kristof, “Crushed by College,” the above attorneys were “victims of an unfolding education hoax on the middle class that’s just as insidious, and nearly as sweeping, as the housing debacle The ingredients are strikingly similar, too: Misguided easy-money policies that are encouraging the masses to go into debt; a self-serving establishment trading in half-truths that exaggerate the value of its product; plus a Wall Street money machine dabbling in outright fraud as it foists unaffordable debt on the most vulnerable marks” (Forbes, Feb 2, 2009).

There’s also the myth that if you go to college you make about $1 million more on average than a high school grad, once again, failed thinking. The belief is that it is college that is enabling the individual to make more money. Maybe it’s just that smart people go to college and are more likely to make more money than high school grads because of their smarts, and it has little to nothing to do with the degree. It’s failed cause effect thinking. There are many who have never gone to college or dropped out, like Bill Gates from Harvard, who don’t have a degree who are making cash hand over fist.

Even if you get a degree, there’s no promise that you’ll use it, need it, or that it will prepare you for the work you desire to take up. For example, I hear time and again that those who are now in business have little use for their business degree. Personally, I obtained a certificate in programming and had to get in at the entry level shuffling reports. I eventually got into programming, but I didn’t use any of the languages I learned and acquired all of my know-how on the job. Even my BA and MA in English did little to nothing to prepare me to teach grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and composition, all of which I learned on the job, once again. Interesting to note that an English major was not required to take even one grammar or composition class.

But there’s more to the story.

If you add the expense of going to college (tuition, fees, books, room & board: $46, 700 / yr. public schools; $99,000 yr. / private schools) what isn’t taken into consideration is that the “$1 million college over high school grad” advantage doesn’t kick in until the grad has been out of school twelve years or more (don’t forget to include the four years of college where no money is earned) before the loan is paid off.That is if you graduate (half entering college never do), don’t default on your loan (17% write offs), aren’t delinquent (upwards of 24%) and pay without interruption (many defer payments or file for hardships while interest continues to accrue).

On top of all this is the fact that private lenders add 10% “origination fees” onto 18% variable interest rates (there’s no legal limit). These private loans are now twice as profitable as government loans and has attracted financial institutions like Citigroup, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.

The arm of abuse extends far, for according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office, investigations have discovered “troubling, deceptive and often illegal practices . . . involving lenders, educational institutions and financial aid officials.” So those “sacrosanct” college and university staff are not as many perceive them to be.

Another thing that colleges, universities, and other institutions of learning (for profit) don’t tell American Dream hopefuls is the reality of what their degree can actually get them. Often times, as stated above, the curriculum to job or reality match is not even close. Some students are preached to about the great paying jobs they’ll get only to discover that it is those with years of experience or a greater degree and years of struggle that has “ensured” said success.

Here’s another sobering factoid:

“One in four college grads takes home considerably less than the top quartile of high school grads, according to a College Board study” (Kathy Kristof, “Crushed by College”).

Also, if you’re thinking of taking the traditional path to “job security” and the American Dream through being a doctor and opening up your private practice, think again.

In a recent survey only 18% of physicians deemed their practices financially stable. What with liability, exorbitant student loan debt ($155,000 average which has jumped from 20% of their average pay to 60%) and the fact that the self-employed don’t get considerable tax breaks like business owners or investors, the American dream here has moved into nightmare territory.

One day at a McDonalds, my wife and I were sitting next to a nanny with two children. Speaking in Spanish, she told us that she worked for a couple with private practices. They worked from seven in the morning until seven in the evening seeing their children for an hour before putting them to bed and going to bed themselves.Why? To survive.

Another consideration is a single income stream and its overall disadvantage. Even if the employee happens to be a college grad who has optimized her income (some $30,000 / yr. over what high school grads make), what happens when that steam dries up in these economically challenging times? where cost of living to income ration is the worst it’s ever been for single income employees. Never before has it been so challenging just to pay the bills never mind put away a little money for a “rainy day.” If the employee can’t work any longer for whatever reason (health, business or industry collapse, competition), what is a single-stream income employee to do?

It’s old thinking, out-dated thinking, failed thinking, and most of all, dangerous thinking. Never before has it been so critical, so essential that the individual understand that he is responsible for his financial future and that financial IQ is one of the most important elements of his ongoing education.

The American Dream has changed along with the economy and few are aware. There needs to be an awakening to the facts that achievement of the American Dream through college and “job security” are things of the past and that people need to quickly get up to speed as to what needs to be done to survive financially through the working years into retirement. Little of what is needed relies on a college degree. Just ask the experienced. They’ll tell you the truth. No lie.

Teachers . . .

If you listen without judgment and with your child’s best interest in mind, they can tell you a lot. And remember, they are not the enemy. What? You think they went into teaching for the power, fame, glory, and prestige of it all? No. They do it because they love teaching and they love your children. Help them by listening to what they have to say below. This is a compilation of thought from experienced teachers from several states.

But if we really want to improve education, we may turn to another source . . .

Students.

What’s wrong with the system? Since they are on the receiving end, you’d be amazed what they can tell you. Maybe adults too far removed from the process in experience and in mind (PhDs over-thinking with impractical theory) don’t really get it.

Why we’ve stopped listening and supporting teachers and never really gone to the source in asking students what’s wrong may just be two of the most important steps we can take in improving education.

So take a listen at this juncture to at least hear what one half of the solution has to say, won’t you?

What Your Child’s Teacher Won’t Tell You

1. My first year of teaching, a fifth-grader actually threw a chair at me. I saw him recently, and he told me he just graduated from college. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.

2. I have parents who are CEOs of their own companies come in and tell me how to run my classroom. I would never think to go to their office and tell them how to do their jobs.

3. We don’t arrive at school 10 minutes before your child does. And we don’t leave the minute they get back on the bus. Many of us put in extra hours before and after school.

4. We are not the enemy. Parents and teachers really are on the same side.

5. The truth is simple: Your kid will lie to get out of trouble.

6. Encourage your child to keep reading. That’s key to success in the classroom at any age.

7. We can tell the difference between a parent helping their child with homework and doing it for them (especially when they’re clueless in class the next day).

8. Teaching is a calling. There’s not a teacher alive who will say she went into this for the money.

9. Just because your child says he did his homework doesn’t mean it’s true. You must check. Every night.

10. Teaching is not as joyful as it once was for many of us; we get jaded too. Disrespectful students and belligerent parents take a toll on us.

11. Parents give their kids the pricey gadgets and labels, but what kids really crave is for you to talk to them. They want to know you are interested in their lives.

12. We spend money out of our own pockets to buy things our students need, such as school supplies and even shoes.

13. Supportive, involved parents are crucial. But some are “helicopter parents”–they hover too much.

14. Having the summer off is great, but many of us have to take on extra jobs–teaching summer school, tutoring–to make ends meet.

15. Success is not achieved by just making kids memorize flash cards and prepping them for an Ivy League school. Sensible parents know there is a college for every kid, and that responsibility and good citizenship are what really drive success.

16. Nobody says “the dog ate my homework” anymore, but we hear a lot of “I left it on the kitchen table.” And then Mom will send in a note to back up the story.

17. We wish parents would make their kids own up to their actions instead of pressuring us to bend the rules.

18. Please stop doing everything for your child and allow them to make mistakes. How else will they learn? Kids are not motivated to succeed because they feel their parents will bail them out every time.

19. There are days when I just want to quit, but then that one smile from that one kid, changes it all.

Sources: American Federation of Teachers; interviews with elementary and middle school teachers in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and Texas. Adapted from interviews with teachers by Neena Samuel

The term “No child left behind” is often bandied about by politicians when talking reform. But can that federal ideal be achieved? when how children are educated and what they learn is not determined at the state level or even the district level-of which nationally there are roughly 15,000-but rather at the school and classroom level, even.

Why is this true? To get to the answer, let’s get a little history first.

Teachers used to determine on their own how to teach the chosen content going from one fashionable method to another: from students sitting in rows and columns to circles; from quiet classroom to lively, controlled classrooms; and so on. But amongst all this, it was still up to teachers as to what should be taught as well.

However, over the last 20 years states have generally begun to agree on standards, but the problem is defining clear and teachable standards that are not too broad or too narrow which often creates confusion. Ironically, this confusion often results in the states putting the responsibility of what to teach back on the teacher.

But even if a “standard” is determined, how is it determined? It’s generally done so by groups consisting of teachers and content experts. However, the proof is in the pudding. How do these groups know that what they are having children learn is actually used in the workforce to the greatest degree? Are these education-standard decision makers lost in pie-in-the-sky academic theory or feet-on-the-ground practical application?

How practical and useful is the education today’s grads receive?

Personally, I’ve done informal surveys in my classes and have asked students if they feel they will have a “great need” in their lives / careers for, say, algebra, geometry, chemistry, biology, English literature, history, and so on. Rarely do I see more than a hand or two go up for any discipline I choose. An interesting result.

Administrators and trustees may come up with educational guidelines and content standards, but how many surveys are taken five years or so after graduation to determine how much of what was learned is used by students and to what degree? Maybe a realistic analysis will not only take the guesswork out of building curricula but also motivate teachers and administrators to teach to a “practical” standard curriculum.

To take the informal analysis a step further, let’s look at what’s being taught and whether or not it’s actually needed by the majority who go into the workforce. Let’s begin with science and math, certainly twin stars in the eyes of educators and parents alike (“If only my little Johnny were into math or science . . . ahhhhhhhh . . .).

Let’s be practical. It’s wishful thinking to believe that the majority will use higher math (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc.) or science. Of course, the current desire by our government to encourage more math and science centered students is merely economical. It believes that the more people we can get into high-tech jobs the more competitive (read more money) America will be. Bottom line, will we catch up with the six countries we lag behind.

Certainly there are jobs in major occupational groups such as computer and mathematical; architecture and engineering; life, physical, and social sciences; but according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics that’s roughly about 5% of the labor force, give or take a few percentage points. The majority of jobs are in management, sales, health-care, protective services, food preparation and service, office and administrative support, construction, maintenance, production, and transportation. When is this reality ever addressed?

As an aside here, one reason we get lost in an inadequate perception of educational need is the peer pressure put on teachers and administrators to not only support popular ideas but to perpetuate their own jobs through self-fulfilling propaganda. Here’s an example:

According to Karin Chenoweth, senior writer with the Education Trust and author of How It’s Being Done: Urgent Lessons from Unexpected Schools, she states that “To be ready for, say, a plumbing apprenticeship or to get a job on an automobile assembly line or as a sales representative requires that students have fairly high reading and writing levels and have mastered math at least through Algebra II.”

Hardly.

If they desire to move up out of these positions, maybe. However, sometimes even the very successful need little education or desire to be educated beyond relevant or specific knowledge that directly pertains to their skill.

I personally know a man who did graduate from college–a prestigious California college– barely, and avoids books like the plague, but has developed a successful commercial real estate business. Another friend of mine never graduated from high school but runs a successful tree business that employs 80. And how about Bill Bartmann? a high school dropout who eventually went to college and graduated without a grade higher than “C,” then went onto law school, graduated to became a lawyer, quit that job and moved into business where he has made billions.

Learning how to learn, to think well (critically, intuitively, creatively, etc.), to build one’s knowledge base, skills, a productive attitude and good character are critical to success. But a formal, standard secondary education? One needs to understand its limitations, first and foremost. And the fact that no student is going to be forced to learn, or better yet, retain anything that is not of interest must be considered. Therefore, schools that unrealistically focus on what “We want kids to learn” is failed thinking and leaves out the most important part of the equation: the recipient. Do schools ever really focus on what the student wants? For once the formal institution’s influence is gone, the student left alone unto herself will in most cases begin to see what she desires and focus and build from there regardless of any institution’s “want.”

Another often forgotten point is the fact that even if a child loves a particular discipline all is lost if that knowledge is not kept fresh through constant use. Consider that within 24 hours 80% of what one reads is forgotten if not reviewed, then where does a high school grad stand months after graduation, especially graduation with grades that represent knowledge crammed in and spit out as quickly as possible after testing? An all too common event. Very rarely if ever do I run into students who focus on knowledge gained. The majority work to the grade not to the knowledge (another issue educators don’t address or overlook all too often).

But let’s get back to the national focus on math and science and finish our thinking on this issue.

Sure, I’d like an ideal world where we all have great paying, challenging jobs (utilizing high-end math skills, science and so on), but it’s not practical. The majority of jobs don’t require anything beyond arithmetic, something the majority of politicians, school board members, and parents don’t talk about. Math is pushed like everyone should learn it and that once that happens we’re in a safe haven, it’s the end-all and cure-all, life is good. Utopia here we come. But believing that marketing and selling math and science will get more interested, forget it, I’ve seen the level of math anxiety of anti-math students. It’s not a realistic fit. And also consider that less than a third of incoming college freshman are proficient, I said proficient, in basic math and writing skills, therein lies a major inhibitor in the belief that we are going to have an abundance of math and science students to fill the void.

Nevertheless, there should be a standard, and what the specifics of that standard entail should be determined by following graduates into the workforce seeing what is greatly needed and what is not. But once that’s accomplished that’s only the beginning.

Next, you have to get every teacher in every school in the nation on the same page which will greatly smooth out transition for the millions of students who move to a new school each year. Consider that not only does the new student have to adjust to a new culture, routine, students, but new curriculum as well. With a national standard, at least here the student will find familiarity.

By creating a national standard that means that teachers will have to collaborate. However, that’s not something that is part of the teacher’s professional development. And certainly teachers get together for meetings, but these meetings are often unfocused and waste time. By getting together with other teachers to discuss how to teach the new national standard, consult with each other and experts about a systematic, detailed way to teach it is, unfortunately, going against the norm. A complete overhaul of educating educators will have to be made in this regard.

And in order to get these norming sessions into practical action, teachers must focus on the controllable and on instruction not wandering into complaining or gossiping or rambling on about things not addressing instruction.

But other issues concerning what is not taught in schools that is so essential to our youth’s education that goes beyond standard curriculum are rarely addressed. Here’s a short list:

1) Finance: few students have the slightest inkling as to what they will need to survive on or thrive on while working toward and through retirement. Financial IQ is such an essential aspect of a responsible citizen of society it should go without saying, yet with the average American $10,000 in credit card debt and 95% of retirees relying on family, government, friends, and poor paying jobs to get by you’d think someone would have added this to high school curricula decades ago.

2) Relationships: One’s ability to get along with others is priceless. The number of employers, colleagues, and peers who prefer likability over skill and know-how (much more easily taught) should point to the dire need for relations and relationship building to be taught in high schools. And with the foundation of any society relying on the family and with the divorce rate hovering around 50% . . . need I say more?

3) How to Deal With Adversity: What happens when one loses their job? What happens when a business goes under? What happens when a rift occurs at the work place? These critical situations must be discussed and worked through as best as one can without having actually experienced them to at least prepare the individual so he / she is not completely caught off guard when a difficulty in this regard arises.

4) Character: No amount of education, talent, ability, skill or gift can compensate or make up for the self-sabotaging nature of poor character.

5) Ongoing personal development

6) Understanding and utilizing motivation

7) Self-improvement for personal and professional gain

Leadership skills to optimize one’s overall potential

9) Goal setting and achieving to optimize one’s knowledge, skills, attitudes

10) Self-confidence

11) Imagination and critical / intuitive thinking

12) Self-control; concentration / focus

13) Tolerance

So there’s a lot of work to be done, a lot of rethinking, retraining, and re-opening of minds needed. This issue is complex, critical, and won’t go away. All of what I listed in this article and much, much more is involved in getting our children up to speed for their transition from the dream / theory based world of academia to that of the harsh work world. May those with insight, courage, and level heads lead us to where our education system needs to be for the benefit of our children and all our children’s children.

Here we’re not talking about faculty or staff but those who make the decisions. They are trustees (board members) and presidents. And this is a problem. Why? Because they do not live lives similar to that of students, faculty, or staff. Most live in comparative luxury looking to better their lot by keeping themselves–decision makers–around. If cuts need to be made, they will be done at the low end, getting rid of adjunct and fulltime faculty, staff, and by increasing fees, tuition, and so on.

Here’s an example to elaborate.

Years ago, I was working at a community college and joined a group to get a union on campus, for without one teachers will get near nothing. Even with one they often don’t get enough, but a union helps. But sometimes they even help in major ways, life saving even. In my case, I was between insurances when I was told I had cancer. And only with the help of the union was I able to get health insurance. The union had ensured people in my situation that even with one foot in the grave they would get access to good insurance. Most employers do not have such strong insurance obtainment policies for employees. To this day, I am literally alive because of the AFT (American Federation of Teachers). After that the AFT continued to help me on several occasions to obtain fair treatment. To continue the example.

At the time I was attending board meetings, the economy took a dive and cuts had to be made. Who was affected most? Faculty, staff, students. Classes were cut, adjuncts (non-guaranteed, semester to semester contracts) were left unemployed, fulltime were asked to retire early, and tuition fees were hiked. That may not be so bad in itself, but on the other end, I sat in meetings during this time while the president gave herself consecutive, back to back annual $25,000 increases while board members were giving themselves $7000, $10,000, $14,000 annual increases and so on.

More recently, during the fiscal pay-calendar shift (where pay is usually the last of the month but shifts in July to the 10th so teachers are going more than five weeks without pay), teacher after teacher was discovering that their pay was not coming on the 10th of July but the 31st, basically going two months without pay.

Upon calling the AFT, I was told that Payroll intentionally did not specifically warn instructors with a memo about the change (it was buried in the new contract with some vague language, that which the chair of my department had to read several times before she could make sense of it) because the district wanted to cause hardships so that the teachers would complain thus enabling a greater opportunity for additional monies to be place in the state budget for community colleges. Of course here we’re talking about monies that would not necessarily be distributed to faculty or staff. It may be earmarked for them, but monies allocated by the state do not always get to their intended targets.

In effect, since the change was stated in the contract, no matter how vague, the AFT couldn’t do anything, at least according to the president of the AFT local I spoke to.

Another thing to consider in your child’s mistreatment and lack of regard expressed by the actions or inactions of the trustees is the fact that part-time faculty or adjuncts outnumber full time faculty by 60 to 40. The majority of teachers are adjuncts or temporary, semester by semester employees of a district so that money can be saved (i.e.: less money spent on pensions and benefits). This is solely done to save the district money.

Sounds good?

Guess again.

Because of this, along with the rule that an adjunct cannot teach more than 9 units in any given district, adjuncts (the majority of teachers) become freeway flyers, often going not only from college to college to college but district to district to make enough money to pay for the necessities. Along with this, most are not compensated for office time to meet with students. Some districts do compensate for an hour a week, but that’s rare. Most give nothing or one district pays for one hour a month. Not many student issues can be addressed in such a short period of time.

So the problem is that students don’t get the attention they deserve and teachers don’t get the motivation they need to keep teaching. It’s basically a lose / lose situation.

There are other injustices being incurred by your children too numerous to mention here, but the next time you hear colleges spouting a great mission statement be careful of the hype that most likely lies beneath it.

Nothing is as it seems? Yes, we can say that here, for certain.