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Chicago To Make Future Plans a Graduation Requirement (thehill.com)
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual's recently approved plan will require high school students show their plans for the future before obtaining their diploma. "Students will soon have to show that they've secured a job or received a letter of acceptance to college, a trade apprenticeship, a gap year program or the military in order to graduate," reports The Hill. From the report: "We are going to help kids have a plan, because they're going to need it to succeed," Emanuel told the Post. "You cannot have kids think that 12th grade is done." But critics say the district may not be able to provide mentoring to help needy students when the rule takes effect in 2020. "It sounds good on paper, but the problem is that when you've cut the number of counselors in schools, when you've cut the kind of services that kids need, who is going to do this work?" Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, told the Post. "If you've done the work to earn a diploma, then you should get a diploma. Because if you don't, you are forcing kids into more poverty."
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual's recently approved plan will require high school students show their plans for the future before obtaining their diploma.
One of those "means well" but it's not going to work as well as he thinks. I remember even I straight out of high school wasn't absolutely sure what I was going to do.
This seems ass-backwards. Let's hold students back because we don't want to hold them back. Isn't the point to successfully get out of "school" (not drop out) as soon as possible? Won't this just lead to more dropouts?
Its funny how the detractors of this scheme have identified that there will be problems, the thing about having a process is that you can identify the problems and address them appropriately, which will be substantially better than the status quo.
This is really an excellent thing to do. If they have the resources in counselors to handle it, it's really a great idea, and it could be a real help to the US education system at large. So many of the country's political, social, environmental, and economic problems come from people not thinking ahead. I'd love to see this go into place. I think this would help knock some sense into a lot of people who've never stopped to think for a few minutes about the future. I think something this simple could really nudge a generation of kids into some basic thoughtfulness.
I don't respond to AC's.
It took me a couple years after high school to figure out what I wanted to do. Started out EE, then computer science, finally got a degree in Math.
If, at 18, I'd had to lay out my future plans they would have been somewhere along the lines of "smoke a lot of dope. Get laid. Find money to pay for weed and women".
So will it be acceptable if your college of choice now requires that you secure a job or post-graduate program before you can graduate there too? Imagine the awkward conversations you could have with the hiring manager; "So do you have a college degree?"... "Um, sortof"
Rather than a graduation requirement for high school, maybe high school seniors could use this kind of preparation to boost their grade. If you are able to secure work, vocational training or some other post-high school education then you are entitled to an additional 0.5 points added directly to your GPA.
Eric Sarjeant
eric[@]sarjeant.com
Perhaps Chicago would be better to put these resources towards making sure all of its children survive to graduation before spending more money the city doesn't have forcing them to make plans for what comes next.
Those 18 year olds are free men and women. Neither Chicago, nor the State of Illinois, nor the Federal government own them. This proposal, however, presumes too much. One must have a diploma at minimum to participate in much of society. But now this paternalistic body speaks to these young men and women as if to say, "Before you can receive this academic certification, you must prove your willingness to offer years of your life to a corporate master (i.e. find an employer who will deign to accept you), a military hierarchy (with the concomitant possibility of losing your life), or to a bank (in the form of bankruptcy-proof student loans). The wealthy, of course, will be excepted by means of gap-year programs but you, peasant, you must swear fealty."
I cannot deny the practical value of a proposal like this. It's certainly there. But I do deny the right of the state to gainsay an adults freedom to choose either to work or not work, to go to college or to spend a few years mooching off his willing parents, to take on debt or hang out in the basement writing or inventing or starting a business or playing video games.
and it's the kind of thing that makes me think there's something genuinely evil behind it. There's no benefit here. If a kid doesn't have problems in life they'll be college bound. But a kid who does just got a whole new set of problems to worry about. More friction at home. More fights.
As for 'counselors' my kid just graduated. Her counselors were worse than useless. Overworked. Under trained and under resourced. They knew most of the kids were boned and made no secret of it. And this was in one of the best schools in the city. What I'm saying is any kid that doesn't have amazing parents (or at least rich ones) is screwed. Oh, and speaking of rich parents if you're the kind of rich brat that gets to travel for a year you can easily get exempted from this.
My guess is this is the local businesses looking to get cheap labor from desperate kids who now must have a job to graduate. We'll probably see more 'internships' where you're working full time for little or no pay. I can't think of another reason to push something this awful and this obviously unpopular. If anyone else knows what evil thing is behind this let me know.
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How about this Mr. Mayor. Let's just get more to live to graduate and not drop out and join gangs you idiot. Understanding the problem is the first step to solving it Mr. Mayor
Need diploma to get college acceptance..
Spoken like someone who never got a college acceptance. Most college applications are due well before the end of the last year of high school.
So this is basically conscription in disguise, right?
"High school: To get your diploma, you have to show us your job offer first."
"Prospective employer: Sorry, to apply for this job, you have to show us your diploma first."
According to WaPo article: "High school graduates are guaranteed admission to one of the city’s community colleges, if they apply, and about 40percent of the Class of 2015 enrolled in a four-year college, approaching the national average (44 percent) that year."
Want your diploma and don't have any real plans for the future? Just apply to one of the city's (soon-to-be-extremely-overcrowded) community colleges, get your acceptance letter, show your acceptance letter, get your diploma in May/June, then go do whatever you feel like doing and never show up for community college in August/September.
Given how obvious the loophole is, it makes you wonder if increased community college applications is the real end goal they're wanting...
How about just focusing on making sure they can read the newspaper, write at an equivalent level, perform basic math as needed to balance a checkbook, do basic geometry, learn about US history (at the very least - ideally world history as well), and have two years of science classes - biology, chemistry, physics? Oh - and can actually PASS the course without having "adjustments" made for life experiences. In essence - make sure they EARNED their degree, proving a minimal level of educational achievement. What they do with the degree after that is none of your concern, Rahm...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
But he did apply himself. Surely that was an appropriate action to take.
Bullshit.
Education is a nerdy matter.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
So many -1's yet no comments defending you. You don't even try to hide how pathetic you are for downmodding people that point out how sad you are.
So every college student without a plan is going to go to their mailbox, pull out the latest "acceptance letter" from the nearest vampire college that takes anyone with a pulse, and submit it to get their diploma. Meanwhile, the idiots that wrote this law can do a press conference and talk about how he's thinking of the children.
and overworked Chicago paper shufflers roll their eyes, stamp them "complete" and move on.
Nothing changes.
This site was nice while it lasted, I'm out.
I disagree. It matters because it's adding an unnecessary stipulation that really shouldn't be implemented.
That's an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. Good luck. No wonder Chicago is such a shit-hole.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
So doing nothing with your life if OK, as long as you spend oodles of money doing it?
Bumming around Europe getting tens of thousands of dollars into debt is fine, but exploring America or just hanging around is not acceptable. God forbid these children be allowed to exist for a single moment without someone telling them what to do.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
I have a constructive comment!
we should construct a scenario where beauhd can positively, and constructively, suck on my DAMN balls
Or earlier. Each year review the economic realities, employment trends and future forecasts with the students. Each student must balance
Interests,
Abilities and
Future Potential.
Certain young people, for instance may have great Interest in a sports career. They may even have some Ability. But they need to be told about the reality that only one in a million will make those million$ that they dream of. Almost no Future Potential.
I used to date a hot girl who worked in a strip joint. She understood that her looks & skills would not last forever, so she went to college and studied Sanitation Engineering (sewer management). I'm confident that she has had a rewarding life since then. Lots of Potential, little competition.
When I went to college in the 60s I wanted to study psychology, but I kept getting turned down when I requested psych classes. One day I discovered that 30% of our students were psych majors ... and it was the same across the US. Thank doG I had sense to realise that Future Potential was not there (although it may be good now).
It's all about balance and awareness and young people tend to be weak in that area. Schools can help.
...omphaloskepsis often...
This stupidity will die in court. The first class that has >1 student denied a diploma will form the basis of a class action; Chicago is filled to the brim with the sort of lawyers that will not hesitate to argue that this policy is discriminatory due to the minority demographics of the district. They'll be climbing over each other to get the case. If you are a Chicago student that may graduate under this policy and do not otherwise have plans you could win a nice settlement by setting yourself up to have your diploma denied; the lawyers will be looking for a poster child. Groom yourself and practice some lines about how your "future is in jeopardy" because you can't get your diploma. This stuff writes itself.
The whole thing is so obviously infeasible that all the possible explanations one is left with for how Chicago's leadership thought it was a good idea to float this trial balloon are cynical. Maybe they really are that profoundly naive... Maybe they think the citizens are dumb enough to give them credit for trying... Maybe it's a scheme to embiggen student financing. Which of these is the worst?
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
lol u dumbass millenial
The thought that Chicago (part of a state that hasn't had a budget in 2 years) will have enough guidance people to make this work is laughable. There is something deeply sinister about holding the diplomas hostage to the state's view of what you should be doing with your life.
Offering the students help with college or job finding? Definitely should be doing. Making them take classes on relevant things like resume writing? Probably a good idea.
Forcing them to go down a path approved by politicians? NOT OK.
I'd love to see a real lawyer's take on this. Given that the government does insist rather firmly on children attending school (Wisconsin v. Yoder ended up in the Supreme Court), I think you've got a bit of a conflict here.
I wonder if lack of guidance assistance (which should be easy to prove - the guidance people will be overwhelmed in short order) could be used to litigate against this stupidity? Though, if you can show that minorities are getting less guidance assistance than whites (a thing that is almost certain to happen), I bet you could get the ACLU involved.
A thousand pounds of wood moving at 300 feet per minute. Don't get in the way.
Why is that? Why are we training people to wait idly for jobs that may not come? Why are we not teaching them how to make more jobs?
I think I understand the reasoning for this. Last I read on the subject, the only indicator significantly correlated with academic success was "parents talking to their children about their future". So, they make 'thinking about your future' mandatory, in an attempt to improve grades/standardized test scores/higher education rates.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
What colleges will they push you towards, and what kickbacks do the schools and/or government get for dong so.
Lots of kids starting to wake up to how much pointless debt most of them are wracking up in college, but the colleges will not go down quietly... you'll see more deals like this to herd the cattle into the slaughterhouse (metaphorically speaking for the slow among you).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
presuming again? Instead of behaving child-like, just don't respond. You're an editor here, behave like one, and not like some thinskinned leader of an alleged free country.
Everyone's mind has matured by this stage of life - they've also had that flash of insight on how to carve a niche so "tout ira bien."
Requiem for the American Dream
Constructive comments for nerds.
Constructive comments that matter.
Fucking snowflake.
"Prediction: within 10 years, Windows will be a Linux distribution." Me, 7-6-2016
You mean my parents paid for my college? LMFAO. No. Not even close. My dad never graduated high school. My mom barely graduated. They never impressed upon me that I should go to school after high school. They believe it's a liberal brainwashing camp. They also vote Trump. They also struggle with finances despite both owning their one small businesses.
No, as an adult I realized I needed a degree, and didn't have the ability to live and go to school as a broke high school grad, so I joined the military for 3 years because I realized that having a degree was worth it when you look at the numbers and the minor chance I could be maimed or killed. Life is full of risks. Quit being a pussy. Safe is no better than sorry, to quote the ever-present 80s pop classic.
And lo and behold, it was worth it.
I went to a fairly expensive public research university. I had to take out loans above and beyond what the military provided me. I could have went to a cheaper school, but I liked the school a lot and felt it was worth it once I factored everything in. Students can come out of school with the same amount of debt as me (50k). They can then make a living wage while paying it down, and come WAY out in the lead in the long run.
But given our high school education system, they'll never figure that math out on their own, unless they're already comfortable with it. And most aren't, which is sad.
How the hell do your colleges know which students should be accepted if they haven't got their diploma yet?
If it's a community college, they guarantee you entry with a high school diploma, if that. If it's a university, then entry is based upon the combination of your SAT or ACT score and your application letter. It has nothing to do with high school.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Before they pass this law.
5 out of 6 people enjoy Russian Roulette & 6 out of 7 Dwarfs are not Happy
Plan:
1. Graduate
2. Invent time machine.
-------
As if our broken education system needs anymore reach into the lives of our young people.
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
Over 700 people were murdered in Chicago in 2016
1994 saw 931 murdered. 970 in 1974. The ~760 of 2016 is only remarkable in that it is a recent spike: the previous 3 years were all <500.
The spike is the Ferguson effect. Black inner cities around the US have all seen the same spike since Ferguson; the police have withdrawn and the gangs are running wild. The worm will turn at some point; we've reached peak BLM and in places like Baltimore the citizens are clamoring for a crackdown. A few years from now, once the police inculcate the fact that the DOJ isn't spending all it's resources persecuting them, the numbers will improve.
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
it's stupid and only serves local colleges, mcjobs and military.
also. they should be able to get the diploma as just as the paperwork from pretty much any accredited high school if they have achieved all the necessary student credits to finish high school, shouldn't they?
they left the loophole in there though: "I am having a gap year tending to my sick grandma and listening to old timey stories".
never mind that you can cancel any of those plans (apart from military, maybe, if they require that you have already drafted yourself, which would be stupid _before_ acquiring the high school finishing papers).
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
You need to go. You're killing this site.
This is really an excellent thing to do.
It's a terrible thing to do. The reason school kids don't think ahead is that they never need to: there are close to zero consequences for not thinking ahead throughout school. We had a school in Alberta fire a physics teacher for giving zeros when students did not hand in assignments even after cajoling and extensions because it was school policy never to give zeros. So there is no need to plan your time to get homework done because there are no consequences when you don't.
Requiring students to present their plans does nothing if you have spent the previous decade showing them that forward thinking is irrelevant. On top of that, it is grossly unfair because it is no business of the school what their students will choose, or not choose, to do with their qualifications. Universities do not revoke the degrees of graduates who commit crimes because, even if they chose to misuse it, they still have the education.
with student loans just about any one can go to 4 years ones and community colleges does really have seamless transfer
so should be 2 + 2 = 4 ends up being 2 + 2.5-3 = 4.5-5
At a time when the city and state are in dire financial straits, this asshole decides to pull a stunt that's going to waste millions in litigation before the court gets around to telling him that social engineering is not his fucking job.
If a kid earns a diploma, you fucking give it to him. Their plans after they get it are none of Rahm's goddamned business.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
That's probably a huge part of the motivation for this bullshit. Distracting the public from the abject incompetence of the Chicago schools administration is a bonus.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Rahm advocates slavery. That motherfucker has been beating the drum for "national service" since his days as Obama's chief lackey.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I'd argue the opposite. It seems these days that the military are just about the only ones actually training people. If you want to be a mechanic, electrician or a pile of other trades including aviation ones it's the choice that's most likely to actually get you there instead of having to wait for a lucky break. Friends and relatives that took the military path had a far smoother career track than I did.
I'd argue the opposite. It seems these days that the military are just about the only ones actually training people. If you want to be a mechanic, electrician or a pile of other trades including aviation ones it's the choice that's most likely to actually get you there instead of having to wait for a lucky break. Friends and relatives that took the military path had a far smoother career track than I did.
before acquiring hs papers? I mean, you actually get a better crack at getting into such training in usa military?
anyways, in my country(not usa) the military is just a thing everyone(man) gets drafted for 6-12 months and.. well, the military decides where you go, though you have more oppurtunities if you have your highschool papers already or better yet are already in the university. the point being that it's better to move the enrollment beyond you having finished high school.
that and.. well the thing about military(usa too afaik) having the ability to order you where they want not the other way around, potentially to a warzone. potentially to get shot.
still, any one of those post-highschool options you would be better off (and some requiring) you to have actually finished high school so it does sound a bit of a chicken and egg thing. I would understand if they were to use it to withheld some social security benefits or shit like that instead of the piece of paper.
like, I am not totally opposite the idea - just the thing of using the diploma of what you did for past 3 years as the ransom - it doesn't make any sense, unless there is some connection to local universities, mcjobs etc. which actually let you gain admittance without presenting proof of passing high school(due to getting the _information_ that you passed high school through some state system). ..like, if you get admitted to university, wtf do you need the diploma for more anyways?
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Education is important, but it's not clear this has anything much to do with education. This is about a probably nutty idea that punishes 17-18 year olds for not having a clear idea what they want to do with their lives. Or maybe it punishes them for having such an idea if it isn't conventional.
My opinion. The kids did the school work. Give them their damn diploma.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
Does "I plan to travel the world for three years, scrounging to survive, before settling somewhere and seeking employment" count as a life plan?
How about "I'd like to keep my options open; no plan as of yet?"
A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
lots of kids fail. I just put a kid through high school and it was brutal. And if you're not a) well-to-do b) a sports kid or c) rocking a 4.0+top 10 percentile SAT you're not going to college. You won't be able to raise the funds. My kid is doing it because we borrowed a shit load of money _and_ we're devoting just about every spare penny to the costs those loans don't cover. And yes, we got Pell Grants, a scholarship and some tutition wavers. Ever since Regan/Clinton defunded the universities college _devours_ money.
You're a Community College professor? How can you not know this? Are you not listening to a damn thing your students say? And you wonder why they sit glassy eyed? Maybe it's become you're not teaching, you're preaching.
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This will undoubtedly end up in a supreme court challenge, to the taxpayers' great expense. Bravo.
A government is a body of people notably ungoverned - AC
Basically, he's going to make it harder to graduate high school.
What an asshole.
Fuck off, slaver. The people are not the property of the state, to be commanded by politicians.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Extending the reach and size of Chicago's government.
"You cannot have kids think that 12th grade is done."
If a high school education isn't enough to be considered having met the base level for training required for "the real world", the free public education children are guaranteed needs to include post-secondary education.
When I graduated HTX, akin to technical high school, in Denmark, my average-grade was multiplied by 1.02 in the application to University.. This was a tiny bump given to students who applied for an education within 2 years... Intended to encourage people to move on quick.
:)
I don't recall if it was on my diploma or if it only affected my application... In practice it has little effect, but encourages people to move on, because everybody is talking about it
I went to study CS which has so few applicants that anyone who graduates high school is guaranteed admission, so it made no difference to me (In Denmark most University slots are allocated by average-grades; with some ~25% allocated by an interview process -- money buys you nothing)
CPS has trouble graduating kids ALREADY. Less than 75% actually graduate.
Over half of the graduates are simply not able to survive in college.
And about 1/3rd of the remainder require extensive remedial courses before moving on to actual collegiate level classes.
This is CPS's way of using a trebuchet to fire the cart WAYYY out in front of a very sickly, spavined old horse.
All they're doing is setting these kids up for failure.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Well yes - one of the reasons I didn't do it (I'm crap at following orders) and one of the reasons I have utter contempt for a nearby politician who did sign on and weaseled out via political connections when he was ordered to serve overseas (yet he still makes a lot of noise about being in the army). If you are not willing you don't sign up IMHO. If you are willing it's a better deal than many.
Agreed. Spending about four years in the military gets you great training - college level training that transfers to most colleges. You also get tuition assistance while in the military and the GI bill to pay for college when you get out. Many folks can finish their bachelors degree and most masters degree programs without needing to acquire a huge student loan burden.
Folks getting ready to enter the military take an aptitude test to determine what skills they already possess. Depending on your score you have a list of jobs to choose from. Mechanic, heavy equipment, avioinics, supply, culinary specialist, administration, biomedical equipment technician, security training, etc are all college certified training courses.
Your four years also gets you other veterans benefits like VA home loans, transition assistance (similar to job placement), some hiring preference, group life insurance, and a mental discipline that most employers seek out.
OK, this starts to sound like a recruitment pitch, but so many people equate military service with what they see on TV regarding Army Infantry service. The Navy and Air Force have completely different training programs and job series. The military isn't just rucksacks and M-16s.
--
(Disclaimer. Yes, I'm a retired veteran with a bias toward military service being good for most people. But I also realize it isn't for everyone.)
You might want to read the username before you feed the trolls next time.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Or they go to their local community college, pay the small Enrollment fee. And they are accepted to a college. Then once they graduate they do what ever they want. That community college will likely see the 'student' take a single class. But hey they were still accepted.
I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
I know people in their 60s who don't know what they wanna do when they grow up.
This is just a power grab to keep people in the shit house longer.
This sounds like just another way to shoehorn kids into some "socially acceptable" stream of behaviour.
It's already *grossly* inappropriate to demand that 17/18 year olds choose an academic/career path that will shape the next decades of their lives. It denies them the very important maturing process of figuring that kind of thing out. How many people on this site, alone, changed majors in college? Dropped out to do something "fun"? Backpacked through Europe or Asia or South America or Africa trying to "find themselves"? How many work in fields unrelated to their education?
Want a better plan to promote direction in youth? Do an economic assessment of your state, determine the jobs that will be needed 5 years down the road, and give preferential financial aid to those streams. Invest in the future, don't punish it.
unfortunately, a lot of them will settle for being a dishwasher or janitor. our neighbor has a son who is in the 7th grade and does calculus in his head and wants to be a pilot. his mother is a housekeeper and father is a local truck driver. go figure.
The punishment is potentially catastrophic. Imagine not being able to afford a college degree for your chosen career because 3 years earlier you were forced to go to college and do any old course to earn your damn high school certificate.
Czech language for absolute beginners
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Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
On the one hand, I'm glad your military looks after ex-service personnel to some extent, but I am concerned that it disproportionately incentivises poor people to put their lives on the line as the only way out of the intergenerational poverty trap....
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
IN TOTAL BLISSFUL COMPLIANCE with the new directive that states that Chicago, praised be its name, will hold diplomas to students at any academic achievement level until they smear on this one last layer of dogmatic bullshit... I HUMBLY SUBMIT my action packed BUSINESS PLAN for the future.
It has been a long while since high school completion status had any direct bearing on functional intelligence. Traditional employers knew this at one time and routinely conducted interviews of job applicants, and used their super-duper powers of personal judgement to decide, during a brief conversation, whether an applicant's failure to complete high school would have been for academic reasons but far more important, to spot strengths in the individual that transcend academic ability. But today they lack the courage to conduct interviews and wish to sort people by their simple answers on computerized forms. Corporations wish to eliminate 'undesirables' from their applicant pools and exclude non-graduates routinely without any idea of whether those people would have performed the same or better. In this lack of empirical experimentation the HS flag has actually become a more theological construct than an actual measure of fitness.
If you doubt this consider modern use of the GED flag. Corporate applications require one to divulge whether their HS mark was derived from GED. Why? To further subsort applicants in sterile HR process and cast out more, of course. In a sense whether GED was used to complete HS is every bit as personal as asking directly what is the gender preference. 50 years ago GED was actually a mark of distinction, it identified the bearer as accelerated student or at the least, one who had taken extra time and effort to voluntarily obtain this mark into adulthood. But as employers devalued "the interview" and started grading on simple presence of the HS mark, masses of people obtained GED solely for the purpose of compliance, or so it is perceived. And so the GED is devalued today.
IT IS THIS THEOLOGICAL BIAS that I will, upon graduation, begin to exploit to my great personal advantage. MY BUDS IN THE HOOD know that THE MAN is out to REAM THEIR ASS, and they know that many cases they cannot be truthful and direct about their personal ambitions. They also know THE MAN IS READY TO TIP THE FBI should their revealing personal essays trip some SORRY-ASS PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE today or even in future years, since THE MAN KEEPS RECORDS FOREVER ON COMPUTERS TO KEEP THE BROTHERS DOWN. Therefore, in addition to being stellar students and completely ready to take on the responsibilities of society they know they must BULLSHIT THE MAN AND LAY DOWN ONE MORE PIECE OF CRAP INTO THE SYSTEM. They know it's gonna COST THEM to do it 'right'. As my principal mode of business I will be the one to do it for them and COLLECT.
I will open a number of "life coaching" centers that are uniquely streamlined to get through the process and FOOL THE MAN. My business will succeed because it will not be weighed down with real coaching, which would be an insult to their natural intelligence anyway. Since many will go on to make more money than I anyway. I will create underground literature that helps to make them paranoid about the process, even cast it into political terms. I will have race-based campaigns and blue-collar campaigns tailored to exploit the anxieties of each individual, to convince them that Chicago wants to get something from them to keep on file.
THEREFORE, my value-added "ambitions for the future" content sold by subscription and through HOOD franchises and COLLECTION 'AGENCIES', will supply these fine young men and women with a variety of quality custom life scenarios. They'll pick their future from a hat and I'll load the hat. My representatives will sit with them to describe their future profiles, develop a convincing presentation and ace the HS requirement.
I'll use computers too so it'll be great. I'm the MAN!
<blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
So, if you have no plans because you haven't found a job ... that didn't seem to be on their list. Or can you say your plan is to "take some time off to think about what you want to do"?
My bet is as 2020 approaches and they actually try to implement this -- they'll realize all the holes the new plan has.
For the person thinking this would increase poverty -- if this law went into effect, some court will order the school to give out a diploma equivalency document for someone who didn't want to disclose their future plans at graduation.
I'd say that this lines up perfectly with the current trend of withholding benefits to people unless they work for them.
If a graduate doesn't have a plan to "hit the ground running", then he/she is more likely to be a drain on the public coffers and we wouldn't want to see our hard-earned tax dollars wasted by some muzzy-minded HS graduate would we? Come to think of it, why don't we demand a drug test too? Our local Republican legislature is really big on thing like this.
Speaking from real life, however, I can say that having a goal and actually being able to move towards that goal at age 18 aren't the same thing. I'm afraid that neither educational, home or community environments left me with any clue on how to advance to the next stage. I just muddled through until eventually I managed to sort of fall into a track that led ultimately to a career as a happy taxpayer.
If it's a university, then entry is based upon the combination of your SAT or ACT score and your application letter. It has nothing to do with high school.
Incorrect. Some schools stopped requiring standardized test scores (SAT/ACT) years ago for undergraduate admissions. And I don't know of a U.S. university that will admit an undergraduate student who doesn't have a high school diploma, GED, or proof of secondary education. Three examples, one private, two public (not including my alma mater, which also had the same requirements):
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Virginia
University of Maryland/University College (UMUC) -- also doesn't require the SAT/ACT for "most" degree programs
Would this be acceptable policy at a college or university? How would you feel if after completing your coursework the university withheld your diploma simply because you decided not to do anything else afterwards?
Who enforces the planning outcome anyway? What happens when a high school senior simply walks away from a minimum wage job offer obtained only to fulfill a graduation requirement?
Congratulations Rahm - you've just created yet another system to be gamed.
"Students will soon have to show that they've secured a job or received a letter of acceptance to college, a trade apprenticeship, a gap year program or the military in order to graduate," - sounds like you have to a least begin to execute the plan by showing proof. That's more than just a plan.
Make it illegal to be dumb
Problem solved!
Seriously, can you see Trump passing that one?
The best future plans they could make would be: " I'm leaving asap so I don't get gunned down by gang violence in a city that has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. "
or
" I'm leaving for Germany where I can get a full education without being a debt slave for the rest of my life. Is why I took German as my secondary language requirement. "
What about a girl completing high school who just wants to marry and have some kids? Being a homemaker doesnt seem to be one of the prescribed choices! This is the central planner way of micromanaging everyone's life. If the kids show competency required to finish high school, give them their diploma. Not everyone knows what they want to be, nor does everyone actually become what they profess to want to be. I remember as a kid hearing about communist Russia dictating who would be what when they grew up. Seems we are moving in that direction - for the betterment of the dear citizens of course.
This grinds on me. Plans are inherently for the future.
High School should teach economy of language.
-Dave
They need to make sure that "I'm gonna be a Baller" and "I'm gonna be a Gansgtah" qualify as acceptable answers since most kids in the Inner City - or anywhere else for that matter - have no fucking clue beyond what they see around them or in the media or by dreams of making it our of the hood. This is frankly a white man assuming that everyone has a defined plan for their lives.
Education is important, but it's not clear this has anything much to do with education. This is about a probably nutty idea that punishes 17-18 year olds for not having a clear idea what they want to do with their lives. Or maybe it punishes them for having such an idea if it isn't conventional.
My opinion. The kids did the school work. Give them their damn diploma.
I figure that if they live in Chicago they've been punished enough already. If you live in Chicago your plan should be to find a job elsewhere and leave before it craters completely.
Add to your observation, a society that is winding down opportunities to participate, other than the upper spectrum of the professional classes.
This Rahm move is the first stage of a grift. There will be introduced a whole new opportunity for private, post-academic life counseling "services" - similar to the "math training centers" for the aspirational.
The rest will be more effectively bound to a school-to-prison scheme, which will swell in volume and record commensurate record shareholder gains. "They didn't even want to graduate" after all. Now they are assembling small electronics for 5 to 10.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
It punishes them for not wanting to tell the government about their plans.
Chicago's "Plan" already ruined most of these kids lives by giving them terrible education. Illinois's "Plan" has the whole state on the edge of bankruptcy, unable to pay its current bills and having to call an emergency session of congress. Yes, these people should TOTALLY be making a "Plan" for our kids to plan their future. OR they can shut the f up and let the kids dig the state out of the hole the planners created.
Why can't parents take on this responsibility? Can't they encourage their children to have a plan for post-high school?
Let me guess, parents don't have time to turn to their 15 year-old and ask them "what do you want to be when you grow up?" The Chicago Public Schools have all but eliminated career counseling (according to the article, I have no first-hand experience with CPS), and now they want to make it mandatory that all seniors get career counseling?!?! Their commitment to this idea seems like a hastily slapped-together response to distract from a failing public school system.
Honestly this seems like something that would make more sense after they eliminate "social promotion", enforce strict graduation requirements that has High School graduates performing at a high school level in things like math and reading, and have gotten their drop out rate under control.
Just curious, can the Chicago community colleges absorb all the high school graduates that fail to either find a job or secure admission to a four year college? Because that is where they are going to head, in all likelyhood.
Ken
Most college applications are due well before the end of the last year of high school.
Applications are due around December/January, and acceptance letters (which seems to be what you are talking about) are contingent on your successful graduation from High School.
Ken
As long as they still have the option to sell me their organs I'm not seeing the problem.
Hell even if you don't want to go and get trained in one of those skilled positions the military is a really good way to get ahead. While I did not do the military I had a lot of friends and relatives who did and there are ways to really game the system. Not only the tuition assistance and GI bill but a bunch of other stuff. From what I can gather the best way to get ahead is to:
1. Become an Eagle Scout, give you a an initial rank boost, I gather that being fairly high up in the civil air patrol also does this
2. Join the national guard reserves when you turn 17 and you do your basic training the summer between your junior and senior year
3. Apply to a college that has an ROTC program and get in it
4. Inform your reserve unit leader that you are doing ROTC in college, this usually gets you another bump in rank and the additional pay
5. Because you are in the reserves and ROTC you 4 year degree is fully paid for as well as everything else for college plus spending money
6. After completing college if there is a commission available you get to serve out your ROTC debt and there will very likely be a spot for you given how much has already been invested
7. At this point you have between 5 and 5.5 years of service and remember that Eagle scout you earned, so instead of going in as second lieutenant you will be at least a first lieutenant with a likely rapid promotion or even start as a captain.
8. While serving out your officer duty continue taking advantage of the military for additional courses and continued education
9. At the end of your mandatory service, I think it is now 6 years, you now have at least 11 years in total, so you can continue for another 9 and get an officers pension at age 37, go into the private sector as someone with lots of schooling and experience, go work for a government contractor, or decide to ladder climb and see if you can become an general or admiral.
Once done you will have a debt free college education, training in a useful skill (you enlisted job training), have clear leadership skills (you were an officer), maybe a pension, additional classes beyond a bachelors degree, and provided you didn't drink your paycheck or do other really dumb things with it a good amount of savings. This assumes that everything works out perfectly and you get things sorted out early which is usually the hard part for most people as those first 3 steps are the hard ones to take. I know people who have done one or more from 1, 2 and 3 but never all and in each case they do have a leg up over those who didn't do any. This also assumes that you did fairly well in high school and got a reasonable ASVAB score that doesn't limit you.
Time to offend someone
No kidding? You actually need to graduate high school to get into college? Color me shocked.
The original poster posited a "vicious circle" in which you need to get college acceptance to get the HS diploma you need to get college acceptance. Since in the Chicago case you just have to demonstrate that you have a plan, I'm sure a conditional acceptance would fill the need.
Um, Chicago is 200% Democrat, not Republican.
200% because all the dead people vote Democrat too.
while (sig==sig) sig=!sig;
Good luck with that one surviving the ACLU, NAACP et al.
Are we living in some sort of dystopia where the purpose of life is to be a productive little citizen and go straight to work for your corporate/military masters in your government-approved plan? You work not so much to make money, but to avoid becoming excommunicated and forced into destitution. Obey and you'll get enough to survive.
When I applied to college (back when Nixon was President), I got one acceptance letter conditional on my graduation from high school, and one without a condition (College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota). Of course, the U did know I'd been in high school.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
I don't even fix my own home.
There's really just two choices.
A cuck or a Nazi.
Also related, OCS is quite difficult, at least in the Marines. I can't speak for the other services, but I was stationed with the sorry bastards that were doing OCS. I was not an officer.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
It worked for the Romans so why not for us.
Also why not - just because almost nobody else offering jobs to a major chunk of the population doesn't mean the military should abandon them as well instead of looking for people with potential. The answer IMHO is to have orgs other than the military and sports looking for talent outside of a narrow class range.
And if Democrats weren't willing to adopt Republican concepts on occasion, we wouldn't have Obamacare.
Florida's Republican legislature wanted all welfare recipients to be drug-tested so our tax dollars wouldn't be "wasted". But the legislators also receive our tax dollars, and while stoned poor people may lie around doing nothing all day, stoned legislators are likely to pass laws!
Nobody is addressing the elephant in the room here, the fact that 'future plans' is an oxymoron! amiright?!
the phrase "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" was popularized by right wing think tanks trying to demonize help from the government. There is no teacher alive that wouldn't tell the mayor to go pound sand if asked if this was a good idea. If they wanted to help they could spend more on consoling services.
No, this is pure evil. The question is what, specific evil prompted it? I'd genuinely like to know. And I hop the folks in Chicago figure it out so they can shut it down and maybe vote the clown out that suggested this.
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This will be a good way to railroad the poor who aren't sure what they want to do yet in life into the Armed Forces.