Education, Math, and More with Mr. Allison

 Spoke with a friend of mine this weekend who works in another school in another part of the state. He told me his principal told him that we used to prepare these kids for college, but that's the past. Now we're preparing them for trades. Let me start by saying I have absolutely nothing against people working in the trades. I have very successful family members and friends who do just that. I have absolutely NOTHING against people working in trades! I have nothing against kids not going to college if they don't want to, as long as they find another way to earn a living.  But to say our job in education is not to prepare these kids for success in college is idiotic and just plain wrong! Our job is to educate kids and educated kids will be ready for college! That doesn't mean they have to go to college. It means they have the opportunity to go to college if that's what they choose! I did not want to go to college after high school. I didn't think I needed it. I w...

 In the wake of COVID, many universities ditched college entrance exams as hurdles to admission for incoming students. Since then, many parents, students, and even educators have written these exams off. There's a rather pervasive attitude out there that ACT/SAT scores don't really matter anymore.  I just looked through several Arkansas college websites to see if there's any point in even taking these exams anymore. What I found... If you're independently wealthy and don't need financial aid, you probably won't need to worry about an ACT/SAT score. Most of these colleges still have no ACT/SAT score requirement to prevent your admission. But if you want to compete for scholarships, most universities still need these scores for you to have any hope to receive one.  Some have scholarships that don't reference the scores, but these are mostly a drop in the bucket compared to the scholarships that do. So, if you're a parent who wants your kid to compete for s...

While not everyone needs to go to college to earn a decent living -- a lot of kids can go into a trade and make a great living -- statistics reveal the truth. On average, a college education makes a huge difference in lifetime earnings. The report linked here was published on the Arkansas Senate site in July 2020. Some interesting findings in the report... "Over the course of a 30-year career, a person with a bachelor’s degree will earn an estimated $1.25 million, compared to $550,000 that a college dropout will earn over the same period." "a person with a bachelor’s degree will earn an average of $32,000 in their first year in the workforce, compared to a high school graduate who will earn [on average] $12,700 in their first year of working." "Even when the cost of college loans is factored in, a degree is worth the investment, especially in Arkansas. The average debt for a bachelor’s degree in Arkansas is $26,800, compared to the national average of $28,650....