Education about more than a career

My first reaction to James McCusker’s column in Sunday’s paper about substituting certification exams for diplomas was one of sheer horror. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he had a point. I once appalled students in my college classroom by admitting that I thought that fewer students should go to college, not more. I believe that the whole process of higher education is being watered down through grade inflation and lowered expectations.

However, if we are going to seriously consider this certification exam idea, then let’s acknowledge that what we are doing is separating our society into those who are going to pursue technical, hard-skill based certification to prepare them for a job and those who can afford, value or have a good enough K-12 education to qualify for a well-rounded education that teaches them to think reflectively, argue effectively and be a creative problem-solver. A good education prepares a student for much more than a career.

So, let’s call community colleges and far too many four-year-colleges what they are: technical training schools and very expensive ones. Let’s embrace the idea of a less costly way to quantify a student’s tangible skills to an employer. But let’s not make the mistake of calling someone who may have passed a certification exam educated.

Sara Mangat

Mountlake Terrace