Rants of A Coyote

References: Oregon Live Article, Oregon Live House Bill Information, News Radio 1190 KEX Live Interview

I agree with most Adult these days in that the Youth of today do not appear to be as motivated, or educated as generations prior. Having a plan for after High School is a great idea for kids today, but making a few more forms required to graduate, is not.

Having gone through the paces myself already almost 10 years ago, I honestly can say that the approach that the politicians in Salem, OR are proposing to "encourage" our youth to graduate, are almost "Dronish". I am sure at some level they care about the future of our state, but they have a funny way to show it. While listening to the interview on the radio last Tuesday (1 week ago), I remember that I became very disheartened when a statement was made in the tone of "Even if they do not go on to college, the ability to fill out forms is valuable in any industry". It truly appears that we have become a nation of Form Fillers.

While it WAS mentioned, I do not believe enough emphasis was placed on "What IF" current students didn't plan on attending a 4 or 2 year college, trade school, or military. What if, say, they wanted to continue the family business, or start their own? Sure, many aspects of these endeavors would benefit from some college or trade courses, but depending on the industry, not required.

For instance: To get into the landscaping industry, you can go through and get your associates in the related field, or in Oregon at least you can in place of that, work for two years first in just general Lawn Care before submitting the required applications.

I understand that the public school system is government funded, but there is so much bloatware in our education system that it could use some thinning.

You want to really learn some new material, from Science to Literature? Try reading through the Book of Knowledge (If you can find them). Highly informative and entertaining. Sure, it's supposed to be a Children's encyclopedia, but with as much as our current education system waters down information, 10 to 1 says that by going through these books, and just updating current events with them, a child could receive a better education as a whole than the average that is produced in our current k-12 system.

And for the most part, this has nothing to do with the educators. Most of the educators that I know are top-notch. They have a passion to teach, but are often limited by the current system and regulations in place... Now the different districts will have to keep track of who applied to where as well, If House Bill 2732 passes all the way through.

Do we really need this? Curiously, what would happen if an entire graduating class DID NOT complete the requirements willingly? Would the entire year not graduate, or would the state get the message?