“Corporations helping to intern HS graduates for 2 yr college ed”
This would be OUTSTANDING if they implement it by the time I graduate high school in 1991 ;-).
Seriously, I knew what I wanted to do by the time I was frigging 12. I probably would have done a LOT better in high school (i.e. not waste time) had the focus been shifted more towards computers and electronics.
All things considered, I could have finished two years towards an EE degree by the time I completed high school and more than likely would have earned a BSEE before I could legally purchase a beer (not like legalities ever stopped me :-) ). Couple that with real work experience and I could have started earning more in my *very* early 20s with less debt.
Of course, I am assuming things would have gone ideally ... but knowing the way I was (and to some extent still am), I would have earned that degree as described.
High school, as it is structured today, is a complete waste of time for a majority of the students stuck in that stupid institution. I certainly see how it benefits two “cliques” of people : the college bound academics (and, by that, I mean a career in academia) and the jocks. Outside of that, everyone else is stuck in a system that doesn’t do as much for them as it could.
This is probably why home schooling is becoming more popular. It's actually much harder for a parent to do but is so much better for the kid IMHO. The kids can still go to the schools for extracurricular activities but the book learning is at home. A good at-school science class with all the equipment might be one of those they go to the public school for.