Heavy Recruiting

I haven't been so specific about my "working" activity throughout the posts on this blog over the years. That was a mostly tactical decision. In any case, as occupational activities have changed, I find myself in a secondary school setting in South LA, and there are many things that offer ideas for posts.

In this specific case, I've made some observations that I find alarming.

In high schools around the country, one of the main thrusts about discussions of the future is college. When I started working at the school I'm at, I had an unrealistic idea of how much attention was being paid towards college; I figured between the kids and the teachers, that nobody cared about college. That was unrealistic. Almost every student regards college as a useful thing and a noble goal, even though some kids have unrealistic expectations about themselves.

One student, when I asked what he wants to do after graduation, responded that he wants to play football for USC, and then move on to the NFL. Sports as a viable option out of the 'hood--this is a very real means of escape. But this student, notwithstanding his slim chances of actually graduating, doesn't actually play football right now in high school.

Our football program itself doesn't quite condition kids well enough for Division I college ball anyway, but we don't talk about that; we're not dream killers...

There is plenty of attention from big Ivy League schools back east being paid to our elite academic students, and I imagine federal money for admitting South Central LA kids is a motivating factor in that. BUt really, out of 1400 kids over four grade levels, we have, like, 19 seniors with a GPA higher than 3.5. Nineteen.

This all brings me to my first alarming observation: there are more than Ivy League schools recruiting around here.

DeVry, ACC (American Career College), Phoenix University, and Everest Career College are some of the heavier recruiters on campus, and they specifically target the students that have a GPA under 2.0.

On the one hand it's nice that students who don't shine so well in high school are being recognized and even encouraged to learn and be better prepared for a career.

But these are students who don't have the drive to succeed at the high school level, and who may be at a loss for understanding how student loans work, how much money it ultimately costs to go to one of these for-profit universities, and what the prospective salaries will be in the (rare) event of a program's completion.

I was a pretty stellar high school student, and the finances of my university education were mostly foreign to me for years.

I've always been a bit wary or for-profit universities, and until now I had no idea they actively recruited students.

Should I be anxious about this development?

Sleeping in the Woods

This past weekend I went to my first professional conference, the CMC-South, held in Palm Springs, and I can say I got plenty out of it. That surprised me, actually. In any case, it was a conference---of math teachers. Lots and lots of math teachers...spooky.

In any case, upon returning home, I was reminded that we were going camping the next weekend. Of course, how could I forget?

Corrie, in her driven way, has made lists of the things we'll be needing to organize to be ready to enjoy ourselves in the Big Siggity. She laughed and said, "I've never planned for a camping trip, and it's more challenging than I thought, you know? We've never gone camping before..."

Before I could say, Really? I think there's photographic evidence pointing to the contrary, she finished her thought, "We've only gone out sleeping in the woods."

I had a good belly laugh and agreed. The trips that we'd embarked upon in the past were far more of the "sleeping in the woods" variety than any planned activity resembling camping.

So, we're trying to crack that pattern. Which means, really, Corrie's trying to break that pattern. I can't even keep the trip in my head.

AND it's to freaking Big Sur! One of this planet's Official Beautiful Places...