I don’t know percentages but the numbers are actually rising regarding students NOT going to college. The main purposes that I can remember are:
1. Cost of college is on a rise and students are going into debt for college with no hopes of being able to pay it off because
2. Once they finish their degree they aren’t able to find a job in their area of study
3. The need for a college degree isn’t as necessary as it once was in order to do well in life.
4. The push for entrepreneurship is on a all time high.
5. Businesses like BMW are positioning students to technical schools in order to hirer them with specific technical knowledge as future employees
6. There is a shift that is coming to SAT testing around Spring 2016 where the focus will be on *technical* knowledge vs. just academic/abstract knowledge. It is said the students in USA are so very low in knowledge on a technical level. So the push is coming for more tech savvy students. If you have public school students you should began to see more classes/talk of tech-type classes of study. As you and I both know children are learning and understanding technology on a rate that we didn’t develop. Books, hands on learning or maybe a year of college will position our students with a technical knowledge-set then ever before. This is more appealing because is not so expensive to acquire.
7. On a personal level we encourage our children NOT to go to college but seek to start their own business. This is most lucrative because they will not step right out into debt at the start of their lives that will carry on for years and years with the pressure of working to pay it off. We especially teach this to our girls who desire to be wives and stay at home moms. (double standard….Yes!).We have positioned our children with almost 10 years of violin studies. We are *paying forward* now. So when they are ready they can go right into a lucrative position of having their own violin studio. Especially for our girls. They can fit that type of home business into their lives while a wife and mom.
For our sons who will be bread winners we teach and encourage them to think of starting their own business with college on a 3rd tier level. Again…debt load. WE are *paying it forward* now too regaring music lessons. Violin. HOWEVER, if they were to go to college then they best work hard for scholarships because we aren’t going to let THEM go into debt nor are we going into debt.
(We have 8 children 18 to 4 years old. 4 boys. 4 girls.)
8. In regards to the one article I have down below I have implemented this mind-set in my homeschool Academy. UCHU-STEAM Academy. www.UCHUpstate.com
We are training, equipping and putting into the mind of our students a love of learning in technology. We are a STEAM focused Academy with academic focus as well. STEAM stands for Science. Technology. Engineering. Arts. Mathematics.
These areas are of most importance and don’t necessarily need a degree for it’s success.
Our students work with the cutting edge technology and will see more of it in the near future. They are being challenge in the other areas of focus too under STEAM.
Most excitedly they are being groomed to be business owners. We offer 2-year culinary arts classes and 2-year handyman/lady classes along with future classes of accounting (to learn bookkeeping), marketing (to learn how to market their business), web design (so they can build their own website for their business) and with all of these things under their belt………..they are prepared to do these things as a small business too. 🙂
Look at the below video and read the other article below.
So yes…………business ownership is definitely on the rise. The path of college is becoming lessened. ALTHOUGH there are those careers where college is a must: medical field to become a doctor, or a specialist in a field or professor etc. So college will be needed. But it is becoming a focus with less encouragement to seek after.
http://qz.com/340304/degrees-dont-matter-anymore-skills-do/
Think on that. 🙂
Angela