<p>If divergent & critical thinking were well taught in K-12, along with competency, mastery, & transferable skills to the marketplace (vs. PC curriculum), there would be much less real & perceived need for 4 yrs beyond Grade 12. I think that’s a poor, & expensive, use of higher education, but it is unfortunately too much a reality. And employers have not been properly educated as to what a college degree does & does not provide, what benefits it may or may not have relative to the job being sought.</p>
<p>Speaking of proper, England looks upon higher education quite differently. Of course, they have somewhat of a luxury to do that, since generally the quality of their pre-college education is so much better. It is not assumed, even among educated families, that everyone is suited to college. Those who are talented, artistic, learning a skill or trade are not pressured or packaged for college. Nor are the latter pursuits considered of themselves inferior to academic pursuits. It is considered not lower or higher, but realistic to pursue a specialty.</p>
<p>That said (& returning to the U.S.), we really do look upon those 4 yrs. as a social & personal adventure, a liberation that is important to self-development. Perhaps because Europeans routinely travel more, have long been flexible about the equivalent of gap years, college may not have the same personal equivalency as it does for us. But the discernment of where & why to go to college might be made much more efficient in our country by wider, more routine acceptance of gap periods between high school & one’s next step(s).</p>