Re-thinking public school education in U.S.

Question

I was thinking that it's been a long time since public schools were introduced, and times have changed.
It's hard for most high school graduates to get decent jobs and not all can go to colleges even with grants and aid.
Although many at that "age" of graduating want to get out of the house and get on their own, some do want to focus on some aspect of an interest they developed in public school.
Why not re-think the whole system and make it grade K through 14 instead of 12 ?
For the last 2-3 years make the focus a choice of a variety of "real" interests and potential areas of real employment ...
Like, programming, networks, electronics, bio physics, chemisty, hvac, auto mechanics, health care, ( dont know what to call this one...but its helping senior citizens manage their affairs and networking for housing, health care, etc )...
And so on.
Some of this would be kinda like "technical school" stuff, and some would be similar to a community college WITHOUT the humanities "pre-requisites" often found in those schools.
Kids would have a MUCH better chance to find a job after graduation. They would also be much more "focused" and motivated by then ...making it easier to score high on college entrance exams if that is their choice instead of trying to find a job right away.
In short, the public school system is not working too great in part because kids today have to learn about 40 per cent MORE than I had to when I was their age...so many new things and technologies today...more of everything !  And we try to fit them into a world that demands so much with so little real chance to learn what they need to even FIND a job they are qualified for. Years ago companies would "train" their new employees and it was a long term relationship, between employer and employee.  That is obviously going out the window, as things are not only outsourced to other countries but the global open trade stuff is putting so much more pressure on all business to be extremely competitive and frankly can't afford to train people if they can possibly avoid it.
New public school system would solve a lot of stuff...yet nobody has even mentioned this 14 year potential..
I think it's a good idea, and better than the alternatives being proposed ( longer school days, longer school weeks, more testing to insure students are all up to speed by some state standard or fed standard...
Why keep putting more pressure on kids to be supermen ( and women ) when part of this period in their lives should be balanced with actually "enjoying" life and discovery and growing up emotionally and the arts etc ??

Answer 1

Though I have attend more colleges that probably the next 3 people combined, I am a big proponent of the "technical school" concept, and have sat on a couple of boards.
It is probably my jaundiced view of "public education," however, that gets in the way. What I found was that the steering committees were highly political and all, that I was a part of, had some "agenda," to push.
It is probably far to late to change the structure, but I would advocate for State sponsored, but NOT State run, separate technical colleges. In a few instances, I was associated, or at least around privately endowed technical schools, with zero outside influence, once one got past accreditation. Those institutions did not have any agenda, and had no State educational direction, other than what the certificate, or diploma meant. Professors were hired for their abilities and their knowledge. There was no tenure. There were few standardized measures of results, other than from the students, who walked out the door. Most of these professors were also working in the various industries. In many cases, though the school had an endowment, those industries picked up some of the tab, often with services, like free film processing, access to professional equipment, etc.
In those limited cases, the students did get some theory, but more time was spent on actually doing.
When I was in film school (within a State University system), I managed to take many extra classes from such institutions, just to learn more. In each of those cases, it was for the learning of additional techniques, access to more equipment and services. I do not fault having done so. Yes, some were better than others, but that is life. I took the same class at Loyola four times. The professor was an excellent critic, and I wanted his criticism. Each time I took the class, I got special assignments, rather than the normal, as I had done those already. He would take extra time with me, as he could do the criticism for the rest of the class - on the same lesson. He never complained, and helped me develop a lot of new techniques. This was a still photo class.
My wife, in a totally unrelated field, feels the same for the conventional, structured educational system. She would never work in such an environment again. When she must do collaborative work with universities, and institutions of higher learning, she rules the conference table with an iron fist. If any university is going to partner with her, they MUST leave the political "stuff" at the door, as she will not abide with it.
This seems to have worked well. A couple of years ago, her hospital was given the Gold Award for medical education. It was the first time that a non-university hospital had ever won the award, and it was also the first time that any hospital had won it the first year that they had been nominated. After that win, she was appointed to the board that issues the award. She too feels that far too much effort and too much money are expended on aspects that do not benefit the students. Wasted time - wasted money - students, who never got the education, that they had been promised.
She is the chairman for a UK medical foundation, that concentrates on specialized medical education worldwide. When any university wants to partake, she is happy to have them, but explains "where" they will sit at the table. If they can deal with that, they are welcomed. If they cannot, then their "offer" is quickly declined. One must play by her rules, or they do not get to play. No politics allowed.
I would have that same problem, with your proposal. It is not that it could not work, but I would question whether it would work.
I have just seen politics (at several different levels - not just the national educational aspect) ruin things. I'd like to see such technical schools created in a more free-standing atmosphere. I could envision monetary and logistical support coming from other institutions and foundations, but would love to see them out from under the umbrella of any "educational system."
Just my personal and skewed view of education,
Hunt
PS - good topic!