Not everyone in Tomball High school will go to college.

The school seems to be solely focused on preparing students for college, when there is little to no emphasis on preparing the students who do not want to go to universities for real world jobs. Out of Tomball’s last senior class 13.59% of students did not go to college. That many students should not be ignored. 

Vocational classes that are tailored to preparing students for professions that may not require college are not common in Tomball. The percent of students that are not going to college is large enough to be a problem but apparently small enough to be ignored by the school administration. The only class that could be close to an example of a vocational program would be the woodshop classes where there is emphasis in the advanced programs on construction and training for future career in the industry. The school does not offer an auto-shop, cosmetology class or any other vocational program that would provide an alternative to the college centric classes they already offer.

It should not be argued that the primary objective of the school should be preparing the advanced level college bound students for the rigor of universities. This is not simply because it is the people with higher education that for the most part represent the prime movers of the world but also college bound students do represent most of the school. 86.41% of the last graduating class went to college. But that doesn’t mean that the others should not or cannot be helped. Society needs a strong workforce and while college degrees help the ‘intellectual’, the intellectuals are not going to build a house.

By providing practical skills for realistic careers with vocational programs the school would be able to give more options to the rest of the students. Honestly for that group in the school, a vocational class that teaches useful skills is probably more applicable to life outside of high school than making them sit through an earth and space science or forensics class that while important, are more helpful college bound students.

Students who are not right for college are not going to see a point in even attending high school if all it is doing is preparing them for something they will never move on to. Vocational classes could provide an alternative and give guidance to students so they have a skill set to help them get ready for starting work after high school and start their future right away or provide a direction that could lead them to attending a trade school instead of a traditional college. This could reduce dropout rates by giving them a tangible reason for continuing school, other than simply obtaining a degree. A foreseeable objective is exactly what some students’ need.