Should students have business administration in highschool instead of college?

a reply to: scattergun

That might work but we need to think of way to deal with kids coming out of highly traumatic home environments because all of the learning they are doing is pointless if they have an unstable enviornment a t home.

This just dawned on me so I'm responding to you about it I know it doesn't seem relevant to your post.

a reply to: onequestion

So you're basing your premise off of the fact that most have a bad home environment?

a reply to: intrepid

No I'm just pointing out that kids who have a bad home enviornment won't learn if their home life is unstable.

Actually I'm willing to bet this is true especially in low income areas. The more affluent not as much.

It's offtopic I just thought that when I was going to respond to the poster.

originally posted by: onequestion

originally posted by: BestinShow
a reply to: onequestion

?,?,?...

3 questions and nothing else...

Well done!

What we need to teach in High school is the concept of Social Capital - as soon as that paradigm is instilled into our youth, the Business side of things can be focused on.

bowlingalone.com...

This is exactly what I'm talking about. The main point being we need to reinvigorate American entrepeneurship or the spirit of in order to take advantage of the Incoming explosion of 3d manufacturing and hemp products and small organic farming to support the community.

There is kickstarter.com

That's a cooperative system where people can ask for donations to help their project get off the ground.

no - they should have 'personal finance'.

originally posted by: onequestion
Do you think that teaching business administration in highschool would help to foster an enviornment of entrepanuerialship?

YES!!!!

I think we churn out weak children like nobody's business. They are afraid to take responsibility, and are unable to fathom what it takes to run a business.

As a business person, I have to say that the most valuable skill I learned (post high school) was communication skills. Not public speaking, but 1 on 1. I learned my communication skills while working in admissions of an acute care mental hospital. But if that kind of education could be added into high school....

....high schoolers are prone to grandiose fits of hyperbole. Helping them to quell that before becoming a pain as a 20 year old employee would definitely help, too.

And grooming/hygeine in a business environment. Booty shorts are not appropriate to come pick up your paycheck in. Its 2014....get direct deposit already (or change out of your spaghetti straps and booty shorts before coming in to get your check).

But to your original question...absolutely. I am teaching my youngest a bit aout business (he's 16), since he has expressed interest in starting a welding/fabrication operation after high school.

They don't teach that stuff anymore? The high school I went to ( 40 years ago) had courses in typing, economics, business and bookkeeping. And there were two levels for each course. There was even a club you could join called Future Business Leaders of America. It was geared toward giving you a jump start on business courses you might want to take in college.

I'm not surprised, in a way, because, from what I understand, they don't do courses in home economics or metal shop or wood shop or drafting or electronics repair.

Of corse kids should be studying business principles in high school.

a reply to: onequestion

More like junior high and up... Overall? Good idea. But, the economy and businesses in general world wide are hurting and have been for a long time. Get it out of the way...

They need to learn early not going to get anything special...if you can even find anything out there...with your piece of paper. Quite misleading. A part of that course should be lessons in why a business admin degree in the end...is just that. A degree.

Good luck finding a job with or without it (and I dont need defensive comment on why Im wrong). Some of the most generalized degrees you can get these days (and owe big $$$ student loans for)...are degrees in Business Admin, Liberal Arts, Art History and a few others.

Its not me presenting the opinions of current, recent and graduated college students who say they wish they knew that going to college is no guarantee like your parents and high school teachers told you it would be.

Jsut go to any "job fair" and look at all the applicants in suits and dresses with their dgrees all hoping for less than desirable jobs for small wages they werent expecting with their degree.

THOUSANDS of those turn up regularily for even minimun...MINIMUM wage jobs. Desperate for work of any king....and worrying about paying off thse student loans that way.

Thats a shame. (Yes, I have several degrees myself...but Im not the issue. Mine was in medicine and I did fairly well and paid of all my student loans.)

I think this is a great idea. I don't care where you work, basic accounting will suit you in some form or another. As someone who works for themselves, I cringe at some of the comments I read on this site from people that work for others. You really can't understand what someone who starts their own business goes through.

There is a way to make it interesting, such as class projects allowing the students to create a "business" in line with their own interests.

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: onequestion

More like junior high and up... Overall? Good idea. But, the economy and businesses in general world wide are hurting and have been for a long time. Get it out of the way...

They need to learn early not going to get anything special...if you can even find anything out there...with your piece of paper. Quite misleading. A part of that course should be lessons in why a business admin degree in the end...is just that. A degree.

Good luck finding a job with or without it (and I dont need defensive comment on why Im wrong). Some of the most generalized degrees you can get these days (and owe big $$$ student loans for)...are degrees in Business Admin, Liberal Arts, Art History and a few others.

Its not me presenting the opinions of current, recent and graduated college students who say they wish they knew that going to college is no guarantee like your parents and high school teachers told you it would be.

Jsut go to any "job fair" and look at all the applicants in suits and dresses with their dgrees all hoping for less than desirable jobs for small wages they werent expecting with their degree.

THOUSANDS of those turn up regularily for even minimun...MINIMUM wage jobs. Desperate for work of any king....and worrying about paying off thse student loans that way.

Thats a shame. (Yes, I have several degrees myself...but Im not the issue. Mine was in medicine and I did fairly well and paid of all my student loans.)

Another reason to hold the universities equally as responsible as the child for the success of their students after the degree is awarded.

a reply to: onequestion

Dear onequestion,

I must be misunderstanding you.

Another reason to hold the universities equally as responsible as the child for the success of their students after the degree is awarded.

A kid comes in and earns a degree in "The Pottery of Atlantis." What do you want the University to do?

Or, he gets a degree in some money making degree, gets the money, smokes it up, and his life is a wreck. The University's responsibility?

Or, he gets a good degree, meets his true love, gets married and she wants to live on a South Pacific island with a population of 2,000. The University's responsible?

By the way, if you're still calling him a child after he earns a University degree, something's seriously wrong.

With respect,
Charles1952

I have a Bachelor of Administration last time I applied for a job I was up against MBA'S and PHD's for a middle management sales job,sure teach something on e-commerce or entrepenuership but by my own admission graduates are a dime a dozen,Im telling my kids to get a trade.

a reply to: charles1952

if the colleges are fiscally responsible for the loan to take their classes they will have programs that cater to the real world.

If students want to take other programs then make them fully fiscally responsible for the loan in the same way they are now.

I don't really know how we would regulate that and where we can draw clear lines but I think it would force the student to choose more wisely and the college to advance their programs with modern knowledge and have programs that produce successful results.

a reply to: onequestion

Dear onequestion,

Thanks for making it clear to me.

So, anybody who can pay cash can take any program they want, but poorer folk will have to see if the University approves what they want to study.

The University will have to ask itself "What degree choices can we allow that have an excellent chance of getting the student a decent job four or five years from now?" Industrial economists will tell you that picking the hot career field five years out is a tricky job.

Sure, nursing should be good for awhile as the population gets older, but the country is over-filled with lawyers. Social work, elementary teachers, family and consumer studies, anthropology and archaeology, Drama and theater arts, are all areas where degrees don't necessarily lead to good paying jobs.

Will colleges be able to lend money at the same terms as the government? I don't know, but I think not. It's a new gamble for the Universities, and when people gamble with their own money, they want it to pay off. Maybe high interest rates? It will certainly cut down on the people going to college just for the experience, or because they have nothing else to do.

Maybe the sum of this is that there will be fewer degrees awarded, thus they will become more valuable. We might even swing back to where not going to college is an accepted choice for those not really serious about it, and for those who are, it will be more financially rewarding. But I dream.

With respect,
Charles1952

I'm not really sure where I fall on this one. Don't get me wrong, Business Administration is a valuable skill in my opinion but there are only so many hours in the school year and while I think allowing everyone to be an entrepreneur is great, the majority of us aren't going to be business owners but rather employees of someone else.

The real problem as I see it is that the world is becoming a more specialized place. Outside of increasing the school day from 10 to 14 hours (after homework is included) we just can't fit in everything that people need to know inside of a 12 year program anymore. If people want to have meaningful skills they need additional mandatory schooling.

I do think that there's room to streamline the process by making high school a less generalized and more specialized process at higher grades where students have an idea as to what they want to do but that happens fairly late in a persons required schooling so the gains aren't that large.

Will colleges be able to lend money at the same terms as the government? I don't know, but I think not. It's a new gamble for the Universities, and when people gamble with their own money, they want it to pay off. Maybe high interest rates? It will certainly cut down on the people going to college just for the experience, or because they have nothing else to do.

Colleges already have control over that by choosing who they want to accept. If a person gives off an aura of not caring about their education the school will be less likely to risk the money on them. Honestly if colleges had to offer their own financing we would get the lowest interest rates possible and it would drive down the cost of college. Schools would no longer be in a contest for free money but rather competing against each other for the best rates. I don't know if that would be the best system possible but I do believe it's one that works while adhering to the free market principals our country tries to abide by and in the end having a good system we could all be happy with is better than having a perfect system that many dislike.

a reply to: onequestion

What part of business administration would you want them to learn because, last I checked, it took 4 years and a whole lot of classes to get a degree in the subject. There's organizational behavior, marketing, ethics, statistics, finance, accounting, economics and much, much more.

I'd say that the only class out of that lot that I think would be good for kids in high school is marketing so they can better defend themselves from it. But yeah, that's not going to happen....

a reply to: WhiteAlice

Basic accounting. It should be compulsory. Im not saying you need to be able to do American Airlines financial statements. But understanding the concept of debits/credits, and assets/liabilities/expenses/revenue.

Basic Human Resources. The average 18 year old has very poor workplace manners, especially as it relates to sexual harrassment and workplace bullying

Basic Communications Strategies. I swear, I don't know how much longer I can interact with people who use exclamation points at the end of each sentence. It. Happens. All. The. Time.

Basic statistics. Because figures don't lie, but liars can figure. Any idea the percentage of employees I have/have had that cannot calculate their paycheck? Or who have no idea what I am talking about when I use the most fundamental metrics for our business?

It isnt like folks should graduate high school with an MBA. But good lord....can we not have a consistent standard of typing at least 20 wpm before they graduate?

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

These are all good things, but you have to go back to the question: What do we take out? Schedules are full, if we're going to add something we must also take something away. If students are going to learn basic finance (something that I agree with) what do we take out? Do they take 1 semester less of Math? English? Science? Do they take fewer electives, which leave them with less knowledge about a major in college? Do we teach finance as a Math class and cut Geometry or Algebra?

a reply to: Aazadan

Why not cut out summer break?
If we are going to make productive citizens, get them used to being productive.

Schools are inefficient. With that as a premise, the sky is the limit

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

By that logic why not extend the school day to 8 hours?

A summer break gives older kids who a graduating within a year or two a chance to work full time and get that work experience. Younger kids get a break to actually be kids.