New Collar

Could not agree more with the idea of mashing up vocation and academics. College is no talisman for success in future life no matter how well-known the brand. Kids need to have learned skills that they can ply in the job market no matter what their college diploma. The more disconnected the education from what makes money in the real world, the bigger the chasm for the freshly minted college graduate. Many parents myself included simply cannot take that leap of faith and encourage their kids to take such a "unconventional" path. We hold on to the idea of a college diploma as being something sacrosanct without which our kids would be hobbled for life. 

As responsible parents we need to enable them to launch into the world fully functional. As the author points out, this idea may be out of touch with the times and there are kids who really cannot get a lot of their college education. If they are already working adult jobs while still in high-school, the case for college as step towards employment simply does not make any sense. They cannot understand why they need to waste time and money on a college education to end up exactly where they already are. Yet, there is a gap to bridge even for the most high functional and talented teens who feel like they are living the post college working adult life. The proposed mashup would fill this gap quite well.