Iâm torn by the hard hat v graduation cap debate. Is it wrong that I want my kids to go to university? | Emma Brockes
As Andy Burnham intervenes, itâs clear that the shine is coming off higher education. But is society ready for this mindshift? Am I? For a
As Andy Burnham intervenes, itâs clear that the shine is coming off higher education. But is society ready for this mindshift? Am I? For a while now Iâve been having a conversation with friends that a few years ago wouldâve been largely unthinkable. Partly, this is because of how sheltered we all tend to be when trying to imagine our kidsâ lives running on different tracks to our own.
But itâs also about the world changing. A brilliant young person I know left school, took up an internship, turned it into a job and now sheâs in her early 20s with no debt and a great position at a big fashion house. âMaybe I wonât go to university, either,â said one of my kids, eyeing me for a reaction, while I nodded thoughtfully and tried to ride out the panic.
Andy Burnhamâs announcement this week that university shouldnât be the single, aspirational goal of all young people is perfectly timed and sensibly presented and shouldnât sound as radical as it does. It is, of course, a correction to existing norms that university-for-all is a proper national goal and the only personal determinant of ambition and success. By contrast, Burnham said on Tuesday, this country should âvalue the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation capâ as he spoke about tailoring technical and vocational training to meet local job needs and tackle youth unemployment.
Continue reading...
The BriefWire