The problem comes when one applies those statements to groups of people instead of to individual people. I am a former special education teacher in an inner city middle school. I certainly understand that not everyone can or should go to college. But, when programs that aim to increase college access for under-served minorities are written off as pointless because "not everyone is smart enough for college", it becomes problemmatic and racist.

Originally Posted by Val
Originally Posted by g2mom
by the time the kids were in your program Val it was too late to do much accelerating into college without intense specific one on one attention to individual needs and major boot strapping. most kids arent up for it.

Yes, I agree. This was what I was getting at when I said there has to be a better way. Early intervention helps. Nutrition and medical care help, too.

But there's still the reality that some people just aren't bright enough for traditional college, not to mention the social realities that Austin mentioned. Pretending that everyone can or should go to college doesn't change the fact that for a lot of people, other options are better (and are especially so because they don't involve student loans).