A COLLEGE DEGREE WILL BE WORTH NO MORE THAN A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA

If everyone obtains a college education, as called for by President Obams, a college degree will be worth no more than a high school diploma. Why? Because the more there is of anything, the less its value. Besides that, the great majority of high school graduates are simply not capable of taking the kinds of college courses that will enable the United States to maintain a leadership position in the critical sciences and technologies.
　
The majority of high school graduates will seek business and financial degrees, social studies and political science degrees, education degrees, etc. rather than degrees in advanced physics, chemistry and math. Many students will seek degrees in African-American Studies, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Studies, and other so-called cultural diversity degree programs which will be worthless to students when they leave the university for the real world and absolutely worthless to the future well-being of our nation.
　
You can bet that university students in Japan, Korea, China and India are not seeking a degree in Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Studies. In the first place, it is very hard to get into a university in those countries. Their high schools are really like junior colleges. After they graduate from high school, students who want to obtain a college degree will enroll in special advanced studies schools, hoping that this will enable them to do well on tough college entrance exams.
　
In order for our young people to obtain gainful employment in a good paying job, they must be able to read, write and do math well. If they can’t do that they won’t be able to hold down any job that requires acquiring the latest technological skills. That means that our high schools have to do a far, far better job than they are doing now. The current dumbed-down public school programs have led to dumbed-down college programs.
　
A college education for everyone? You gotta be kidding! Instead of getting everyone into college, we need to start off by kicking disruptive students out of our high schools. Put them in special vocational schools so they can learn to lay bricks, pour concrete, put up houses and do other kinds of manual labor.
　
Leave the high schools to those who want and have the ability to learn math and science. If that means leaving our high schools to the elite, so be it. At least that way a high school diploma will be as meaningful as those in Japan, Korea, China and India. Then our nation’s colleges will be freed from having to offer remedial courses.
　
Only then will our universities be able to turn out the engineers, scientists and mathematicians we need to maintain a leadership position in the critical sciences and technologies. And that will make a college degree really valuable..