On merits and stigma of vocational school...

It's always refreshing whenever one reads articles or reporting that makes senses. The New York Times article on vocational school today is one of those.

I never understand why everyone's dead set on insisting 4-year college degree for all kids - and I mean, all kids. Have those in authority ever considered the fact that not all kids are cut out to take the college track? Granted that basic literacy is fundamental to all kids, that does not equate to pushing all kids down the college path. By talking up the value proposition of 4-year college, it's synonymous to talking down all other possible alternatives, vocation and trade schools being one of those. It's a huge disservice to kids who could feel like a failure, taking the trade school path, instead of the traditional path high school to college to Wall Street job.

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This whole thing reminds me of this kid (who is now a middle-aged man) of a family friend. Some background of him is in order.

The family is solidly middle class. The father was a professional driver. Being the eldest among 5 siblings, the mother had high hopes on him. High hopes, in a sense that, she wanted him to soar from their blue collar root. She actually counseled this kid to not follow the path of trade school or vocational school, even though it's very clear all these times that he's not the academic type. She wanted him to have a white collar job, be in suit and tie, go to air-conditioned office and work without breaking a sweat. That's her ideal of the eldest son, their first-born.

In a way, I don't blame the mother. She had very little education or aspiration outside of the narrowest vision of what she saw on TV - yes, she found her inspirations for the son from TV soap opera. She did the best she could at the time.

My mom used to converse every now and then with this family. Although my mom came from similar humble roots, she's much more open-minded and pragmatic. What she saw in this kid is that, he's not the reading material, and it could be a lost cause trying to push him down the white collar path. From my mom's perspective, he could be much better off going to trade school or vocational school, acquiring a life skill that would set him to a very solid path in blue collar life. To my mom, there's no stigma in being blue collar. A good job is a good job, is a good job. I remember my mom even told his mom, "look, he could even have his own car repair shop or more!"

But his mom would have none of that for her son. In fact, there's a bit of a fall-out between the two mothers, because his mom saw my mom's counsel as nothing more than "putting his son in his place (a very blue collar one, no less)," while the children in our family are all on the path of regular college education. She wanted her son to do that too, and she saw my mom's advice (advice that was unasked for) to ill-serve her son.

Fast forward another 10 years. All children in our family finished college. Myself and all siblings are in different fields, some of us even relocate to other western countries. That sets the jealousy of this mother in high gear. Now she not only wanted her son (and other younger kids too) to not only have white collar jobs, but be able to move to other western countries. To alot of Asian families, the ability to migrate to western countries like US or Canada or Australia is an ultimate goal. They view the western countries being superior in all respects, including living environment, salary level, wealth accumulation, and more. The rise of economic power in Asia, in particular, China, and the Great Recession in the US, might have tampered their expectations. But if you ask 100 families in Asia, you would very likely find that 99+ of them want to migrate to the west, or at least have their kids received a prized education in a western country.

Looking back, I must say, I feel sorry for this son. He had tried (and failed) to live up to his mother's expectation. He narrowly graduated from high school, and found a first job in a call center. When his mother broke the news to my mom on the phone, boosting that he's working in an AC office that requires him in white shirt and slack everyday, my mom couldn't help but shake her head. Still, my mom was graceful enough to congratulate her and the son. Perhaps that's truly what his mother considered as a remarkable accomplishment, rightly or not.

But, working in a call center doesn't really require that much skill. (Not as much as car repair or electrician or plumber anyways, all of such jobs cannot be outsourced or offshored.) He was subsequently downsized, tried to go back to school and learn PC repair. His mother called up my mom, telling her that he's now in the computer business. She wanted to keep up the appearances, and talked up the possibility because at the time, I was in software development in US earning six-figure salary. When my mom told me about it, I asked her how that mother knew I was earning a six-figure salary? My mom said, I told her. I admonished my mom for doing that, not least due to imaginary and real hint of boasting about the success (or simply, "making it") of one's child, thereby tacitly encouraging the comparison of different children. I hate that.

In any event, the son got his certificate in PC repair. It's unclear if he was ever able to get in computer repair. When the financial crisis hit Asia in '97, he was downsized once again. The middle-aged son now works as a security guard. Having not too much to boast about, the mother now focuses on the youngest daughter who marries a photographer and has migrated to California. When my mom told me about it, I told her I do not want her to keep talking about her kids (ie. us) and all the things we've done, because I don't want this mother to keep pushing or expecting her kids to mimic someone else's path in life.

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At times, when I look back on the paths that this son has chosen, we can say with higher confidence that, should he have gone to a trade or vocational school and acquired a life skill, he would not likely be bouncing from one job to another. Like the 19-year-old mentioned in the New York Times article, if anyone (like the Obama administration) uses him as a statistics, he would have been deemed as a failure. The reality is quite far from it. This kid is able to acquire a skill that he likes, which allows him to see a brighter future in life. Success breeds success, and now he can even see himself following further degree in college, because he now has some skills to build on, some skills that the society needs. Would a traditional four-year college degree have given him that kind of satisfaction and motivation in life? I highly doubt that.

In a way, if the now middle-aged man of the family friend had had that kind of encouragement, he would likely have followed a much more satisfying life than what he has now. And no, he's not married yet, because he can't afford to start a family. How sad.

And for those in authority, who continuously talks down the viability of vocational or trade school, I'd say, shame on you. Reinforce basic literacy (math and reading) in elementray school, but that is not mutually exclusive from vocational school. Not everyone is cut out to be a hedge fund manager or Wall St type that earns millions sitting in office contributing very little in real life except moving money around. (Yes, I'm being critical or exaggerate a bit here, but let's face it, alot of fund managers and traders, particularly mediocre ones, do exactly that.) Give the kids the choice, and don't deem them as failure, because they are far from it.