Olivia Norris

Professor Madden
ENG 1201
11 July, 2019
Annotated Bibliography
In my research paper I will attempt to answer the question if trade school might be a
better path for more people than it is now or at least used to help students, and whether it
should be better emphasized. Having higher education is undoubtable important in today’s
society but why is trade school viewed as a secondary option to college? I would like to
investigate viewpoints on trade school compared to people’s viewpoints about college, and
what parents and employers think about both options. The debt incurred in gaining a college
degree is significantly more than a trade or vocational school. Would more people go to trade
schools if the costs of college continues to increase? And how long does it take to repay loans
from college compared to trade schools? The skills taught at both institutions differ but what
is similar about the education at both? Are vocational schools offering the same educational
degree/certificates as colleges? And why do guidance counselors at high schools continue to
push college as the main option? The college crisis as its being called in the news lately is
affecting many students, and will continue to do so but I would like to research an alternative
higher education pathway as a solution to the crisis.

Billitteri, Thomas J. “The value of a college education”. CQ Researcher, 19, 981-1004.

November 20, 2009.
http://library.cqpress.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre200
9112000 Accessed July 5, 2019.
Thomas J. Billitteri is the author of the article, “The value of a college education” and has
been a CQ Research writer for more than 30 years. He holds a BA in English and an MA in
journalism from Indiana University giving him ample college background to draw from.
Billitteri discusses how students are being pushed to go to college as the only option but
there are many middle skilled jobs needing more education than a High school GED but less
education than a 4 year college or university. The article discusses how community colleges and
vocational schools are a viable option for many people who don’t want the debt and time of a 4
year university. The argument presented by the author stresses apprenticeships or job-related
technical training and community college experience first which could then be transferred to
further education if desired. Billitteri includes much of the former president Obama’s policies
notable the $12 billion American Graduation Initiative and discusses how it helps encourage
more students to further their education in community colleges. Billitteri is not against the idea
of going to a 4 year college but insists how students need more options and vocational school
and community college are preparing people for what they want their American dream to be.
 There are many students worried about college debt affecting their life and how they will
pay off that debt. Billitteri addresses how 4 year colleges are a golden dream for many but there
are also many students just wanting community college and vocational school training which is
what I would include in my paper. I like how the author addresses furthering education in a way
where the student is confident in what career path they want. Using vocational school can be a
starting point for students along with community college. Students feeling like there are stepping
block for their future jobs or working through college and paying as they go would feel reassured
to hear their idea is not unpopular among today’s college aged people. The idea of being
economically stable after graduating would be good for all students and using vocational school
to begin finding a pathway in life helps students who need the extra time or already know where
they want to go.

"Is A College Education Worth The Debt?" Tell Me More, 1 Sept. 2009. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context,http://go.galegroup.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/i.do?p=OVIC&u=dayt30401&id=G
ALE|A207017402&v=2.1&it=r&sid=OVIC&asid=24a9f969.# Accessed July 4, 2019.

"Is A College Education Worth The Debt?" is a transcript of an interview hosted by Korva
Coleman who is a newscaster for NPR (National Public Radio). The station is an American
media news group that is privately and publically funded but was established by an act of
Congress. Coleman has been with NPR since 1990 and is responsible for writing, producing, and
delivering national newscasts. Coleman studied law at Georgetown University Law center and
has a Bachelor’s of Arts from Howard University. In 1983, she was nominated for Outstanding
Young Woman of America. The three guest are very credible being two college professors and a
college student. The two professors are Boyce Watkins, who teaches finance at Syracuse
University, and Richard Vedder who teaches economics at Ohio University and has written
extensively about debt and education. Hunter Walker the third interviewee is a new graduate
student at Columbia School of Journalism, who wrote about his educational debt worries on
gawker.com.

Having an opinion interview with back up from facts makes this source important in
answering how professors and students view the push for college. Professor Watkins describes
how college can be used as an investment in one’s future which while incurring debt will lead to
earning more money later on. This being against my stance on trade school is good to use as a
counter argument in my paper. While the interview goes on to address how students are going to
college without a plan and seem to be feeling unfulfilled. Professor Vedder explains how this is
due to more people leaving degrees unfinished and even some students using college as more of
a social experience rather than a way to boost a career. The debt for 4 years of education is worth
it if you use it for the purpose you plan it for. This radio interview also mentions the same topic
addressed in Billitteri’s “The value of a college education” by discussing how there are jobs that
do not require a college degree, which these jobs may not pay as much but are being filled by
degree holding people. This issue has many different situations that cannot be addressed exactly
but there is more talk about solutions. The solution of emphasizing trade schools may be more
tempting to the generation to come. The interview goes on to also address like Billitteri does,
how president Obama’s policies are encouraging higher education for more people. The
difference is the interviewees bring up how job markets are changing and there may be less jobs
available for the increase of college graduates holding degrees and a large debt. The college
graduate Mr. Hunter has a journalism degree but discusses how jobs are disappearing in his field
and changing. The changing job field are apart of progress in technology and human culture but
trades will prepare students for jobs that are stable and in demand if used properly just like most
college degrees. This source also lists trade schools as an option for students who do not feel
they will academically prosper in college which supports how vocational schools are put as
secondary options but can help people who really would not want to go to college for this reason.

Having this source backs up my questions of how people perceive trade school compared
to college and how a job market can change rapidly which a trade school may be a sure strategy
for someone worried about their career. Vocational school is seen as a secondary option but it
does mean it is less helpful to people it just means some people use it if college does seem too
academically challenging for them while others use college for the social experience. Whatever
someone uses education for will be a part of their life but the debt included is the kicker that
hinders many students after their choice. Encouraging more students to gain higher education is
good as long as it is of value to them in some way which a vocational school may have an
increasing value if jobs keep changing for college students.

Olson, Amanda. “A Case for Trade School: Could It Fix Higher Education?” Deseret News, July
5, 2019. www.deseretnews.com/article/900078401/trade-school-higher-education-
utah.html. Accessed July 7, 2019.
Amanda Olson is a former writing professional having experience from three colleges
and is an intern writer and author for the Deseret News. This is the most recent source I could
have found being published on July 5 2019 which gives the freshest perspective and facts
about trade school in the news and the Deseret news is a credible source.
The recent college events affecting political news has lead people to investigate more
nontraditional education pathways to fix the problem but Olson looks at the matter from
everyone’s perspective. Olson starts this news article talking about wh y students would chose
a vocational school. She discussed how recent college entrance scandals are shaping the
policies and even future election topics to be covered. Olson discussed how trade school
started with carpentry and evolved during World War I with technical training in national
defense skills and specific labors needed. This adaptation to what businesses are in demand
has further shaped the nontraditional vocational school training to meet the needs of job
demands. Olson goes on to say that trade school is a pathway to a job which may or may not
have the students’ needs in mind. This is a good point to use in a counter argument against my
main point but I will also use Olson’s next statements to back up my claim.
She goes on to point out most of the stigma is the parents viewpoints who do not have
experience or knowledge of vocational or technical school training and outcomes. The parents
in this source are seeing trade school as a method of funneling the poor and deviant children
of the community into a structured training for future jobs. This is happening but why it is
happening may lead to the positive of the situation which I will point out in my paper from
my “Ready to Work.” Documentary source. For this source I can pull counter arguments about
trade school due to parent’s views and also support my stance with statements made in this
article from an interviewed trade school adult who had gone to college previously. Nathan
Meyers stated how he was Weber State University but needed a different route due to life events
going on and decided to go to technical school and as he states get the job he wanted.

Smith, Stephen. “Ready to Work.” Reviving Vocational Ed, American RadioWorks, Sept. 2014.
http://www.americanradioworks.org/ready-to-work-transcript/ Accessed July 5, 2019.
Stephen Smith is the Executive producer and host of the news and documentary media
station American RadioWorks. Mr. Stephen Smith has many journalism awards for his work
including the duPont-Columbia University Gold and Silver Batons, the Robert F. Kennedy,
Investigative Reporters and Editors, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists,
Society of Professional Journalists and Scripps-Howard awards. Smith is a graduate of
Macalester College, where he is a visiting instructor in English. He also holds an M.A. from the
University of Chicago. American RadioWorks mission posted on their website stated they strives
to raise awareness, trigger debate and prompt positive change via non-partisan, independent
investigative and documentary journalism.
In the “Ready to Work” documentary, Smith follows serval former vocation school
graduates around and interviews them about how it impacted their lives and how vocational
training is perceived by the rest of America. The stigma around vocational school is being related
to education standards becoming more test score based. The No child left behind policy enacted
by former president George. W. Bush, evaluated school performances based on testing the
academic level of students. The scores then determined where to rank the schools according to
these scores. The vocational schools were ranked lowest due to more job training and less stress
on academic testing. This leaves everyone thinking vocational schools do not prepare students
for what they will need to know in life. The documentary goes to a student Chris Symonds at
Minutemen high school where vocational training is paired with academic learning. Chris
Symonds is the son of Bill Symonds who co-authored a report for Harvard Graduate School of
Education about High schools being too narrowly focused on college prep courses causing young
adults to go to college because it is expected and living unfulfilled lives. In his report thirty
percent of certificate holding individuals actually earn more than someone holding a Bachelor’s
degree. This helps answers my question of what differences in pay there are between college and
certificate holding people. This also leads to trade schools and colleges offering similar career
options. Symonds Son Chris Symonds could have gone to a good college being in the top ten
percent of his class and taking AP classes. He could have followed his dad’s footsteps but he
wanted to go to a trade school to learn to be a chef instead. Minutemen High school offered 20
career path option ranging from plumbing to biotechnology for high school students to explore
and learn. This could be a pathway for each to learn if they want to stay in this career, and then
move on to college after first gaining experience in what they are interested in here in high
school. Sixty percent of the Minutemen graduates goon to community college or a 4 year
college. For Chris, vocational education was a way to get to college, even for academic high
achievers, vocational education may be a better way to get to college.

Another stigma against trade schools is people thinking they only offer a small variety of
programs which they did until recently. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 described trade schools
as preparation for occupations not requiring a bachelor’s degree which it does but there are more
choices now allowing more students who want experience in everything from plumbing to
biotechnology. I will address all the stigmas against trade schools in my paper and hope to
reevaluate why these ideas exist and how that has changed or stayed consistent. Trade schools
have become more popular in the 20th century due to increase need for labor and immigration
rising. There is also the problem people thinking only poor drop out children go to vocational
school. This has a point to it but new career centers in Nashville are gaining attention even visit
from former first lady Michelle Obama. The high schools there were known to have a high
dropout rate but have since been turned around by adding vocational training to the academic
learning and have helped more students stay in school and get good jobs after graduating, even
the ability to pay for college later on. I plan on using this source in a variety of ways for my final
paper. It has lots of supporting evidence about trade school paired with regular academics
helping students find a path in education to aid them after graduating and be prepared for life
skills.

Snyder, Thomas. “The Community College Career Track: How to Achieve the American Dream
Without a Mountain of Debt”. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2012. Overdrive library Internet e-
book resource: https://ohdbks.overdrive.com/media/c0270f41-bc20-4b51-9bf6-
d02e6b0a4b77 . Accessed July 6, 2019
Thomas Snyder is the president of Indiana’s Ivy Tech Community College and has been
since 2007. He writes this book based on his community college and work experience and has
any other professional sources cited in his book “The Community College Career Track: How
to Achieve the American Dream Without a Mountain of Debt”. The author of this source is very
credible and has different points related to trade school and college.
While reading this source for trade school information I came across many ideas supporting
my claim even if related to community college. I know there is a difference and plan to only use
the sections of Snyders work that relate to how students are exceling in certificate programs and
the effect college debt has had in his and others lives.
Snyder begins his book talking about the Student Loan debt surpassing $1 trillion dollars as
testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on March 20, 2012. This total has since risen
more in 2019 and my other sources have updated information on the new total debt crisis
number. Snyder then goes into detail about the 4 year liberal arts degrees being as costly as ever
and not as valuable to students today. Snyder participated in a work and study automotive
program when he was 18 and had no debt afterwards, which leads him to believe a work and
study approach to education whether for a certificate or degree is the best teaching. Snyder next
discusses how sending his own four children to college was only somewhat financial strain and
did require him to take out a Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS Loan) that
was easy to pay off. Now talk of his grandchildren being sent to college is increasingly difficult
for his grown children who have well-paying jobs and Snyder contributes to their education
funds as well. Snyder describes how the increasing cost of college along with gaps in
employability and lifetime potential earnings has affected his own family and many Middle
income families. The cost of a bachelor’s degree from Indiana public 4 year university is
$74,000 including tuition, room and board, books, and daily expenditures like recreation and
transportation. I plan to use this information in comparing how college costs have been rising in
today’s world and the loans stacking up taking many more years to pay off.
I will skip chapters to keep with information relative to my topic being certificate and two year
vocational training. Snyder insists it is a mistake to assume everyone should go to a traditional 4
year residential college. He talks about the concept of thinking about what you are studying
rather than where. I plan on using this stated opinion from a school professional in talking about
how guidance counselors in high school present information to young high schools affecting
what they think they need to do after high school. Snyder then goes into a discussion on how
certificates are the most direct way to the American dream and help people who for not have the
time and money to go to traditional college or community college. This is a key point of the
appeal of trade schools which I can use to answer my question of if college costs continue rising
if more students will consider trade schools. The rest of the chapter on certificates describes a
study done by Complete College America which found the average earning of someone holding
a one year duration certificate was the same as an associate degree holding individual. Snyder
also includes a section on the Tennessee vocational schools success and why it has been such a
turnaround. I plan to support my claim with the positive outcome of this situation.

St-Esprit, Meg. “The Stigma of Choosing Trade School Over College.” The Atlantic, Atlantic
Media Company, 7 Mar. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/choosing-
trade-school-over-college/584275/. Accessed July 3, 2019.
Meg St-Esprit is a freelance writer for The Atlantic and The New York Times magazines.
She is located in Pittsburgh PA. The Atlantic is a known news media but presents it
information in light of democrat biased information. This article is recent being published on
March 7 2019.
St-Esprit writes this article with the purpose of wanting vocational training presented to
kids early in their education to remove some of the stigma attached to the idea of going to a
vocation school, and help students and parents alike see a variety of paths to a successful future.
She begins her article by presenting how the 80’s and 90’s had a dip in the amount of trades
people available created a shortage continuing into today. The shortage has brought about a
resurgence of vocational school enrollment which the author cites percentage increases from the
National Center for Education Statistics to support this claim. Her article then describes the
experience two first generation college graduates have had when their child wanted to go to
vocational school. The worried about the success and stability of their son if he went to
vocational school but in the end it turned into a decision making their son happy. St-Esprit cites
information on the total student loan debt being $1.5 trillion as of 2018, according to the
Federal Reserve. Which proves the evidence of college costs increasing discussed by Thomas
Snyder in my other source. I plan on using this information to talk about how costs will continue
to increase and offer my solution. St-Esprit ends her article bringing up the concept of many
college graduates making more money but less than half of the students finish the degree they
start and this number drops to 10 percent for poverty level students. I want to use this source
to answer my question of the viewpoints held by parents and talk about the cost of colleges
being too much for students to afford.

Turner, Gerri. “Trade School vs. Community College: Which One Is Right for
Me?” DegreeQuery.com, DegreeQuery.com, 8 Mar. 2019, www.degreequery.com/trade-
school-vs-community-college/. Accessed July 6, 2019.
Gerri Turner is the author of “Trade School vs. Community College: Which One Is Right
for Me?” which is more of a pamphlet/online poster describing the differences in costs and
statistics between trade schools, community colleges, and 4 year colleges. He has many sources
he lists at the bottom of the pamphlet. DegreeQuery is the website sponsoring Turner’s work.
DegreeQuery has an about page on their website discussing how their mission is to provide
objective information and statistics that are thoroughly researched. They rank colleges and career
options with critical reviews that are not sponsored by colleges so there is no biased opinions just
facts.
Turner’s ultimate goal in writing and including facts over the topic of trade school vs
community college is based on his stance being: Not everyone needs the same education to be
successful and finding the best fit for each person is a decision for their own goals. Depending on
what questions were asked of people to gain the statistics Turner shows in his work it seems like
a neutral position between both options of education. The three options compared during turner’s
statistics are trade school, community college, and 4 year colleges. Turner breaks down the costs
of each option during the 2017-2018 school year by average tuition costs and then moves on to
farther show the pay of an average individual from each education option. Although the job of
each category is not given Turner uses the number of years to earn a certificate, associate’s
degree, and bachelor’s degree to break down levels of income. I would use this statistic to
compare years of education with money earned after graduating but must identify I do not know
the breakdown of careers turner is comparing only the years spent in education to gain that
specific salary. Turner then addresses how college graduates are working jobs that do not require
a bachelor’s degree and compares the increase in percentage from the year 2000 and 2015. This
is brought up in my other sources in various ways as well so I will address it in my final paper.
Turner goes on to present different careers that are predicted to be in high demand in the
coming years. Wind turbine service technicians being the top career predicted to be in need of
will continue to increase if using natural resource power like wind continues to grow. The other
jobs in demand ranked under wind turbine technicians are Home health aides, Bicycle repairers,
massage therapists, and pet caretakers. All these positions are trade school prepared careers
which could be potential bias which I may evaluate f putting it in my paper would be worth the
information or not. The rest of the pamphlet compares learning styles each person would be
expecting at the three education options turner is comparing. I would use the learning styles to
better explain what environment trade schools have compared to community and 4 year
colleges and answer the questions related to what is similar and different about trade schools
when compared to the other education pathways.