An Essay on Business & Marketing Education

An Essay on Business & Marketing Education

Over the last twenty years, business and marketing education in New York has seen many changes, some voluntary….some not. We have survived without a mandate and without sequence requirements for graduation.   We have grown enrollments by almost 20% in the last several years.   But, using a term from Texas Hold Em’, we certainly don’t have a pat hand.


      The latest report on graduation rates show that only 64% of students graduate from high school in four years.   Of those sixty-four, forty will attend college but many of those will drop out before their sophomore year.   These are very disturbing statistics for all educators.   But, what does this have to do with business and marketing education?   A great deal!  


      I believe that business and marketing education is part of the solution to the dropout problem.   Why do students drop out?   Certainly, there are many reasons, but at the head of the class is boredom.   A recent study released by Reuters states that the “majority of U.S. high school students say they get bored in class every day, and more than one out of five has considered dropping out.”   The survey of 81,000 students in 26 states found two-thirds of high school students complain of boredom, usually because the subject matter was irrelevant or their teachers didn’t seem to care about them.   Students are seeing little relationship between what they are learning and their futures. If nothing else, business and marketing education is all about real careers, real skills and preparation for college.   The selection of college majors bears this out.   In a 2006 poll of colleges, Business Administration/Management was the #1 choice for a college major.   If my memory serves me correctly, Accounting was the #1 major just a few years ago.   Thousands of students will study business once they graduate from high school.   Many of those college business majors, for a variety of reasons, were not high school business students.   It is our job to...