Other Ways to Win: Creating Alternatives for High School Graduates

The focus of this book is the plight of many students in United States high schools who face an unpromising future on graduation. Written for students, teachers and parents, Other Ways to Win stresses that alternatives to college do exist for entering the labour market, many of which offer a higher probability of success. It argues that the key to future economic security is not education per se but obtaining the occupational skills that lead to high skills/high-wage work. The authors conclude with suggested strategies for high schools to adopt in order to improve students′ preparation to meet an uncertain future.

Table of Contents:
PART ONE: THE ONE WAY TO WIN MENTALITY Rescuing a Generation Adrift Recognizing the Forces Behind One Way to Win Limiting the Options for Special Populations PART TWO: COUNTING THE LOSERS IN THE ONE WAY TO WIN GAME Preparing High School Graduates Questionable Academics and Second-Class Status Winners and Losers in the One Way to Win Game Who Cares? The Politics of Average Students PART THREE: CREATING OTHER WAYS TO WIN The High Skill/High-Wage Rationale Step One Providing Systematic Career Guidance for Students and Structured Feedback for Parents Step Two Redesigning College Prep for All Students Step Three Ensuring Equal Status and Focused Academics Bringing `Average Students′ to Excellence

About the Author :
Kenneth C. Gray is a professor in the Workforce Education and Development Program at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State, he was superintendent of the Vocational Technical High School System in Connecticut and has been a high school English teacher, guidance counselor, and administrator. He has published widely and is frequently quoted in the national press. He is coauthor with Edwin Herr of Workforce Education: The Basic. His latest book, Getting Real: Helping Teens Find Their Future, addresses the importance of helping teenagers develop career direction as a prerequisite to postsecondary success. He holds a BA in economics from Colby College, an MA in counseling psychology from Syracuse University, and a doctorate in technical education from Virginia Tech. Edwin L. Herr is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Education (Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology) and Emeritus Associate Dean, College of Education, Pennsylvania State University. He received his BS degree in Business Education from Shippensburg State Teachers College (Now Shippensburg University), and an MA and EdD in Counseling and Student Personnel Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he was an Alumni Fellow. A former business teacher, school counselor, and director of guidance, he previously served as Assistant and Associate Professor of Counselor Education at the State University of New York at Buffalo (1963-1966) and as the First Director of the Bureau of Guidance Services and the Bureau of Pupil Personnel Services, Pennsylvania Department of Education (1966-1968). The author or coauthor of more than 300 articles and 32books and monographs, he is Past President of the American Counseling Association, Past President of the National Vocational Guidance Association, and Past President of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. He has been elected a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the American Association for Applied and Preventive Psychology, and the National Career Development Association. Among his many awards, he has received the Eminent Career Award of the National Career Development Association, the extended research award from the American Counseling Association, and the Counseling Innovation and Vision Award of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.