By Alan Schneiberg, Ph.D.
Schneiberg
SUGAR HILL, Ga. | Recently I had the opportunity to interview a CFO of a local business. He described one of the most vexing problems for operating an efficient business today was the lack of qualified and motivated labor. He complained that even though they paid a good wage, potential employees were unprepared and unmotivated for work. He pointed to the poor quality of our educational system as a major issue.
As a former educator, I realized in many ways how our schools fail to prepare our young adults for the world of work. Far too many students fail to learn the skills necessary for a modern work environment. Schools fail to teach the basic technology skills that are necessary for a successful career. More importantly, many graduates have a poor understanding of the hard work necessary to meet the demands of our modern business environment. Too many workers expect high wages without a willingness to work long and hard.
Thinking back at my fifty years teaching at every level of our educational system I have the following observations.
- Boys are at a disadvantage in school. Boys develop later than girls, yet the expectations for both are equal. So many boys have difficulty sitting still and concentrating. Squirmy boys are not unusual even in a high school classroom. Classroom management is often the primary effort of teachers and drains all the meaning of education for many teachers.
- Students are bored by school. Inattention is a basic problem in today’s classroom.
- Another fundamental problem is that in our grading system by definition only the best students achieve good grades and as a result are encouraged by success. However, that leaves half the students feeling frustrated and lacking confidence. Taking tests is pervasive in our schools and yet tests don’t measure the quality of our children. We do not account for the measure of our student’s mettle. All we measure is the amount of trivia that students can regurgitate.
Years ago I was part of a public school experiment In Beachwood, Ohio. At that time, CBS-TV had a prime time documentary and called our school the first 21st Century school. Our new middle school staff built a curriculum and structure designed to engage students. They were challenged by interdisciplinary projects requiring a variety of skills. Each project required using academic skills to produce something that proved their acquisition of skills. One example was a TV commercial. This required groups to plan their message, to organize their information in a meaningful two minute commercial and present it on the school network.
This school structure and curriculum was so successful that we didn’t have to take attendance because every student showed up every day. Administrators often had to send sick children home because they were so engaged that they couldn’t miss participating. Overall students learned as much or more from these projects than by sitting in classrooms. As a result most students were encouraged by their experiences and I believe many built positive self images and learned how to produce something of value. These are the skills necessary for our 21st century workforce.
I hope that this presentation offers an opportunity for a dialogue about a structural change of our schools.
Follow Us