@cobrat: the vocational/apprenticeship tracks in Europe are broader and give you more skills. Most programmers in Germany don’t go to uni; they learned through an apprenticeship. Likewise with bankers in Switzerland. Most signed on as apprentices straight out of HS.
One vocational track in England (college, after HS but before uni, so kind of equivalent to CC here) teaches thermodynamics.
I also want to know what one’s definition of “practical” major is…
A good education is like good healthcare, it may cost more than it should and you may still die anyway, but you sure as hell don’t want to be without it.
But seriously, the K-12 problem is basically not solvable. College outcomes IMO are more driven by a specific student’s ability to “pursue” a viable end result versus merely going along for the ride.