Will High Schools Be A Relic Of The Past?

(CBS)  We're often told that problems aren't always as big as they seem, and that a little creativity may bring a solution.

So when North Carolina's governor confronted his big problem — one of the worst high school dropout rates in the country — his creativity kicked into overdrive, CBS News correspondent Lee Cowan reports.

"One way to get the high school dropout rate down is to do away with high school," says Gov. Michael Easley.

Sound far-fetched? The Legislature didn't think so.

"When I put this in the budget for the first time, I thought there'd be a big fight over it. And everybody said 'this is a great idea, let's do it,'" the governor says.

North Carolina didn't actually eliminate high schools. It just put some of them on steroids. They're called "Early Colleges" — high schools located on college campuses where students can take high school history and college-level English on the same day. Before they know it, student not only get a high school diploma, but a two-year associate's degree — all by the time they're 18.

It's a jumpstart that saves time and resources, and here's the kicker: It's all free.

Student Chad Lewis says it's "not a bad deal at all."

Lewis wanted to work on big rig trucks, but said high school bored him. Now he can study history and hydraulics at the same time — and he already has a job.

"It really gives you a reason for getting up in the morning, something you want to do, something that you felt that a lot of people supported you through, that you really want to go do," Lewis explains.

The state needs all the help it can get to build a new labor force. In the last decade, 60 percent of North Carolina's low-skilled jobs have gone overseas. High-tech companies are hiring, but a high school diploma usually won't get you past the receptionist.

Ashley Williams was worried that she couldn't afford a degree, but at just 16 she's cruising through college English — about to become the first person in her family to get a college degree.

"I have a whole lot of people who look at me as being something big, and a whole lot of people who believe in me, so it's like, I want to do something big," Williams says. "I have to."

It's not without drawbacks. There's no prom, no locker gossip, no cheerleading tryouts at the school. They're all sacrifices to be made for that something big. In Williams' case, she wants to become a city manager.

And after? "A governor" — and "maybe president" after that.

"She's intimidating, she's so smart," Easley says.

If he has his way, North Carolina may eventually be the first state in the country where traditional high school is a quaint relic of the past.

[zykracosmos]

Easley deserves credit for addressing a difficult issue. Ignoring the fact that 1/3 of NC kids drop out of high school and basically end their education at that point would be irresponsible. I personally think greater emphasis on trade school training at an earlier age for non-collegebound teenagers would be helpful (referring to the comment about challenges for employers finding qualified applicants). Money is a key factor. State funding should be available for financing any kind of education, not just college prep. The idea of the state financing education through an associate degree is bold, but the commitment for financing has to be there from legislators and voters. Georgia has the best system in the country. Every student in the state is guaranteed a free education through a 4-year state college, university, or trade school of his/her choice, for whatever program he/she qualifies for, as long as the student maintains a B average. The Hope Scholarship program remains today the best strategy for keeping kids in school. As long as they make the effort, they get a free education (tuition/books). Capable students are not denied extensive training simply because of financial constraints. Because the state mandates that all lottery proceeds go to education, the tax burden for these educational benefits are not excessive.

[sy2502]

The fact there is something wrong with the current high school system isn't an excuse to just do away with it altogether. In Europe high school teaches the basis of knowledge to go to university so that when you are in college you don't have to start with the 101 classes. I got a degree in both Europe and the US and in the US I learned close to nothing more than what I had learned in high school in Europe.

[marcpcbs]

kwood211

My mother was with the SFUSD for thirty years and I have be with the district for 14 years.

I attend every school meeting

Before you start trying to tell me that things are wonderful in our schools, Go talk to anyone in charge of hiring at a major corporation and ask them how hard it is to find people that have even half a clue.

And talk to any JC or university that review SAT tests

They will tell you.

[marcpcbs]

kwood211

There are plenty of schools out there that offer what they call a BA and you can achieve it in sometimes as little as 6 weeks. Diploma and all.

People in personnel departments in charge of hireing have to be alot more careful to make sure their not getting one of these one trick pony grads.

[catt42701]

This is wonderful. Education instead of cheer leading and football. What a concept and why hasn't it been thought of before, oh wait, it was. In the past school was education with a short recess for play in the middle of the day. Not many days off either, certainitly not for sports.

By the way, schools have always gotten paid for how many students are attending.

marcpcbs - I totally disagree with you. I don't know what "6 week BA" program you are referring to. A BA takes 4 years (not including summers). Colleges and Universities require a general education along with all the classes relevant to a particular major.

General requirements include history (for example: western civ, US history, eastern studies, etc.), lab. sciences (chemistry, biology, physics, etc), foreign languages, math (calculus, statistics, etc.), social studies (political science, sociology, philosophy, psychology, etc.). Not to mention literature, writing (both informational and technical) as well as other English courses, and on and on. That%u2019s what you get to do before you commit to a major.

Instead of spending any more time looking down your nose at students, teachers, and the schools, go and see what is going on in the classrooms in your area.

It%u2019s so easy for all of us to mindlessly sit in our adult-good-old-days-ivory-tower-haze of self satisfaction, saying how much better "our education" was.

WE are responsible for the state of our schools. If you don%u2019t like the education kids are getting and are convinced there is a problem, as evidently you are, get off your soap box and attend school board meetings or get yourself elected to the school board and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I dare you.

[marcpcbs]

Any high school student who thinks there doing great in their studies should go take a 1954 8th grade general ed test.

This could be humbling

[marcpcbs]

Will High Schools Be A Relic Of The Past?

Just how stupid do we want our young people to be?

We only ask this question because we don't understand how important a fully rounded education is and we think we can get away with cheating the system and our kids.

Oh well, this society doe's have a safety net for those who don't think they need an education.

It's called the Prison System

[marcpcbs]

kwood211

There are many ways that the education system is letting our kids down. One of them is "Dumbing Down" the lesson plan or just giving away grades. another is "whittling" what they learn which is doing away with all the support classes and just teaching one topic. This creates "One Trick Ponies" that have a BA in some area but they can't read, can't do basic math, can't write to save their live like fill in a job app. they don't know a thing about human history. You can't work successfully with people if you don't know the nature or history of the human beast. They have 100 word vocabularies. The well-rounded education that used to be available in the 50s has been traded in for a six week BA that can't deliver.

One of the reasons for this is, schools get paid by how many attend and how many graduate. Over the past 40 years, drugs in our schools and lack of support have made it so teachers almost have to give away grades as an act of self-preservation. This act serves no one. We need to change this.