Proposed DC Legislation Stifles Student Potential

Helena Lado, Class of 2013
January 14, 2012
Filed under Quill

Over our winter break, DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown introduced a bill that would require all high school seniors in DC to apply to college. The introduction of such a bill illustrates a mentality in American society that increasingly views a college education, and only a college education, as the road to success. However, among the many problems I have with Brown’s intended legislation, the biggest issue is that by forcing high school students to apply to college, he creates a narrow idea of who can be successful and what being successful means.

Brown has reportedly said that his intention is not an attempt to keep students from pursuing other careers after their graduation. But by making it mandatory that DC students apply to college, Brown’s actions speak to the opposite of his claims: you must apply to college because that is the only way you can better your situation.

But who is the government—on any level—to decide what defines success for its citizens? Certainly people with a college education are important for any society, but a society cannot function with only college-educated members. The emphasis on a college education reduces the worth and dignity of other, equally important jobs. Jobs like a plumber, a carpenter, and a trash collector are frowned upon or laughed at because they do not have as ‘sensible’ a purpose as a nurse or a business administrator. But our society could not function without those jobs, and our entire population cannot be ‘above’ such labor. Even if everyone in this country had a PhD, someone would still have to repair broken appliances, to construct new buildings, to foster the fine arts and give a society its culture.

There are plenty of American high school students who would be far better suited to being a carpenter or a plumber—and would be far more successful and happy—who nevertheless find themselves in a college classroom getting a degree they do not desire. Why? Because our society has so narrowly defined success that only the college graduate with a degree in a specialized field has any worth. (It has gotten to the point that even within the college sphere, formerly respectable degrees are akin to throwing away one’s education—who needs historians and classicists when we could be doing something “useful?”)

This lack of understanding and appreciation for the different contributions that can be made to our society is ultimately a failure of the education system. School administrators and counselors should encourage high school students to have a plan for their lives after high school graduation, not require a specific path of them. We cannot help our students succeed if we are constantly telling them that their particular skills and talents are worthless because they do not fit the right mold.

Chairman Brown has said that the legislation is about motivating high school students to reach graduation. But this is not about whether or not students can function at a college level or whether they are motivated enough to graduate from high school. This is about supporting and encouraging high school students to carve out their own paths and realize their own dreams for life after high school.

We must remember that there is dignity in any chosen career path after high school, whether it is a college education, a trade or vocational school, or direct entry into the workforce. It is not for school administrators or the government to tell students what they must do to succeed—rather, students need support and encouragement as they find the path to success that is right for them.