College Misses Goal

Vocational training, technical school or community college. Call it what you want, but they are getting further away from what they were meant for. These schools should be considered what they were meant to be, trade schools -- a one-year program that teaches a skill.

College is not for everyone and the price is unbelievable. The cost of sports in college adds more than a just little to the cost of education. One article I read states that colleges that offer sports have an average yearly cost of $18,000 to $25,000 a year for the students not participating in sports. The cost for a student in a sports program is about $55,000 a year. There are some colleges that offer no sports and the cost for a year is about $8,000. Their education is second to none.

Now the government wants me, the taxpayer or a business owner, to pay for the cost of one's degree after five or 10 years of service. What's next? Sports should be taken out of the college system and turn semi-pro. The athletes want to be paid. Do you blame them when you see the money the college takes in (big, big business)? Get sports out of college and just offer what's needed for a teaching degree in sports. Now they offer what is called a paper class to students in sports to pass the course with one written paper. Great future for our money. I don't think so.

Now you want to add sports to the community college, at what cost to the taxpayer, student or student's mom and dad? They claim they need to have two years so they get some general education. Who really came up with this? I'll tell you: Someone found out that there is tax money somewhere and they can get it for more administrators, better benefits and pay raises. I was a vocational teacher and it's more for the administrators' own pockets and to keep a lot of unneeded positions. Numbers, numbers, numbers, that's what it's all about. Oh, they can explain in better words and make it look better on paper to receive the state and federal funds. Like I said, numbers.

Turn the vocational programs back to one year, end the general education and teach them a skill so they can start to earn a living, start their apprenticeship, if needed, in their field and leave sports out of these programs. This added schooling just adds more debt that's not needed for the student. Now they want to add sports that would increase the costs even further. They say donations will pay for it; well, we all know where this is going. If the students had a choice, I would say that most, if not all, of them would say "Give me the one-year option, period."

Bill Dietman

Bella Vista