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It is the duty of every single American to make a commitment towards higher education said President Obama in his state of union address. Rick Santorum, the Republican candidate found this to be a snobbish statement.

Why Santorum should find this snobbish is another issue altogether. First of all, Santorum ust remember that by saying every American, President Obama did not mean every single American to enrol in a University. He only meant that every American must at least spend a year being trained at any of the post-secondary institutions that includes apprenticeship programs and technical schools.

It will still not be right to dismiss as snobbish a vision of every American completing a four year degree in liberal arts or sciences. You can maybe call it unrealistic. Many factors constrain a person’s ability to successfully finish a degree program. They include availability to time, financial position, interest in certain subject areas and their level of intelligence.

Most of our educators, commentators and policymakers however have always ignored this and continue to do so. At the highest social discourse levels, there is a misconception that education is the only solution to any problem we face as a society or as individuals.

This misconception is nothing but strongly believing that everyone studying engineering will be extremely good at it and will eventually work as an engineer. This is not really necessary as it will only lead to a society where everyone knows how to design classic motor parts but only a few are employed in the field without any practical, hands on experience.

Non-academic employment forms must not be stigmatized. Young people must not be brainwashed to think that they are lesser people if they do not get graduate degrees. Those forms of labor will always be in demand. By discouraging those who are suited for these jobs, we only breed unnecessary frustration. The skill of assembling a car is equally important and these skills are not given much importance by our society.

Manually assembling a car is not a job for the average academic. These skills are held at low regard by our social perceptions of what education should be. It was certainly right on our President’s part to include trade and technical education in his pervasive enrolment advocacy. If education is well structured, it helps with the overall growth.

This means, there is no point in forcing good workers to learn history and science that are in no way connected to his work. He will only feel completely bored and what good does such inactive participation do to the institution? This individual will only be stripped of his essential, practical skills he could have acquired during the time he spent grudgingly in the classroom.

It is in our interest to acknowledge that some people are suitable for trade and technical schools. This is the only way to develop the actual strength of each and every person. The value of trade and technical education therefore cannot be underestimated.