To the High-Tech Employers: Sorry About Those Missing Skills

We educators sure have a lot to apologize for. Seems we can't get anything right. We're told that schools need to be accountable through testing of our students, but then get faulted when kids graduate without the needed skills to actually do productive high-tech work. So, it seems that an open letter from the education community to the future employers of our students is something that needs to be done. I hereby volunteer.

Dear High-Tech Employer,

First, our most sincere apologies. Not to you I'm afraid, but to our students. We set out to give them the best opportunities we can. We want them to be hard-working, productive workers who are solid citizens. That's our job in a nutshell, but if we haven't trained students in the kind of work that would give them the best shot at being successful in the modern economy, then we have a lot to be sorry for.

But to the employers let us also say that we let you down. Here you are prepared to hire our kids, with a job to do and money to be made, and you can't find emerging workers with the skills you need. Yes, we've read the studies. Being able to communicate well, work as a cooperative team, express themselves in written and spoken context are all things that you're hoping for. And of course, for those high-tech jobs we're supposed to give you graduates who have some basic grounding in some higher-order skills. Screwed those up, didn't we?

But you know, it's not like we haven't tried. You see, in the big rush to bring accountability to schools and to make them performance-based you who supported those measures--largely from the business community I might add--failed to account for all the things that would have to go. "Elective" classes--where you might see your future workers doing digital design work, doing animations and video, learning programming fundamentals, and all the other things that we used to be able to do with our kids--well, we had to cut all those way back. Sorry. You said that standards were what was important. What's that? You mean that we need both? Well, you also supported measures that kept taxes down and gave tax-breaks to you and your set, while we in public education have been told that we just have to do more with less. That sounds like a good plan, huh? Offer less classes just at the time when more skills need to be taught than ever before.

Tell you what. How about you start working on products that will be made possible with workers who have spent most of their time in school getting ready for standardized tests? For instance, our kids can really crank out 5 paragraph sentences (Introduction, 3 Supporting Paragraphs, Conclusion) and if you could just come up with a product that took advantage of that skill then you'd have no shortage of workers. I'm not sure what that product would be, but the kids are ready, let me tell you. And we have the grades to prove it.

Our kids are really good at bubbling answer sheets and counting pages in text booklets too. Man, can they ever bubble! We get them on that in Grade 3 and for the next 7 years they'll be bubbling little fools. Bubble, bubble, bubble. Oh yes, they're also very good at Remaining Quiet Until All Text Booklets Have Been Collected. There has to be some money available in that area. Hey, you're the entrepreneurs. You'll figure something out.

There are many other jobs that we've prepared our students to perform. Do you have a need for workers who can choose between 4 options? As long as they're are labeled A through D, then we're ready there too.

There are many others, including a standardized curriculum that we've used to stifle creativity and problem solving and inquisitiveness in our schools. And that's just the teachers! Really, we are your public servants are ready to supply you with workers who have plenty of critical skills. Just you let us know.

The U. S. Education community

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Watch it Mr. Blog Man, blogs such as this if read by the SDPBC or DOE could get you dooced!

What? Little ole' me? Just exercising my right to free speech here in the land of the free. :-)

Hi there,

I followed a link from Stephen Downes' site and I'm sad to say, that your experience in the United States is being mirrored here in Australia. Maybe when we both become banana republics, someone will wake up..best..janet

Janet--

We talk alot about the swinging pendulum of educational theory and practice here in the US. Right now we're swinging towards testing over all else. I hope it swings back to something a little more balanced real soon. And that you all aren't going to suffer the same fate down in Oz.

Kim

This a great post -- creative and incisive with a sense of humour. Agreed with the thrust of your argument too...

Thanks Jeremy!

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