Actually, there are a lot of paths these kids (the low achieving ones) could be encourage to take that are better than the current 'everyone should go to college!' one. They could be trained in HVAC repair, welding, plumbing, electrician, etc. There is a very, very serious shortage of properly trained, competent folks in those professions. A certified welder with a little bit of experience can easily earn $40k a year. The problem is that we, as a society, look down on these 'blue collar' jobs and no longer offer this path to our students. So now they are left with one 'acceptable' solution, even though it's probably in appropriate for a large number of them.

~amy