Post Secondary Options: I Choose Them All!

Military Service, Community College, University, or Work Force?

Which pathway should high schools prepare students for?

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The tyranny of the word "or" in the first question demands that we choose only one option. I reject that tyranny and choose instead the opportunities provided of replacing "or" with "and." I choose all of the above. I believe that we should help prepare every student for all of the options presented. There is not one that can be placed above the others as more desirable.

The truth is that many of our students will wind up pursuing multiple options. Military Service may precede or follow enrollment in a four-year university. Community College may lead to the work force with an industry-recognized certificate or to a four-year university.

Jeanne Feister wrote in Forbes Magazine, "The average worker today stays at each of his or her jobs for 4.4 years, according to the most recent available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the expected tenure of the workforce’s youngest employees is about half that." 

With the prospect of multiple job changes during a lifetime, it is not a stretch to see students taking advantage of several of the options above and not limited to only one pathway.

My own journey to my first day of teaching led me through each of the four pathways.

US Navy Recruit Rob Jackson

A month after high school, I was in Orlando, Florida, a United States Navy Recruit, attempting to survive Boot Camp and ready to serve my country. As a seventeen year old struggling to fall asleep in a barracks filled with other young patriots snoring their way into the night, I had no idea where life might take me. I did suspect that the discipline and order imposed by life in the military would help me succeed wherever I might wind up.

After completing my military service, I simultaneously entered the work force and Asheville - Buncombe Technical Community College to work my way through earning an Associates Degree. I used that degree to enter Western Carolina University to earn my Bachelors Degree. Later, I would return to WCU to earn a Masters Degree, and then earn an Education Specialist Degree and my Doctorate from Wingate University. Had my high school, Zephyrhills High School, only prepared me for military service or only prepared me for the work force, I would not have been successful in the community college or the university. Likewise, had I only been prepared for further academic studies, my military service would not have gone so well.

The Case for Entering the Military after High School

The Purdue Exponent is an independent student newspaper serving Purdue University. This past November, the Features Editor, Megan Tarter, wrote a feature on Dustin Weisner, a junior in the Polytechnic Institute of Purdue University. In her story, titled Military Service Helps Student Find Direction, she shared that Dustin had "started at Purdue after having already served four years in the military." In the feature, Dustin's current success was linked to his past military service: "By dedicating his life to the military and spending time there, maturing and growing, Weisner was able to arrive at college knowing exactly what he wants to do and how to get where he wants to be." Military Service is not just a great preparation for college. It can also be a great career in and of itself. For others, service in the military provides the skills and the training to land a high-paying job in the civilian world after military service has ended.

The Case for Entering Community College after High School

College Board, purveyors of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Advanced Placement (AP) exams describes Community Colleges and "What Students Need to Know."  - "Community colleges offer students the opportunity to save money, prepare for transfer to a four-year college, get ready for a career, try out college and take advantage of a flexible schedule." The College Board article goes on to say that, "According to the American Association of Community Colleges, 44 percent of all undergraduate college students are enrolled at a community college." Students knowing what to expect in a community college increase their chances of being successful whether they are there to transition to a four-year university or to prepare for a career they will begin right after graduation.

The Case for Entering a University after High School

USA Today introduced readers to Natasha Yonkof, a 2009 political science graduate of the University of Nevada – Reno, in an article comparing attending a community college first to direct enrollment in an university right after high school. Author Jon Fortenbury stated that Natasha Yonkof "had no doubts about going straight to a university. She knew what she wanted to study and got involved in campus life immediately." Yonkof felt that knowing what she wanted to study made the decision to go directly to a four-year university easier. "The university is a good place to start if you already know what you want to study or are looking to get more involved,” Yonkof said. The article also noted that starting upper-level classes sooner and getting to know professors early on are benefits of the straight-to-university route.

The Case for Entering the Work Force after High School 

The Houston Chronicle recognized that neither the military, community college, nor a four-year university might be the best place for some students to start and made a case for entering the work force right after high school. "Attending college directly out of high school doesn’t work for everyone. In some cases there’s a financial need to go directly to work. In other cases, students are simply experiencing burnout or a lack of direction. Some students feel as though attending college right away would be a waste of their time and their parents' money until they have a clearer understanding of what they want." The article, Six Advantages of Working After High School, written by Karen Johnson, discussed that work could be used to fill a "gap year" prior to heading to school or the military. Work after high school provides money, experience, career exposure, teaches responsibility, provides educational value, and in some cases, tuition money from employers.

Military Service, Community College, University, or Work Force?

Which pathway should high schools prepare students for? I believe the answer is all of the above. Each is the perfect pathway for some students. We cheaply sell our students' future possibilities when we try to decide for them. We fail to acknowledge that they are individuals when we try to prepare them all the same way for the same future. For me, when it comes to post-secondary options for students, I choose them all!