Our education system, you mean? I would say yes for the most part, but it has a lot of flaws that waste time and resources unnecessarily and is too "one size fits all".
I have been incredibly unimpressed with the quality of education I received in both high school (3rd in state, top 300 in the country) and the college level (after 3 semesters, all I have learned is that Enron = literally worse than Hitler). I'm not surprised so many people drop out of college and that your economic prospects are significantly reduced with only a high school degree.
Though I would say that a lot of our generation's prospects are hurt in the short term by the Great Recession and the fact that we are transitioning with globalization, and our government has been overly optimistic and slow to recognize and react to this reality. I think things will correct themselves in the long run, but there's a lot of unnecessary, self-inflicted pain.
I'm thinking a bit broader. By system I mean "work hard, go to school, get middle class job, buy house, pay mortgage, retire". The stereotype of American dream.
Ah, okay. I would say yes, but only for a section that is actually prepared for it. So it works for about 1/3 of the country who were raised by parents that had that, give or take people who fall out and those who move up. Educational attainment and a secure lifestyle *
generally* beget said attainment and security.
The problem is people who are below, who were not raised by parents who were college educated professionals but were still economically secure in some other no-degree-needed middle class job who are now suffering as the economy changes. In many areas (like here in NW Indiana) the school system is still based on giving students a well-rounded primary/secondary education but nothing more as they are then expected to work in industry. Despite this being a problem for 30+ years, schools still haven't changed, so when students are told to go to college, they don't have parents capable of advising them in applications and financial aid, and when they get to college they crash and burn. IIRC some 60% of adults have attended college at some point but only 35%-40% actually graduate with at least a Bachelors. So the education system still hasn't properly adjusted to the post-industrial economy but rather thinks the solution is dump kids in a 4 year college and hope they become professionals.
I increasingly believe that the problem is that too many people are going to college.
So on the surface this sentence is true, but this should be expounded upon in that people
DO need some kind of
post-secondary training/education, not a 4 year degree, to get by in the world. That's where I think our education system fails a lot of people. I think it was Simfan (?) who said areas like computer programming should be reclassified as trades and be separated from 4 year universities where serious academic research should be conducted, and I would wholeheartedly agree.
I don't think that everyone can or should be expected to be at least "satisfactory" in all areas of a well-rounded education at the college level. Well-rounded primary education should be finished by the time you are 16, and after that career exploration should begin.
So in summary, the American Dream of being a college-educated professional is alive for about 30-40% of the country, but for the remainder it is becoming a lot harder, so the system fails them.
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