I went to high school before the Bush II era. Boys (and they were almost all boys) who took the welding, air conditioning, bricklaying, auto mechanics, electrical, plumbing, and similar classes (and the girls in cosmetology) in their junior and senior years also had to take and pass the regular mathematics and English classes. The mandatory junior English class covered that classical British literature, interpreting centuries-old poetry. Generally, welding students took 3 hours of welding, one hour of English, one hour of American history or government, and as many as two additional hours, usually including mathematics (trigonometry; many continued to calculus), science (chemistry or physics; many took both), and foreign language. They also could take music and art classes (if available in their schedules).
Incidentally, the vocational/technical-school crowd almost without exception managed to pass these difficult classes. A few took honors and even advanced placement classes. Those who enrolled in the technical classes generally had sufficient drive, determination, or parents. Many such students probably didn’t get particularly high grades but still managed to eke out passing scores while behaving appropriately. Other pupils simply failed away.
> [trades students] also had to take and pass the regular mathematics and English classes <
Right. And that’s just the way it should be. Algebra 1, for example, is actually a very practical class. It has real-world applications.
But NCLB forces everyone into advanced math classes like pre-calculus. Who needs a class like that? Maybe someone looking to go into engineering or physics.
The trades kids don’t need it. Their time is better spent in the shops. But NCLB eliminated the shops. So kids who should have been in those shops are instead in pre-calculus, a class they neither want nor need.