I just loved this poignant comment that Barbara Ray made on my recent post about the U.S.'s loss of value in hands-on work:

Right now, high school vocational classes are tagged as "loser" classes, and are shriveling on the vine as everyone seems to be taking AP classes in preparation for college. But as you note, kids have high aspirations, but as the college dropout rates suggest, they aren't always able to live up to those dreams. Maybe it's time we offer the non-college-bound a more realistic alternative course-- and "voc ed" seems to be a good starting point. Let's beef up those courses in high school, learn from the "career academy" approach, and make these jobs visible and "real" to kids, and connect what they learn in HS to what they could be doing on the job. Some worry that doing so means "tracking" kids and thwarting opportunities for all to succeed in college. But that just shows how much we stigmatize vocational training and blue-collar work. Giving a kid a clear path to a high-skilled manufacturing job is nothing to be ashamed of or worried about. It IS an opportunity, just a different one from college. And some reports even show that 8 years after graduating, those with two-year technical degrees were earning more than some BAs.

She has a blog too, about the struggles that young adults face. I think this may call for an addition to my blogroll!