>There's a strange thing. I've heard quite a lot that the qualifications of
>non-academic but still qualified German workers (carpenters, blacksmiths,
>mechanics and so on) are generally in high regard. This is probably for the
>most part because in Germany there is a formal (public) education system
>that covers these professions. In short, there is a curriculum and a school
>(generally 20% of the work time is school, 80% is on the job). Furthermore,
>the companies that train these apprentices must fulfill certain
>requirements (it is not allowed to "train" an apprentice by letting him
>clean toilets for most of the time, for example). Yet, even though the
>effects of this model of professional education seem to be appreciated, it
>doesn't seem to be considered anywhere else.

In the USA, we used to (when my parents were in school) divide school 
students up into roughly three categories - college prep, clerical, 
and the trades. Kids got the relevant training for the type of work 
they were going to do. In fact your high school diploma would 
indicate the focus of your edication. This sounds a lot like the 
German system. This isn't done any more because certain groups felt 
that this was labeling the students. Now you get a diploma that says 
you attended school for the required number of days, that's it.

Sorta on this topic - A California court the week before has 
essentially ruled that homeschooling is illegal. I am sure the 
teachers' union had nothing to do with this.

-- 

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Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
http://www.blackcatsystems.com
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