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DISCLAIMER from this writer--I have a Master's in Vocational Guidance. And it never was used to get me a job. It's usefulness was well worth the price of tuition. In the early Seventies I turned 50. While teaching in a commercial college--to recent high school graduates--I recognized community colleges were beginning to offer what we did. First portent. Second was that my institution was beginning to hire part timers. I was full time with the customary perks. But, Oh! The school was about to be re-certified and a requirement was a trained counselor. I invested my own money, and was given a tax deduction for advancing my qualifications. So using time for night classes, I solved the ageism bugaboo while engaging in what I considered as a supplement to my Bachelor's degree in political science.The above introduces various experiences in the process of learning. For my students I served as a trainer, adding a touch of liberal arts. At the time, Chicago's school system was chaotic as it tried to understand desegregation. For my part, I had no teachers certificate. A beginning college student was easy to relate to. It was gratifying to steer young people into an occupation which had future promise.
A curriculum about solar panels and wind turbines in this new century would require a background in science and at least some practical experience. Who should be thinking out of the box these days? For a student part time in the work force with no prospect for advancement--especially one unwilling to wait for government programs--Green should be Go. For a community college administrator with tenacity to at least set up a pilot project his career could take on new hope.
Steering clear of colleges for profit was advisable in my days and seem to be now. I do not know whether there are private colleges like the one I knew.
I recently became acquainted with Tennessee Tech, provided through the state legislature. Majors are as varied as truck driving and medical transcription. State unemployment centers have career centers for recent high school graduates. Tennessee also provides Hope scholarships which are available to those with acceptable grade point averages. Usual college grants and loans apply.
Families who otherwise would have no chance for college are encouraged by Hope scholarships. The legislature innovated to make them possible. Liquor by the drink was previously illegal. A nagging desire by some citizens to repeal the liquor law had never got past the sin test. Tit for tat. All liquor taxes would be used to send Tennessee students to Tennessee schools.
How's that for breaking an old tradition?
