“What are we readying our students for?”

“College for All” and “College and Career Ready” are often cited as the goals of our public education system. While the sentiments behind these ideals are admirable—our schools should ensure that every child, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or socio-economic status is ready to attend college and/or begin a career—the way to make this happen, and even what it means to be “ready,” remains unclear. Furthermore, few seem to ask, “What careers are we readying our students for?”

The new report Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century, co-authored by professors at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, presents compelling evidence for why we cannot be satisfied with these vaguely defined goals. The report honestly confronts the reality that our current version of school is not working in part because it only offers one definition of success—and only one legitimate path to get there—to an increasingly diverse population of students, who are maturing in a radically different society than that of previous generations.

To change this picture we need to move beyond vague goals and aspirations. We need to remodel public education. Creating a new CTE system could be a great way to start this remodeling job. To learn more, read the full policy brief HERE.