I’m torn by the hard hat v graduation cap debate. Is it wrong that I want my kids to go to university? | Emma Brockes
As Andy Burnham intervenes, it’s clear that the shine is coming off higher education. But is society ready for this mindshift? Am I?For a while now I’ve been having a...
By Emma Brockes · The Guardian Opinion
As Andy Burnham intervenes, it’s clear that the shine is coming off higher education. But is society ready for this mindshift? Am I? For a while now I’ve been having a conversation with friends that a few years ago would’ve been largely unthinkable. Partly, this is because of how sheltered we all tend to be when trying to imagine our kids’ lives running on different tracks to our own. But it’s also about the world changing. A brilliant young person I know left school, took up an internship, turned it into a job and now she’s in her early 20s with no debt and a great position at a big fashion house. “Maybe I won’t go to university, either,” said one of my kids, eyeing me for a reaction, while I nodded thoughtfully and tried to ride out the panic. Andy Burnham’s announcement this week that university shouldn’t be the single, aspirational goal of all young people is perfectly timed and sensibly presented and shouldn’t sound as radical as it does. It is, of course, a correction to existing norms that university-for-all is a proper national goal and the only personal determinant of ambition and success. By contrast, Burnham said on Tuesday, this country should “value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap” as he spoke about tailoring technical and vocational training to meet local job needs and tackle youth unemployment. Continue reading...