There are plenty of examples of people who did not pursue academia who have gone on to run successful businesses or become well paid celebs, oft quoted by poorly performing students trying to justify their behaviour, but the hard facts are that these high achievers are the exception not the rule.
As educational attainment levels increase, unemployment rates decrease. A college drop-out has more than twice the chance of being unemployed than a person with a decent degree, according to a recent study in the US. Even in 2009, in the heart of a serious recession, people with at least four-year college degrees had relatively low unemployment rates (2.5 – 5.2 percent).
So isn’t it about time we did something about the quality of teaching, starting right from age 5, to maximise everyone’s chances?
See below for an idea of the challenges our country’s education system is up against:
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/comment/columns/rodliddle/article1062292.ece