Honestly, this has always been an interesting analogy for me. Personally, I feel they're directly related, but I'd like to see what this board thinks. Any thoughts?
Sure they're related. But I think a more accurate view is the correlation between income and drop-out rate, which could be compared to teenage pregnancy. I have friends who teach in public school inside the loop, and man, talk about a reality check. So many poor kids have way too many other pressures in their lives (like putting food on their parents tables) to take school seriously. It's really a waste to force so many of those students through a traditional curriculum, when there are so many other things we could be teaching them that will actually help their lives.
not to throw this off topic, but i agree. traditional curriculum isn't always the best method. why should chemistry be required? and how about algebra 2? the most life relevant math class i took in high school was titled math money. it was all based on real situations like simple vs compound interest, mortgages, retirement options (IRA vs enrolling in a 401k). i realize that we (the US) are lagging behind other countries in math and science, but i think our nation has bigger problems to worry about than where our students stand on the world rankings. the fact that teenage pregnancy is an issue just shows the sad state that our education system truly is in.
in my high school, theres a couple of pregnant girls. it sucks, but thats why people should use rubbers. Pull out method isn't very effective from what ive heard
Then you're going to come to a point where people are just not educated enough in different areas. Basically, you're taking what we call "general knowledge" and gradually shrinking it. At some point, everyone will generally be an idiot, but good at one single specific field.
i can see the error of my thinking, but it seems as though we are in some ways headed there already... without those people being trained in at least some life skills. does anyone believe we aren't headed here:
I think other nations have it right. Educate up until a certain age, and then test. Certain scores go on to higher education, certain scores go on to vocational programs.