More students question college, putting counselors in a fresh quandary

Photo caption: Autumn Edwards, a high school senior in the Methow Valley, in Washington State, takes apart a chainsaw to do maintenance at Lookout Mountain Ranch. Photo credit: Image provided by Bill White. Article by Laura Pappano. The Hechinger Report – December 23, 2021.

The pandemic has made counselors reflect on how to help students evaluate many different paths and opportunities, then figure out what interests them

WINTHROP, Wash. — When the afternoon bell rang, Autumn Edwards, a high school senior in the Methow Valley, on the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains, rushed out of class to her 1997 Ford F-150 pickup truck — and to her job at a ranch.

She was tasked with slaughtering a sheep and a goat, then gutting them. The day had begun with barn chores. The weekend before, she had skinned 12 pigs. “If there was no school, I would work from morning until evening,” said Edwards. Her goal? To own a ranch (she’s designed a logo) and a million acres. […]

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