I have delinquent in posting the past months which reflects how busy things have been. But that is a good thing. I have lots of new stuff to post so let me get started. Watch for some new material in the coming days.
Roy Brixen of San Mateo College sent me the attached article from the Sacremento Bee. Take a look.
sacbee.com - The online division of The Sacramento Bee
Schools should prepare students for real-world jobs
By Jack M. Stewart - Special to the Bee, Sunday, October 15, 2006
The numbers are striking. Thirty percent of California high school students drop out prior to graduating, most of them citing school's irrelevance totheir lives. Of those who enter ninth grade, only one in four will go on toobtain a four-year college degree. Many of those who do not obtain abachelor's degree are left unprepared by the public school system foropportunities in the workplace for middle-wage jobs that do not require acollege degree. That's about 72 percent of the jobs in America.We have lost touch with the purpose of public education to prepare ourchildren for meaningful careers. Biases against career technical educationamong academia coupled with a growing pressure to teach to standardizedtests are forcing schools to prepare students for a future they will neverhave, rather than delivering graduates armed with the real-world skills totake 21st century jobs."We have trouble finding employees to fill family-wage jobs here," saysKellie Johnson, president of Ace Clearwater Enterprises, a partsmanufacturer based in Torrance. "Yet, when one of my mid-level employees wasrecently asked why he is in manufacturing, he responded with pride, 'I haveonly a high school diploma, I make $72,000 a year, and I design and makethings that go to the moon.' "Skilled manufacturers in California earn salaries of between $50,000 and$80,000 a year, according to the California Employment Department. Theaverage industrial technician, for example, earned $54,643 last year, whileall other full-time U.S. workers earned a median income of less than$34,000. Manufacturing jobs in California, by the process of elimination,are becoming one of the state's few sources of middle-class and family-wagejobs.Peter Zierhut of Haas Automation Inc., a machine tool builder based inOxnard that pays skilled workers up to $28 an hour with benefits, says, "Ihave visited dozens of community colleges and vocational training centers,all over America. Every school tells me the same story -- that localbusiness is overwhelming them with requests for new graduates withemployable skills."A recent survey of California community college students provides insight.In Contra Costa County, 75 percent of students stated that they had notconsidered applying for a manufacturing job because they thought the pay wastoo low. This perception has consequences that are harmful to the state'seconomy. Shortages of applicants have forced companies like Dow Chemical inContra Costa County, which pays skilled workers up to $100,000, to recruitlaborers outside California.California's education system is attempting to prepare all students for thesame future, while failing to embrace the evolution of our economy. Anexcessive emphasis on college prep courses leaves most high school studentswithout skills to apply for the fastest growing sectors in the Californiaeconomy. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections show less than a 1 percentincrease in the proportion of jobs in the national economy requiring abachelor's degree or higher in the next six years. Between 2003 and 2005, 27percent of all new California jobs were in the construction industry,according to the Employment Development Department. The Bureau of LaborStatistics' projections anticipate that 72 percent of American jobs will notrequire a four-year college degree.Exacerbating the problem in the state are the California High School ExitExam and standardized testing. The pressure is on educators to improve thenumbers associated with these oft-politicized tests, and any improvementwill undoubtedly come to the detriment of career technical education. Asschools focus more resources on teaching to these tests, students are beingremoved from rigorous courses such as career and technical education. In2005, 40,000 fewer students enrolled in courses that provided skills inrobotics, agriculture, automotive technology, business, construction,pre-engineering and manufacturing than in the previous year. Today,California has the lowest percentage of students enrolled in career andtechnical education courses in our state's history, according to the stateDepartment of Education.There are other forces at work that undermine career technical education.California's university system has a thinly veiled bias against vocationalstudies that has, as a practical effect, discouraged high schools fromexpanding career technical education courses. In an Aug. 7 letter, aUniversity of California lobbyist spelled out the institution's oppositionto legislation that would have barred the UC system from discriminatingagainst an applicant for secondary curriculum meeting State Board ofEducation standards, including career technical education courses.The letter reads: "SB 1543 could jeopardize the quality of studentpreparation by ... asking UC to accept courses that may not be related topreparation for college, such as cabinetmaking, food service, and weldingbut meet the State Board-approved standards that were written to preparestudents for those particular career paths."Ironically, under the bill, career technical education courses, like thosedescribed in the letter, and which meet the academically rigorous standardsestablished by the Board of Education, are rejected, while visual andperforming art courses such as "dance movement," "tap-dancing" and "choir"are accepted by the UC system.But some education leaders are catching on to the trend in technicalcareers. Founded 10 years ago in California's wine country, Napa's NewTechnology High School prepares students with project-based courses thatrequire students to work in teams on group tasks to give them real-worldwork force experience."In the wake of regional (military) base closures and our growing economy,the business community came to the school board and pressed for the creationof a new type of learning," says Susan Schilling of New TechnologyFoundation. "The result was the creation of our innovative high school whereall courses -- everything from English to technical courses -- are taught asinteractive and project-based. The students employ the tools of the modernworkplace including technology and group collaboration. We prepare them foradmission to the UC or the modern workplace, wherever they set theirsights."Sparked by new state and federal investment funds, Freestyle High School in Mountain View is another one of the few high schools focusing on technicaleducation. "More districts are starting to look at this and finding this isa great way to deal with the dropout problem," said Pat Ainsworth, assistantstate superintendent of schools and director of career technical education.Gone are the nostalgic days when the majority of American workers couldbuild a successful career and support a family without a high schooldiploma. But conversely, it is unrealistic to expect that every high schoolstudent will earn a bachelor's degree and be guaranteed a highfalutincorporate salary.The future of California's economy clearly demands that lawmakers andeducation leaders embrace career technical education as an equal partner inthe matriculation of our youth. Anything less will result in the outsourcingof our best family-wage jobs, and with them, California's future.
Jack M. Stewart is president of the California Manufacturers & TechnologyAssociation in Sacramento.
Roy's comments to me were: "Some voices from outside are beginning to ask questgions. Only problem is, will there be any programs left to train and educate workers by the time reality hits the system." For those of us who teach in electronics, this is the painful truth. Looks like solutions lie at the state and local levels for sure. What are you doing to prolong the life of your program?
6 comments:
Overlooking the scene, usually on a hill or by the side of the pond, a simple pavilion will be built to provide a panoramic view of the scenery. In larger gardens, such as the famed Huwon Garden of Changdeokgung Palace, several pavilions will be built, each offering its own unique view of the Watch Dramas At iserieshd.
If there are street protests inside North Korea, Thae said "there is no doubt that Kim Jong Un would stamp it out mercilessly with his forces, even tanks." He said Kim believes that with a nuclear-tipped missile, "then he can prevent that kind of humanitarian Watch Online Dramas At iserieshd."
The 7 forms or stages of honorifics, with the highest six being grouped together and called “jondaenmal” and the lowest of which is used between family members, is called “bonmal.” The cultural statuses of the speaker and to whom the speaker is addressing decides which speech form is Watch New Dramas At iserieshd.
Franco, who also stars as the eccentric, strangely accented Wiseau in "The Disaster Artist," said he believed the film conveyed Wiseau's passion for the medium, despite "The Room" being critically Watch HD Dramas At iserieshd.
The government has also allowed the public to access western movies and shows like "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Tom and Jerry," the defector said. between North Korea's leadership and the general public, and that the Kim regime would be overthrown within ten Watch HQ Dramas At iserieshd.
Park was impeached by parliament and in March sacked by the country's top court following revelations of her involvement in a massive corruption scandal centred on her friend of 40 years and bringing in some of the country's top businessmen, including Samsung heir Lee Watch Dramas At iserieshd.
Post a Comment