He who would cross the Bridge of Death Must answer me These questions three

WTH

I have a diploma and answered no to all three questions...

I have worked by way up in my industry and make more money then my friends that went to college and are in debt up to their ears... Military is not for me but god bless those who went that way.

It is not a bad idea since it gives three options... I would have gone to an apprenticeship information session... but would it have changed my path... most likely not...

So the idea itself isn't terrible but I don't think they are going to see a huge change

What the hell is an apprenticeship information session, how much does it cost, and who is profiting from this ?

interesting, i think it would be more fair to say when entering high school in order to get your diploma you must do these things by the time you graduate, it's not fair to get hit with something like this if i don't know about it ahead of time, would be a bit like buying something on lay a way, and when you'd paid and went to pick it up the store said, have you made room in your house for the purchase, have you cleaned the are the purchase is to be placed in or some such nonsense, it's great to get things thinking, but it's unnecessary

Seems kind of intrusive to me, boomer. If you're earned your high school diploma, then you've earned your diploma.

Getting people to check something they have no intention of following through on is encouraging lying.

This business seems to be a lesson for students--a lesson in bureaucratic idiocy.

Managed to get through this whole post without using a dirty word. A lesson for me in restraint.

I'd think it was a good idea if they added something like "do you have a job lined up for when you graduate"

I'd much prefer it if the target was the parents, not the students.

Those are very good questions, wayne. I had the same ones myself.

As close as I can get to an answer is that an apprenticeship training program is technical school.

Who is paying for it would be the student, the student's family or the taxpayers. Tens of thousands of kids would be paying to apply to programs they have no intention of attending. Or, the taxpayers would be paying someone to sort and evaluate all the applications for kids who have no intention of attending.

And that makes it really unclear as to who would profit from this law.

here, they are held by different trades and are free

i.e. the plumbing trade union holds local info meetings for people interested in pursuing an apprenticeship - talks to them about education requirements as well as how to sign up as an apprentice

I see, that sounds alot like the career days we had when I was in high school.
Do they still have career days?

What Roberta says.
I can envision some class sessions, or perhaps an assembly, about college application in general, about applying to the military, and about apprenticeships, but to make it mandatory for graduation bothers me.

Reminds me of our old Vocation Days back in my catholic girls high school of the fifties. There were three possible vocations: the highest was to become a priest or nun, or slightly lower ranked brother. Next, a vocation to marriage. Last mentioned in passing, to be a single-woman-in-the-world. That was perplexing because I wanting to be an m.d., and at the time, almost every med school in the US took few to no women because, among other biases, women wouldn't stick out the rigors of medicine but would leave to raise children. No apparent room for doing both. This was pre civil rights act.

Anyway, I can see some kind of day or class hours with attention to the future - not sure re making that a requisite for attendance. Just as I can see a need for a class or two or three on finance basics.

dunno about career days - the apprenticeship info meetings are held at the trade union halls

I think if there is anything that makes people start to make plans for the future so they're not sitting on benefits after they graduate from high school then the entire community benefits.

I see too many students just landing with a thud because they assumed they'd be going to university or college and had no back-up plan when they didn't get into any program.

I'd like to see some kind of "reality sucks" course as being mandatory before they get to the third year of high school. Start focusing students on making alternate plans.

Several of you have touched on this (hence my "reply all") -- and it's the thing that bothers me the most about the law...

It assumes that kids and their families haven't spent any time at all thinking about what the kid is going to do after graduation. And I use the term "kid" lightly since most graduating people are adults in the legal sense of the word.

It seems to me that it would make much more sense for each school to identify the kids that don't have parental involvement in their lives and help direct each one. Those kids could use an adviser about what options are out there and how to navigate the application process.

I agree re junior year.

The American education system is so incredibly anti-union right now that I don't think this is what they have in mind.

I'm pretty sure that they're thinking of the list of job certificates that follow television ads for technical training -- medical transcriptional, TV-VCR repair, court reporter, dental hygienist school, that kind of thing.

That doesn't really happen here. A single mom with a baby might be eligible for benefits but most other 18 year olds aren't. Plus, there are limits to how long a person can receive benefits. They're considering changing it here to 18 months.

I completely agree that a "reality sucks" class would be a good idea.

I'm thinking that it would be a good idea for the legislators too -- they should have to show us they have lined up gainful employment before we elect them out of office.

To me it looks like an excuse not to have a counselor meet with every student.

"Did you hold a 1x1 with each of your seniors on their futures?"
"No, but we made them sign these forms."

Well, the guidance counselors that were at my high school were utterly useless in helping me choose my postgraduation life.

Didn't know what to do until basically the last moment when an army recruiter called to talk to my stepbrother. I answered the phone and since my stepbrother wasn't home at the time of the call, the army recruiter took the opportunity to talk to me instead.

College wasn't on my radar at the time because I was the one of the great procrastinators of my generation. Didn't apply for any schools. No help from the guidance counselors either.

So I guess this law could have been useful if it was in the books at my time.

Ended the phone call by arranging a meeting with the army recruiter and basically signing up on the same day I met him.

It's part of our school curricula (in any of our various types of schools - from disabled schools to grammar schools) since decades.

My former school, like many others, even does it with English exchange students: they join school for a couple of weeks here, but make their apprenticeship training in German firms like any other German pupil.

Parents only pay for costs of transportation if it's more than 15 miles away from the school.