That’s a nice speech.
To the “college is not for everyone” crowd: In a rational world, I think everyone would agree with that. There are productive things to do in the world that do not require 16+ years of education, and many people’s skill sets and learning styles are not conducive to the kinds of things best taught in classrooms.
But.
In the world we currently live in, we have done such a poor job of elementary and secondary education for children who live in non-affluent areas that graduating from high school is practically meaningless as a credential (unless you happened to have graduated from one of the high schools where all of the graduates should go to college). Basic reading, arithmetic, and communication skills are being taught in college because they aren’t being learned in high school or earlier. So, yeah, until further notice pretty much everyone should be going to college unless they have a clear, personal path to economic self-sufficiency without going to college.
If you don’t like that, what are you doing to improve the value of secondary education in your community?