Educate students for life after school

Laura Friedlander, Las Vegas

Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 2:01 a.m.

I recently made a drive-through trip to a local fast-food franchise, ordering two drinks for a total of $2.79. Upon pulling up to the first window, I handed the attendant a $5 bill. Her cash register malfunctioned in such a way that the correct change was not dispensed, or it did not tell her how much change to return to me.

Have you done the math? This employee certainly could not. She relied on me to tell her honestly what my change was to be.

I taught in a high school where the principal thought all students should be on a college-bound track. The reality was that only 25 percent of our students went to college and only one-third of those finished. Have you used your math skills to determine what percentage finished?

Public education is failing in trying to put all students into the same mold. All students should be given the opportunity to take the courses to achieve their goals — not forced to continue taking courses that they repeatedly fail or cause them to receive only a certificate of attendance upon graduation. People who are guided and nurtured toward endeavors they enjoy tend to be the most successful.

Not every student is going to college. That fast-food employee certainly isn’t, but she should know the basics to be able to function in the job she chose.