'College is not for everyone'
Huth sees vocational programs as another path to career success
By DENNIS NARTKER

KENDALLVILLE - "College is not for everyone," says Al Huth, a former East Noble High School math teacher who now directs the Freedom Academy's apprenticeship programs.

Huth encouraged his calculus and advanced math students at East Noble to go to college, but now believes students have alternatives to successful, lucrative careers, including apprenticeships.

High school graduates can find better paying jobs as skilled machinists and tradesmen than their classmates with college degrees, he said recently.

He would like to see industries and schools unite in promoting skilled training programs like apprenticeships.

"There is this perception that you need to go to college to get a good job, and that's no longer true," he said.

Huth should know what he's talking about.

He taught mathematics at East Noble High School for 12 years in the late 1960s and 1970s when the college push was on.

"I taught advanced math and calculus classes and at the time I encouraged my students to go on to college, but since I've been working at the Freedom Academy my view has changed," he said.

Many people can name a college graduate who's working at a job they could have obtained right after high school or a job outside their college major, according to Huth.

He would like to see industry have a say in what is taught in schools in northeastern Indiana so course work better prepares high school graduates for highly skilled jobs.

"We cater to the college-bound kids and the special needs kids but what about that middle group who aren't going to college right after high school," he said.

Huth was a sales manager for World Book Encyclopedia for 18 years after teaching before coming to the Freedom Academy in 1998.

Freedom Academy is a not-for-profit adult continuing education program that offers training in 18 school districts in northeast Indiana as well as on site training for business and industry.
The academy serves more than 2,400 students in six counties.

He's talked to many area industry representatives about their employee skills and employee training programs.

When Huth says college isn't for everyone, he thinks about the many kids who go to college without a clue what they want to do, and the many kids who drop out.

"One-third of those entering college drop out and one-third of those drop out in first few weeks," he said.

"They've spent thousands of dollars, but don't get a degree."

In an apprentice program the employer pays for the employee/student's education.

College courses are a lot of theory without practical applications, according to Huth. Apprenticeships are hands-on, practical learning experiences combined with classes. When completed the apprentice is a highly skilled and highly sought after individual who was also earning an income while learning.
College graduates often have a debt to pay, he said.

Entry-level toolmakers can average $27,000 a year during a four-year training program, according to a May 1999 Charmilles Technologies survey based U.S. Bureau of Labor and U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

Experienced precision metalworkers' earnings range from $40,000 to $60,000 annually compared to $49,000 for all workers with four-plus years of college, $38,000 for all workers with managerial and professional jobs and $25,000 for all workers with four years of high school.

"Skilled workers are needed everywhere," said Huth. "Talented computer programmers can start at $30,000 to $40,000 right out of high school."

High school vocational programs, like the four-county vocational welding program in Noble, LaGrange, DeKalb and Steuben counties, prepare high students for skilled jobs but more could be done.

The misconception that vocational classes are only for the below-average student is changing, according to Huth.

"Every student leaving the four-county vocational welding program finds a job in his specialty if he wants it," he said.

Huth envisions a time when high school curriculums incorporate more practical math and English courses with input from business and industry.

"Things they need to know in business are not being taught in high school that could be taught in high school," said Huth. "Employers are more interested in what a person can do than if they have a college degree."

People seeking a degree can receive college credit at the same time through the Freedom Academy's articulation agreement with Vincennes University.

In other words, at the same time a person is learning to be a skilled machinist he or she can earn college credit.

"It's time to stop pushing kids into college," he said.

Kenneth Gray, author of the book "Getting Real - Helping Teens Find Their Future," has been one of Huth's inspiration.

"I've heard him speak, and he makes a lot of sense," he said.

Huth is well-known in the Kendallville community for his singing as part of the Apple Chords, a local barbershop quartet, and his fund-raising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Huth enjoys running marathons, swimming, golf, tennis and racquetball.