Learning from the Beginning

The Reading/Writing Equation
Reading and writing exist only in relation to each other. Writing is to reading as waking is to sleeping, as giving is to receiving. The one act presupposes the other act. Together, the two acts are one act, and yet each remains a separate act, at the same time. Literally, to write and read, we must give and receive.

Listening, speaking, reading, and writing, the four modes of language, are inextricably related. In particular, listening/speaking and reading/writing are interdependent pairs, the latter being a clever human extension of the former. If ability in half of a communications pair languishes, so does ability in the other half. To comprehend our perceptions and communicate forcefully, then, we would do well to speak in response to what we hear, and write in response to what we read.
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After a decade of decline, the 1990s have seen a resurgence of vocational education enrollments. Of 39 states surveyed in recent research, 70 percent reported an increase since 1990. Nevertheless, secondary vocational education continues to suffer from a negative image among students, parents, educators, and policymakers. This Myths and Realities examines some popular beliefs about secondary vocational education, along with some related beliefs about the labor market and about college degrees-and some facts that may or may not support those popular beliefs.

“Voc Ed Is for Dummies and Misfits!”
Perhaps the most enduring belief about vocational education is that it’s only for the noncollege bound, the potential dropouts, or other students with special needs. And this belief is not confined to students and their parents; it is often shared by other educators and policymakers perhaps explaining why postsecondary vocational-technical education scholarship money sometimes goes untappe. But do the facts bear it out?
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