The Academic vs. "Real Life" Dichotomy

Is going to college worth it? (Especially considering today's economy, not to mention the enormous price tag that leaves many graduates starting out their independent lives tens of thousands of dollars in debt.) This is the subject of this NY Times article, which questions the value of a college education in the changing economic landscape and seems to pit academic skills in opposition to workplace skills.

Professor Lerman, the American University economist, said some high school graduates would be better served by being taught how to behave and communicate in the workplace.

Such skills are ranked among the most desired — even ahead of educational attainment — in many surveys of employers. In one 2008 survey of more than 2,000 businesses in Washington State, employers said entry-level workers appeared to be most deficient in being able to “solve problems and make decisions,” “resolve conflict and negotiate,” “cooperate with others” and “listen actively.”

Yet despite the need, vocational programs, which might teach such skills, have been one casualty in the push for national education standards, which has been focused on preparing students for college.

The author acknowledges that the debate between academic versus vocational education is not new, but it makes me wonder why this polarization continues to be played out in the conversation about education. I contend that if we were to think more holistically about learning, some of these "non-academic" skills are actually embedded in (or at least highly relevant to) teaching for dispositions. The ability to problem-solve and be strategic in one's thinking cannot be divorced from understanding, say, mathematical formulas and how to apply them; conflict resolution requires the same disposition for understanding different perspectives that you would find in a social studies class; cooperation and active listening is fundamental to true collaborative inquiry.

Consider how much the education of young people would be transformed if we stopped compartmentalizing kids and saw them genuinely as developing thinkers whose academic, emotional, social, and personal experiences are actually integrated into a whole person!