Same Complaints Everywhere
They have finished secondary school but they can’t add without a calculator.
A quote from a
Actually that quote belongs to a director of human resources from a Brazilian company.
Another political effort that will ultimately fall short, much like the
The answer is two-fold. First, schools need to take a liberal arts approach to K-12 education. Teach all students the basics in reading, math and writing and blend those skills with creative programs such as art, music, debate clubs, chess and school writing projects. Wait a minute you say; don’t schools already do that? Yes and No.
Schools teach those skills in K-6 and in nearly every instance, standardized tests reveal that teachers and students are doing an excellent job. In fact, on the world scale, K-4 results in reading and math ranks as one of the best. But by eighth grade, most of the momentum is lost and by the eleventh grade, the
The reason for that free-fall from best to mediocre is the transition of the classroom from student participation to blackboard lecturing as students get older. The connection between learning and creativity is squelched in favor of preparing for standardized tests. Plus schools in their effort to be efficient and seen as improving fail to make education relevant to all students (especially those students with no intentions of attending college).
In many school districts, nearly 50 percent of the students have no focus for their education other than graduation (for the majority of students that is a given as long as they maintain attendance). For these students they are just there. Schools focus on students who are college-bound by offering more challenging courses, AP courses, labs, creative writing and extra-curricular activities such as leadership academies.
Schools need to create learning environments that benefit all students and at the same time prepares student with the same degree of engagement that is evident in K-4. If every student can read and write at their grade level, much of what is currently missing will be resolved. (Successful attainment of these skills is reinforced with creative outlets.)
The second part of the solution is industry training and development. This used to be part of every industry: train the workforce and promote workers through a system. As knowledge changes, it is much easier to tweak workplace education rather than let outsiders anticipate what is necessary. But workplace education issues are two-fold.
One, industry and business don’t want to cut their profits by providing training and development. Providing education means having an education department and employees who leave the job to attend courses. This kind of commitment cost money and in the short-term productivity and profit will decrease. While it is less costly to push those efforts into schools and adult training programs, the long-term effects reduce productivity and profitability as companies are ill-equipped to respond quickly to new developments.
Second, the more a company invests in their workers through education and training, the harder it is to justify termination during slow periods. An investment has been made and losing that worker also terminates years of training and preparation.
Once again, short–term company profits are desirable over long-term benefits. If companies can’t arbitrarily terminate workers, how can they weather downturns and recessions? Unfortunately, this is not an argument but a self-serving attitude. By having a skilled and veteran workforce, downturns and loss of productivity are less likely to occur.
From another perspective, record profit in industry and business makes it difficult to accept the notion that there are inadequate numbers of skilled employees. People must be doing something right to be that productive. And that means schools are readying people for today’s job market.
One final comment about industry and business training. Only companies know what they need from an educational standpoint. Only companies know the most effective means of training and education to fit their needs. Company sponsored education and training is the answer to future growth and productivity.
Does the
GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC
