--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I went to a vocational high school, which…" description: "\"I went to a vocational high school, which is where they basically train you to go out and dig ditches. You gotta learn a trade. Well, why do you gotta ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/john-rzeznik-3305_education_i-went-to-a-vocational-high-school-which_769012.png" --- # I went to a vocational high school, which is where they… ![“I went to a vocational high school, which is where they basically train you to go out and dig ditches. You gotta learn a trade. Well, why do you gotta learn a trade? Because you're not smart enough to go to college. That was the underlying gist of it.” quote by John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/john-rzeznik-3305_education_i-went-to-a-vocational-high-school-which_769012.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/john-rzeznik-3305_education_i-went-to-a-vocational-high-school-which_769012.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5eb/john-rzeznik-3305_education_i-went-to-a-vocational-high-school-which_769012.png) > “I went to a vocational high school, which is where they basically train you to go out and dig ditches. You gotta learn a trade. Well, why do you gotta learn a trade? Because you're not smart enough to go to college. That was the underlying gist of it.” [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques vocational education as a fallback for those deemed “not smart enough” for college, highlighting societal bias. **In simple terms:** Vocational paths are often undervalued. Key Takeaway Respect all educational routes equally. Themes education bias career paths Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical social When to use this quote - career counseling - policy reform - personal development Key Concepts sociology economics Questions to Reflect On - How can society better value trades? - What changes would improve vocational perception? A Different Perspective Stigma can discourage valuable skill acquisition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) [Vocational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocational/) ## Related quotes > [Grandfather / advised me: / Learn a trade / I learned / to sit at desk / and condense / No layoff / from this / condensery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorine-niedecker/grandfather-advised-me-learn-a-trade-i-learned-to-sit-at-desk-and/) [Lorine Niedecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorine-niedecker/) > [If you spend too much time learning the 'tricks' of the trade, you may not learn the trade. There are no shortcuts. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/if-you-spend-too-much-time-learning-the-tricks-of-the-trade-you-may/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [“Most people learn their trade – almost always farming – from their parents or village communities. Industrialization changed all that. People had to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/most-people-learn-their-trade-almost-always-farming-from-their/) [Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/) > [The way to learn to do things is to do things. The way to learn a trade is to work at it. Success teaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/the-way-to-learn-to-do-things-is-to-do-things-the-way-to-learn-a/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [I always wanted to be in the food industry, so I had to break away from the novelty of the 'Bake Off' and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-whaite/i-always-wanted-to-be-in-the-food-industry-so-i-had-to-break-away/) [John Whaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-whaite/) > [So, after school, I needed to learn a trade and started to work as a tailor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-dekker/so-after-school-i-needed-to-learn-a-trade-and-started-to-work-as-a/) [Desmond Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-dekker/) > [I wish my brother would learn a trade, so I would know what kind of work he's out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/i-wish-my-brother-would-learn-a-trade-so-i-would-know-what-kind-of/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [Unless we do more than simply learn the trade of our time, we are but apprentices, and not yet masters of the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/unless-we-do-more-than-simply-learn-the-trade-of-our-time-we-are-but/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Writers need to learn their trade, and how to negotiate the increasingly difficult marketplace. The trade can be taught and learned just as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/writers-need-to-learn-their-trade-and-how-to-negotiate-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Poet's Work" Grandfather advised me: Learn a trade I learned to sit at desk and condense No layoffs from this condensery”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorine-niedecker/poet-s-work-grandfather-advised-me-learn-a-trade-i-learned-to-sit-at/) [Lorine Niedecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorine-niedecker/) > [“Don't learn the tricks of the trade. Learn the trade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-argov/don-t-learn-the-tricks-of-the-trade-learn-the-trade/) [Sherry Argov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-argov/) > [Some people are so busy learning the tricks of the trade that they never learn the trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-are-so-busy-learning-the-tricks-of-the-trade-that-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Teams that spend a lot of time learning the tricks of the trade will probably never really learn the trade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-boganov/teams-that-spend-a-lot-of-time-learning-the-tricks-of-the-trade-will/) Yuri Boganov > [Plasticene and self-expression will not solve the problems of education. Nor will technology and vocational guidance; nor the classics and the Hundred Best Books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/plasticene-and-self-expression-will-not-solve-the-problems-of/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [If we want boys to succeed, we need to bring them back to education by making education relevant to them and bring in more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gurian/if-we-want-boys-to-succeed-we-need-to-bring-them-back-to-education-by/) [Michael Gurian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gurian/) ## More by John Rzeznik > [I think about my daughter when I'm doing stuff, and I want to see it through her eyes, and I want her to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/i-think-about-my-daughter-when-i-m-doing-stuff-and-i-want-to-see-it/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [There are a lot of reasons to be hated in pop culture, and being a straight white male is one of them. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/there-are-a-lot-of-reasons-to-be-hated-in-pop-culture-and-being-a/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [Just call us the band that wouldn't die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/just-call-us-the-band-that-wouldn-t-die/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [The business of making music is changing so radically because of the Internet. It's become a lot more democratic in one respect, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/the-business-of-making-music-is-changing-so-radically-because-of-the/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [Every day somebody comes up to me and says, 'That song really helped me through a difficult time,' or 'That's me and my wife's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/every-day-somebody-comes-up-to-me-and-says-that-song-really-helped-me/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [Whether you are happy or miserable is completely a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/whether-you-are-happy-or-miserable-is-completely-a-choice/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [“Doesn't it make you sad to know that life is not about who we are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/doesn-t-it-make-you-sad-to-know-that-life-is-not-about-who-we-are/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [I got really sick of playing just, like, 'Bop-bop-bop-bada-bop-bop-bada-rapa-pah.' Just playing that 190-beats-per-minute punk-rock songs, I didn't feel it anymore. And I always loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/i-got-really-sick-of-playing-just-like-bop-bop-bop-bada-bop-bop-bada/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [The only way you fail is if you quit. That has always sort of been pounded into my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/the-only-way-you-fail-is-if-you-quit-that-has-always-sort-of-been/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [There was always a guitar hanging around the house when I was a kid. It was a much lower impact instrument than me playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/there-was-always-a-guitar-hanging-around-the-house-when-i-was-a-kid/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [Marriage is a really scary thing. I'm excited about it. I know it's not a mistake, it's the absolute right thing to do. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/marriage-is-a-really-scary-thing-i-m-excited-about-it-i-know-it-s-not/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [I want to cultivate my own sound in my own atmosphere, where the clock is not running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/i-want-to-cultivate-my-own-sound-in-my-own-atmosphere-where-the-clock/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [In my family, my earliest memory of you get out of line is - BAM! It was a lot of corporal punishment. But you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/in-my-family-my-earliest-memory-of-you-get-out-of-line-is-bam-it-was/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [It's a crazy world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/it-s-a-crazy-world/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [I'm a guy so I equate vulnerability with fear. What makes me fearful. I feel vulnerable when I release material, my work, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/i-m-a-guy-so-i-equate-vulnerability-with-fear-what-makes-me-fearful-i/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) [Explore all 134 John Rzeznik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. 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