Career and College in High School

America's education system today is completely focused on sending student's to college. College is a good thing when you know what you want to do. However, there are many well-paying careers that don't require a college education, mechanics for example. To go to college and then go to a shop and work is a waste of time and a waste of money. You may learn some fancy skill, but you are not going to use it usually and have wasted thousands of dollars.

Some economic analysis into this shows that there is a limited supply of college slots in America and a gigantic demand to get into college without then using your skills you learn in whatever degree you got to make a living. This is a waste of money and students that want to do a career that requires a college education then have to pay more to do something they would have done anyways. In other words, society is wasting thousands and thousands of dollars.

The problem lies in High School. When my grandparents were in school they took senior civics which taught them how the world worked and helped them learn about careers and the paths that were available to them. They then didn't need to go to college because they had already learned the basic skills to be functioning members of a democratic society. If they learn economics and political science in senior civics along with the other classes I have argued for or against than we would definitely have a much more productive active younger generation which would benefit society for decades.

To summarize, high schools need to focus not primarily on college but on preparing students to be productive and active members of society. This will benefit us for the rest of our lives.