Flexible Futures

Earlier this month, I read with interest a story about “Flexible Futures,” a public school program in Germany focused on connecting work with learning. The story, originally published by The Hechinger Report, was re-published by Reasons to be Cheerful. The story begins,

“Neriman Raim, a 16-year-old student in Cologne, Germany, thought that after finishing school she’d want to work in an office.”

“But two years ago, she did a two-week internship in an architect’s bureau, and it was tedious. Later, a placement working with kindergarteners led her to consider a career as a teacher – but not of kids this young. The next school year, she spent three weeks supervising older children as they did their homework.”

“Neriman now plans to become an educator working with grade-school children. After finishing school this summer, she’ll participate in a year-long placement to confirm that teaching is the right career for her before going to a technical college. Her internships offered a glimpse of what working life could look like, she said: ‘I could see what a day is like with kids.’”

“Neriman is taking part in Kein Abschluss ohne Anschluss (KaoA) – or ‘no graduation without connection’ – a program that has been rolled out across the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia to help students better plan for their futures. Young people get support with resumes and job applications; in ninth grade, they participate in short internships with local businesses and have the option of doing a year-long, one-day-a-week work placements in grade 10.”

“’You don’t learn about a job in school,’ said Sonja Gryzik, who teaches English, math and career orientation at the school Neriman attends, Ursula Kuhr Schule. ‘You have to experience it.’”

“Germany and other Western European countries have long directed students into career paths at earlier ages than in the U.S., often placing kids onto university tracks or vocational education starting at age 10. Students in Germany can embark on apprenticeships directly after finishing general education at age 16 in grade 10, attending vocational schools that offer theoretical study, alongside practical training at a company. College-bound kids stay in school for three more years, ending with an entry exam for university.”

“The apprenticeship system, which is credited with keeping youth unemployment low, has drawn strong interest in the U.S. amid growing disenchantment with university education. Youth apprenticeships have begun to pop up in several U.S. states, and career exposure programs are expanding. ‘Many of the best jobs our country has to offer don’t require a college education,’ wrote workforce training advocate Ryan Craig in his recent book ‘Apprentice Nation: How the ‘Earn and Learn’ Alternative to Higher Education Will Create a Stronger and Fairer America.’”

“But in Germany, the hundreds-year-old vocational system has faced headwinds. There is longstanding criticism that low-income students and those from immigrant backgrounds are channeled into vocational fields and away from more academic ones. More recently, despite the high demand for workers in the trades, students and their parents are increasingly hesitant about vocational education. Germany’s labor market has become digitized, and young people are keeping their options open before settling on a career path. Meanwhile, the pandemic had an outsized impact on vocational training, forcing many programs to close for long periods. And recent immigrants may be unaware of voc-ed’s high standing.”

“All this has led more students to choose to attend university. Yet many drop out: According to recent data, up to 28 percent of students fail to complete a degree. The figure for students in humanities and natural sciences is even higher, up to 50 percent.”

“This high failure rate, coupled with labor market needs, has led policymakers to tweak traditional vocational models to make them more flexible. Students in the academic track increasingly have access to both apprenticeships and university, and some students who complete vocational qualifications can still go on to attend a university, where options for combining practical experience with academic studies are growing.”

“The program Neriman participates in, KaoA, is part of a wave of efforts to engage all students, not just those bound for vocational programs, in workforce preparation…”

“’We have every type of possibility,’ [said Benhard Meyer, a teacher at Ursula Kuhr who coordinates KaoA in 11 towns across the Northwestern German region.] ‘And there’s not only apprenticeship or university there are some studies in between.’”

“We have every type of possibility.”

Isn’t that what every young learner is looking for? Possibility?

But instead, in our current American K-12 system, there seems to be more “impossibility” for learners to follow their own dreams and their own pathways. Our public school system spends too much time “telling” young learners what they will learn, and not enough time “asking” young learners what they would like to pursue when it comes to their own learning.

If the Germans can change their learning system after a thousand years of separating work from academics, offering their young learners improved “flexible futures,” then surely America can do the same.

Flexibility is the key to a new learning system in this country.

Til tomorrow. SVB