alt.education

J. Z. Al-Huriyeh wrote:
>On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:41:44 -0500, Bob LeChevalier
> wrote:

>I have felt for a very long time that if the grades didn't have this
>defacto cash value, schools could grade more fairly and the college
>selection process would not be as class-based as it is now.

If the grades had no defacto cash value, only a fraction as many
people would want to go to college at all.

>>>It's also a function of the excessive social premium placed on
>>>college. Many people who would be happier in a skilled profession
>>>wind up wasting time in university getting a degree they don't really
>>>want or need to do what they love.
>>
>>They need the piece of paper in order to get into the skilled
>>profession.
>
>Too many job tracks that used to offer OJT now require some sort of
>credential. It seems this is becoming more a means of screening out
>the drug addicts than an effort to find academically talented people.

Business isn't interested in academic talent. They want the added
maturity of extra years growing up in a more adult educational
environment, and the sense of stick-to-it-iveness the degree gives.
And in many professions it simply is that they get so many applicants,
that the first cut is to throw out those without a degree, and the
next cut is to throw out the lower GPAs. Then they get down to a
number of resumes worth the time spent.

In the goode olde days when resumes had to be individually typed,
personnel departments didn't get 100 applicants for every opening
(plus a large number of applicants who have no opening in mind at all,
but are just being sent because the company works in the right field).

In addition, I think the rise of liability lawsuits means that a
company never wants to have to defend the credentials of a key
decision maker (that may be especially applicable in the construction
industry that your husband referred to).

lojbab