We talked last week about how the H1B Visas are allowing US firms to go overseas and recruit talent for their companies and bring them back here to the US for work. Your personal or political feelings about this aside, it becomes apparent that this shifts the supply curve for labor way to the right making competition for jobs in the market that much fiercer.
Luckily for you there is a remedy for this...well...kind of. In his piece called "The New Untouchables" Thomas Friedman explores what it takes to succeed in this new labor market. Your post this week is to read Friedman's "New Untouchables" piece and comment on what you think needs to change in the system based upon what he wrote. What do you think needs to change in the system? If you were to design a system to make students become the new "untouchables" what would it look like compared to what you are experiencing now? Make sure you cite Friedman's piece to support your argument.
I understand I am asking you to post a critque about my profession, and I hope that you trust the fact that I will grade you solely upon the support for your arguments/opinons and not the arguments/opinions themselves. This is your chance to have your voice heard about things that the system is doing well and things that the system can do much better at. It should go without saying that your comments should run deeper than "let Juniors and JLO's" and "eliminate health club days." I want you to seriously think about the education system...are students coming out of public schools in general ready for the workforce?
If you are stumped or want to consider a different perspective, check out the idea that Will Richardson (a technology educator from Iowa) has about totally eliminating high school as a building and do all of our learning online through social networks (think facebook for school). Would that work?
I mentioned above there is a remedy for this...and while the education system is slow to change sometimes, you can take control of your destiny. Friedman points out that "average just won't cut it anymore..." and that is a good lesson to learn with the increasing numbers in our labor supply...make sure you go out and become the best you can be at something. And until there is institutional change, that is not only the remedy, but your responsibility.
300+ words
Due 12pm on 1/24/10
Posts
I believe that one way to help students become untouchables is to eliminate some of the credits that are required in our system. If schools want to help us than schools should not require four years of English or for everyone to take a class on how to draw or make music. Four years of learning how to systematically analyze a book will not necessarily help someone learn how to be innovative and creative in a work place. Maybe the communication skills could help them become untouchable but four years is excessive. Instead of English for four years maybe take a credit off and apply it to some technology class where students could learn different ways to solve problems with new technology. Another credit in school that does help make well rounded individuals but not necessarily innovative problem solvers is the fine arts credit. I believe that class should exist for those who enjoy music, art, and theater but as a requirement I fail to see the advantage in a work place. It makes great entertainment but does not develop a person’s problem solving skills. I believe that the requirement should be done away and replaced with another problem-solving type class that helps students develop their technological skills in working with modern systems. In my school system there would be 3 years of English required (assuming colleges agree to the change too) and the fine arts credit would no longer be required. In place of these credits would be technology credits. The math and science classes already teach problem solving skills and modern day applications so they are fine where they are. The Social Studies requirements are also good as is because they teach us about the past and how to prepare for the future by looking at the past. As much as I hate to say it, if we are only looking at making better workers than gym would have to go to. The exercise is needed for healthy people but not needed for untouchable office workers. In place of this would probably just be longer periods for the students to learn more. Overall the school system is not doing a terrible job but they could defiantly be doing more to help us succeed in the work place in the current economic struggles.
ReplyDeleteone way to fix the system is to let students do what they want to do not what theyre told to do, as this is exactly what the "untouchables" do for a living. i am not saying tell all stdents to go nuts and do whatever they want im saying they need to stay in school and only take classes they like. for instance, when will a chemist ever have to know what battles happened in the revolutionary war and who won, or a historian ever need to know the chemical breakdown of Bromine Phosphite? never thats when. why dont they let students take classes that will help them in in what they excel in only to make them that much more intelligent in what they want to know, not what theyre forced to know to get into a good college. the school system today focuses on the base curriculum of schooling only hoping that the students will go on to college and learn the things they need to know for the real world. the school system funding is absolutely out of whack as well, they base funding off of attendance and test scores. the places that dont get funding cant afford good teachers and in turn, the students cant get a good education so they cant get good test scores to get a lot of funding, its a vicious cycle that needs to be stopped. so back to my kids should choose what they want to do topic, if students can excel in something that they want to do they can become untouchable themselves. this article more or less says "the american school system is lacking so step it up lets beat out foreign competition" but how can we build an education greater than theirs without the tools to build it?
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with bclan8 when it comes to some of the, in my opinion, ridiculous requirements for graduation that high school students need to fit into their schedules to obtain their diploma. Furthermore, I would even go and argue that some of the requirements placed are too little. For one, there is only a two year science requirement and a three year math requirement. To be brutally honest, there are a lot more fields of research and development going on in math and science, and this is where other countries are taking jobs away from us: people who have these skills. If we have more and more people who are becoming trained and specialized in science and math, more research will develop, and greater jobs will be formed and funded by universities and even forming new companies similar to Abbott and Baxter. Of course, there is a need for English, but I definitely feel that the class is a bit overdone, for although it builds skills with critical thinking and forming strong argumentation, classes such as Physics and Chemistry require you to think outside the box to come to conclusions as well. In my opinion, there are more job opportunities and developing ideas in the fields of science and math, and because of the requirements such as English and Fine Arts, students’ ability to participate in more science and math based classes are hindered. My parents were both brought up in India, which has a very similar education standard to China in many ways, as it focuses on practical and theoretical skills in the areas that students wish to pursue, most of them following math and science paths. This is why their students come out of school ready for the work force: because they have seen and experienced lots of applications where it is necessary rather than looking for deeper meaning and “so what” in a novel. These students would rather be working on independent studies and research in laboratories or working on new theories in mathematical applications. These skills can be aided by English classes, but I would have to say two to three years is a good requirement for the class.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the school system here also creates a bit of waste with some of the requirements. For one, I have realized that in the physical education department, students who want to work out and be healthy will take the class seriously, but there are those students who do not wish to participate so they put in minimal effort and do not gain any of the benefits of the requirement. I feel it should be offered, but it has to be optional, at least for juniors and seniors, because these are critical years in determining your career path and interests. Also, because it takes up an entire class period, students who wish to further their education in different and interesting topics such as psychology or ceramics cannot if their schedule is filled to the brim with all the other requirements imposed on students. I know it seems like in the long run, those who take care of their health will win in the end, but those people who have no will or determination to even participate in gym are just wasting away an hour of their lives where they can be learning some other skill. Plus, many nations do not have this law or requirement because they see more space and time to get students involved in other classes. If I didn’t have a gym class, I would definitely enjoy taking another class such as AP Psychology or working on some sort of independent study or research if the school were able to sponsor or support something like that.
I have to disagree with the posts above me. While I understand that 4 years of English, fine arts, P.E classes, etc may seem a little tedious, it forces us to explore other ideas that may help us in the future. And say no graduation requirements were placed. A student determined in some a specific major maybe pursue only classes related to that major and drop all his other classes. Then, say this student enters college and decides that that specific major isn’t really for him (like so many do). The 4 years of high school education he acquired would be useless and he would have to restart his education again. These requirements are placed so that we have a good foundation of education to build on in the future. After all, high school isn’t about making life decisions just yet; it’s about giving us the tools to make good decisions later on in life. The problem isn’t actually in the school system, it’s mindset that we possess. To become “untouchable” in the job market doesn’t mean you have to be the best at what you do. The article said it’s the chocolate sauce, whipped cream and cherry you can put on top that sets apart the untouchables. It doesn’t matter how much education you have received on your particular job, you can’t make delicious chocolate and whipped cream with just intelligence. It is the passion for your job that makes the difference. America is all about getting that big job, big salary, big house and great family. Which means that many will choose a career path they aren’t passionate about for money. Innovation, the real aspect that makes one “untouchable”, is something that only a person that loves their job can have. The requirements in high school are there to help us find careers we love and spur innovation in our work place, which in turn give us the untouchable jobs we so desire.
ReplyDeleteNecessary and Unnecessary educations
ReplyDeleteA way to improve the education system is if the schools allow for students to take only classes that will help them in their future career. What I mean is that students are forced to participate in classes that they do not want to participate in. For example: most students do not want a career in math, music, art or European History. Most of them want to do things that will support their future career choice. Like I would like to grow up and be a lawyer. I do not want to be one of the lazy lawyers like in Friedman’s article but a supportive, hard-working lawyer for a major firm. Now I know that in order to become a “hot-shot” lawyer I need to go to a good college and then law school; but, I also know that law school is very different than regular college or university. I would like to receive a little more knowledge of being a lawyer and critical knowledge in order to be a successful one. I would like to have my entire high school career revolved around becoming a lawyer and being prepared for college. Now that means that I should not be wasting my time on classes like World History Honors or Honors Chemistry, or even Computer Programming because it just creates unnecessary courses and stresses that will not be a part of my future. I disagree with the “Facebook for School” article on how it says that there should not be high school and students should just take online courses. I disagree because students will not be motivated enough to do those online courses and only be distracted by friends or family members or even the good old television. Instead they should go to high school and participate in classes that they need to be prepared for their desired career and reach their true potential and not be unmotivated be unnecessary classes and essentially “slack-off.”
In order to be considered “untouchable”, ones work ethic and desire must be unmatched by all. With the way our public schooling system is set up today, you do not see that competitiveness, or necessary skill set coming out of our students. And this blame has to be evenly distributed to everyone. From the superintendents, to the teachers, right down to the core of the problem with the students themselves, we are not doing anything necessary to make ourselves the untouchables. Like Friedman mentions in his article, the individuals who are not getting that work they so desperately need are the ones who “were used to just showing up and having work handed to them were the first to go because with the bursting of the credit bubble, that flow of work just isn’t there. But those who have the ability to imagine new services, new opportunities and new ways to recruit work were being retained. They are the new untouchables”. And we just do not see that from our youth with this current system of education. This sort of desire and necessary education has only been seen coming with this new overseas labor force we have been seeing lately. They are the ones who are giving their all to be unmatched in the work force, and all of this can be credited to their education systems. With the way we are set up now, I would be willing to bet that more kids know who “The Situation” is and name all of the other characters are from the reality show “Jersey Shore”, than those who could name the mayor in our own town. See our youths heads and attention is simply just in the wrong spot. We tend to consume ourselves with the more entertaining, seemingly useless aspects of our world, than the important, useful things that will allow us to take our work force back flip this education crisis around. We need to find a way to motivate our students to get their minds and attention in the right place, if they ever want to be apart of the “untouchables”. Things such as specified courses for our students might increase that motivation. I say a system where as freshman in high school, students take a variety of classes where hopefully, one or two classes might spark some interest. As their high school careers progress, they will take a less broad schedule of classes, and focus more on the ones that they desire to take, and will help them be successful in their future. I am not sure exactly what must be done but as Friedman says, “the bottom line is we are not getting back to the good old days without fixing our schools”, and I couldn’t help but to agree more.
ReplyDeleteI also have to disagree with many posts before me. Many high school students do not know what they want to do when they grow up. For those who do, that’s great! But that does not mean that students should not know the basics of higher-level math and science, social studies, and even English. Many students ask the question, when will we ever use the knowledge we learn in school in our future? Well, I have an answer to that. The post before me uses the example of the career of a lawyer. If you look closely, in school one will learn so many things that help them in that field. English class will help people question arguments with a well-developed argument of their own. Science and math will also help with problem solving and critical thinking. People have to realize that going to school is not only to teach you random facts that you will never use for the rest of your life. It is so that the brain can develop properly and all of us can learn how to think! As Friedman said, only the great thinkers and creative inventors will survive in the work place. School is supposed to teach you skills like problem solving and critical thinking, so that these skills can carry on with you into the work place. So I do not think the amount of credits people are required to get to pass high school is the problem here. I think it is the way that high school is designed is the problem. I think students and teachers should both change their mindsets. Teachers should make classes more fun and hands on so that students would be more interested in school itself. Students would also get more out of classes if they had more of an interest to learn. If these two things changed in high school, the drive and motivation of students would be much higher! Students, I think, would strive to do better in school! Than all of us would be untouchables in the workplace.
ReplyDeleteDue to the H1B visas there will now be a huge increase of skilled labor. According to the article in order to survive and thrive in today’s economy one cannot simply be good at what they do. In order to remain competitive someone has to go above and beyond good. They have to work hard to come up with new ideas, in order to remain on top. School systems, except in art classes, do not encourage creativity. Most teachers tell students “the right way” to do something and do not allow students to think of other ways for themselves. Everything is very structural; students are told one way to do something and must follow that technique, even if there are other ways to complete the same task. In English, students are taught to write a certain way, and follow a pattern every time they right an essay. In math and science, they only teach one way to solve the problems. Students are not allowed to explore different ways to achieve the same task which minimizes their imagination and creativity. Though knowing how to write and do math is important students also need to be able to improvise using what they already know. Students should be taught how to take what they know and apply it to things that they don’t know yet. This allows them to broaden their understanding of that topic and develop important thinking skills. Being able to quickly understand something based on what they already know would give them an edge in the workforce. They would be able to complete a task quicker and solve any problems that might arise. With their creativity they would be able to come up with new and more efficient ways to complete a task, this would help them not only keep their job, but also advance to a higher position. If students’ creativity grew then they would be able to have the skills to help solve of today’s problems.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI also disagree with many of the posts before me. To become “untouchable,” one must be creative, and think outside of the box. If students only took classes pertaining to a single field or subject, how can they be expected to bring new and innovative ideas to that area without schooling in other aspects that others in that profession may not have? If a student is a genius in a science field, but cannot communicate findings due to a lack of schooling in English, then that student will never become “untouchable.” Requirements should stay, because each one helps a student excel in different ways regardless of what they want to be when they grow up. Gym/Exercise has been constantly critiqued on this blog, but America needs to work on obesity because it is a serious health issue that may cause one to lose their job simply due to insurance that a company may have to supply. Fine Arts helps students think creatively, and express their own ideas so even is a person doesn’t want to become an artist, the creativity accessed there can help in any other field. Every requirement helps student become more innovative and “well-rounded.”
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think that the “Facebook Class” idea would be disastrous. Students could just go onto any other website while ‘in class’ and learn nothing. Also, it increases our inactivity during the day; at least we walk around and have Gym in real schools. Socially this is also inefficient; meeting new people would take a lot more work. The whole idea will be overall detrimental to students physically, mentally, and socially. I’m not saying that our educational system is perfect: I definitely believe that it needs a lot of work, but the changes being proposed will not help us further ourselves as “untouchables.”
I read the idea that Will Richardson came up with, that talks about eliminating all high schools, and doing all the learning online, on places, such as social networks. Overall, I thought his idea was pretty interesting, however, I do not believe that it will help us with the American education. One of the reasons why I think that it will not work is because there are many things that you can only learn in high school. In high school, you build relationships with other people, and you learn how to deal and work with other people. These are one of the many skills that will help people in the work force, as well. If every thing that was taught in high school was learned online, the students will become some what anti-social, in a way. By learning to do everything independently, the students will not learn how to interact with other people within the work force. Another reason why I believe that an online high school will not work, is because there would not be any benefits from high school activities. www.iahsaa.org, talks about the many benefits in taking high school activities. During a recent study, IAHSAA, has discovered that “Students who participate in activity programs tend to have higher grade-point averages, better attendance records, lower dropout rates and fewer discipline problems than students generally.” Also, I believe that by participating in high school activities, the students are able to learn valuable skills that can not be learned at online schools. “Activity programs provide
ReplyDeletevaluable lessons for many practical situations. Through participation in activity
programs, students learn teamwork, sportsmanship, winning and losing, the
rewards of hard work, self-discipline, build self-confidence, and develop skills
to handle competitive situations. These are qualities the public expects schools to produce in students so they become responsible adults and productive citizens.” By learning these skills students tend to be more prepared, then students who do not participate in high school activities. One of the things that I learned about high school activities, is that “Participation in high school
activities is often a predictor of later success - in college, a career, and becoming a contributing member of society. A 1989, nationwide study by the Women’s Sport Foundation indicated that athletes do better in the classroom, are more involved in school activity programs, and stay involved in the community after graduation. The study, based on an analysis of data collected by the U.S. Department of Education’s High School and Beyond Study, indicated that girls receive as many benefits from sports as boys. Sports involvement was significantly related to a lower dropout rate in some school settings and minority athletes are more socially involved than non-athletes. Research conducted by Skip Dane of Hardiness Research, Casper, Wyoming in 1991 revealed the following about participation in high school sports: (1) By a 2-to-1 ratio, boys who participate in sports do better in school do not drop out and have a better chance to get through college. (2) The ratio for girls who participate in sports and do well in school is 3-to-1. (3) About 92 percent of sports participants do not use drugs. (4) School athletes are more self-assured. (5) Sports participants take average and above average classes. (6) Sports participants receive above average
grades and do above average on skills tests. (7) Student-athletes appear to
have more parental involvement than other students.”
To begin with, I do not believe that anybody can be untouchable (Unless they're in a union). I believe that there will always be someone willing to work harder for less or equal pay. Because of this people need to continue to work hard in order to keep their job, but most people are lazy and do the bare minimum. Although I believe that no one is “untouchable,” I do believe that there are ways to increase your importance. Some of these things include; being a problem solver, being able to work well with others and the ability to want to do more than what is expected. The problem is that people aren’t taught these things in school. Most people go through school doing only what the teacher expects them to do. If more teachers were willing to help kids achieve above and beyond expectations than kids would eventually gain the trait of being an overachiever. Some (NOT ALL) teachers don’t have any desire to help kids or become a better teacher because the teachers union has secured their job for life. After teachers are tenured it is near impossible for them to be replaced. So they feel that they do not need to do anything more than expected. If teachers unions were eliminated then schools would only have teachers that really cared about the students and their learning. To clarify, I do not think that all teachers are bad teachers, I myself have been lucky enough to have some very good teachers this year; there are only a small few who don’t seem to care about the students learning. Continued on next post.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, schools do not teach their students to be good problem solvers because students usually aren’t faced with any problems. If students were taught how to be good problem solvers then they would become very valuable in the workplace. I just don’t know of a system to help teach students this important trait. Lastly, students need to have the desire to be an overachiever. In school, students don’t have any incentive to do more than expected, unlike a job where you would get paid overtime or get a promotion. When a student does overachieve they get a “good job” or “Way to go” and for most kids this is not enough. Most kids want some reward of some kind. I know the school can’t pay kids to over achieve but I would like to think that they could do something. If schools could teach the following traits to students then companies would not be going overseas to find decent employees or at least they wouldn’t lay off as many American workers.
ReplyDeleteP.S. All students should have to get a HS diploma. It is necessary for almost every job.
I disagree with many of the posts before me. I do believe that students should have more choices in the classes they take, but many of those requirements to graduate are for the benefit of the students. Many students do not realize while taking a class how it will help them in the long run. Many times students in my math class will ask the teacher where we will use what we are learning. It is true that unless you are in a job field involving math, you will not use it, but you get the chance to learn something new and challenging and teaches you logic and reasoning skills.
ReplyDeleteI also understand how many people would like them to decrease the gym requirement. When you think about it, many jobs would rather hire a healthier person, so they would not have to worry about all the days you miss and you would not be a very efficient worker. Many people do not try in gym, but that is their loss.
I do think that school systems need to be better. During elementary school, intermediate school and middle school I did not have very good teachers. I think that the requirements for teachers should be higher. How is it going to benefit the students if they don’t have a good teacher? Also many students do not reach for their potential. The combination of those two adds to many people who will find it difficult to find jobs or to keep them.
I understand when Friedman says how graduates need the right kind of education. Most students in high school have no idea what they want to be when they graduate or they change, maybe even multiple times. So if all you learned was one subject for the field you thought you were going to be in, then all that learning would be a waste if you change professions. The point of high school is to be the base of learning, so you can build your skills and learn all different topics and be diverse.
There are many ways that we can change the schooling system, but it will most likely take many years. In the end it will benefit us in the job market and the next generation, but we have to wait till someone is willing to step up and start changing.
I really like the idea that the article brought up. It made me do a lot of thinking about the educational system. I agree with Mr. Friedman in the fact that the school systems need to change or else we will be stuck with such high unemployment numbers and this will be a continuous problem for us. The fact that companies are going overseas and giving H1B Visas to foreigners so they can do our jobs just better, should be a realization that we as a country are lacking in the educational system. What we lack is competitiveness as was stated in the article. Those people who do not graduate from high school or who do not go to college are unable to compete with others who have 4-year degrees and higher.
ReplyDeleteWe talked in class the other day about how students should be able to choose the classes they take based on the career path they want to follow. This idea has a lot of potential. This would allow students to have the competitiveness in the job world that they need. Once in college students can pick the classes that are needed to be in a certain career of their choice. But this should start earlier. Students should be able to pick what classes they want with more freedom starting in high school. Although mathematics and language arts are necessities, they do not have to be taught to everyone after 8th grade.
Allowing students to pick one career path and stick with it allows for there to be competition. Taking many classes based on the student’s career choice will help them to perfect their talent and become great at it. I also believe that it will get students to have more enthusiasm over schooling and lead to less drop outs and more high school and maybe even college diplomas.
Mr. Friedman, implies that the public school system is causing us to have poor quality education. That may or may not be true. I do not know the quality of all the schools in the US, but what I do know is that we cannot just blame the schools. Children in other countries have far less resources than we do, but the kids still learn and make somthing of themselves. I think the biggest problem is that in order to be an untouchable we must want to succeed and go above and beyond.Children overseas have a strong desire to learn and to them education is a privilege. In the US we take education for granted. I read this article about a cab driver that changed his whole attitude and in the end wound up a success. This cab driver story was amazing. It started out when the driver heard a man on the radio say how you feel is how you will succeed. If you wake up in the morning thinking you will have a horrible day than you will. The cab driver said that he would always have his cab dirty, and when people rode with him he would complain about his life until he heard the announcer. He changed his life and decided that he will try this philosphy. He cleaned his cab and basically made his cab like a limo. When customers would come he treated them with respect, and they started calling him personally for rides. Many people started to call this guy and in two years he tripled his profit. This relates to the article beacause it shows that people have to work for what they want. So I think that if everyone has a good attitude like the cab driver we could all go to our classes happy, and come out successful. If we try to learn the most we can, we can take the required classes and still take other classes to learn more about our future careers. If we all work hard enough our companies will not have to go out of the country to find competent people for jobs. We must be motivated to do our absolute best from when we are young. Books, tv and video games teach us to set the bar so low that when we behave like a normal human beings we will be praised, this does not work in the business world.
ReplyDeleteWell first off I think Will Richardson’s idea for eliminating high schools is just idiotic. If there ever was a district of students in high school taking their classes online I feel sorry for them. Technologies in some ways are trying to separate us as a community, and I personally hate it. For example the Red Box vending machines ran the blockbuster out of business, less than a mile from my house and I loved that blockbuster. So in that aspect, schooling shouldn’t change I mean I generally like seeing all the people from my school in a way I couldn’t from my house.
ReplyDeleteNow for the idea of the change in the way high schools are run. I agree with previous comments that state we as students should be able to be thought a generalized trait like we do at the tech-campus, but unlike the tech-campus it would be required and it wouldn’t necessarily be off school grounds. I also liked the idea (from previous comments) of not being taught 4 years of English, and being taught new ways to solve new problems though technology. Students definitely should be taught what they would want to learn so not only will they like what they are being taught, but I think they will learn more from there teachers; basically more freedom of choice for students. I think students will be better off if they are given more choices and learn usable skills not only like ‘balancing taxes’, but more like being able to fix ones car. But really in the long run I think to become an ‘untouchable’; it is more on the student’s shoulders. “We have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility”, Albert Einstein.
I still think that students should learn a little bit of everything like being required to take at least one course of math, science, English and history; but at the same time we should learn more generalize traits.
I have been too caught up in my own little high school life that I had no idea that our quality of education was becoming so poor. But honestly, I don’t really see what this obsession with “untouchables” is really about. If they want to create some special high tech students who will be successful in the later lives, there already are plenty of people like that out there. And if everyone becomes one, then there won’t be any more “untouchables”; there will be nothing special about them. So I think that we are in good shape with that right now, with a few exceptional “untouchables” and other average people. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with average people. I would consider myself a pretty average student but I am happy with life for the most part and I know that if I work hard, my future will succeed and (hopefully) will be able to make my dreams come true. That’s all that matters.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do have something to say about the school education system. I agree with both of the two opposing sides concerning the selecting class issue. There was an argument that said schools should eliminate some required class credits. I agree with that because I believe that schools should offer more classes that will help further each student’s goals and dream jobs. If a student had to take all required classes, then they wouldn’t be able to take classes that can help them with what they could possibly do after school. By having fewer required classes, the students will be able to take more variety of classes and can explore different kind of job techniques and possibilities. However, I also agree with the argument that there should be some required classes. The core necessities, such as English, and math are crucially important in my opinion. It’s true that annotating classical novels aren’t really going to help us find a job, but the essay writing skills and being able to speak our language correctly, is. Likewise, math is a universal “language” so having acquired that skill will definitely help us much in our future. So I believe that having some required classes ARE important, but schools should thrive to create more opportunities and introduce a variety of classes that can help us explore the real world out there.
P.S. I think that Richardson’s idea of vanishing physical high school is an absolutely TERRIBLE idea. It’s just very idiotic and life would be no fun.
American students are not at all ready to come out of school and enter into the workforce. They have an extreme disadvantage to some of the other countries around the world. The schools need to improve our students knowledge, but they can't do it overnight like many people want. It will take years and years until we even notice a change.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, it is extremely difficult to MAKE a student "untouchable". As the saying goes, one will not change without the want to change. However, there are steps that can better the chance of a student becoming untouchable. One of the first major possibilities is that the student should have more freedom and options when it comes to choosing classes. It is very difficult for an artistic student to be creative when they have to put most of their focus on the more "standard" (math, English, history, and science) classes. Another possibility for change, is that people should not have to go to school in order to get a job. What really matters, is that the person has the abilities to do what they do on a day-to-day basis, this way they become much more productive and efficient. After all, isn't that the prime key to economics?
Another stand point from being "untouchable", is that the old spirit of America is being lost. The entrepreneurial spirit that is. This spirit is much of what Thomas Friedman described. The spirit consisted of creativity and imagination, and the want to strive to be better than everyone else. The spirit is what made America what it is today... or at least ten years ago. But at the same time, this spirit became "corrupt" and people became greedy. People began to spend too much money, money that they didn't have. Also while spending the money, people were determined that things would keep getting better, and they could pay off their debts later on. Obviously, things didn't get better. But, there is still an opportunity for individuals to rise up and become the old spirit that our country once had. And those few who rise up to the challenge will become the "untouchable's".
I think there is a lot of truth behind Friedman’s words. It is true that our education is lacking in comparison to that of many other countries. I have heard statistics about other countries being years ahead in terms of education. So if you were an employer, would you want to hire the very smart foreigner or the not so smart American worker? The answer is a no brainer because it is obvious that the business will do much better with more innovative workers. Friedman says that many people expect their work to be handed to them and they are the ones who are suffering. He says that “those who are waiting for this recession to end so someone can again hand them work could have a long wait”. This statement is very true because there are so many inventive people that could better do the job. Friedman also says that those who are creative have made themselves untouchable. The problem is not necessarily the amount of education but it is how they are being taught. Students need to be taught the critical thinking and problem solving skills that will allow them to thrive in the workplace. I disagree with bclan8 and some of the others are saying that things like fine arts are not important to logic and problem solving skills. It is proven that students involved in the fine arts, specifically music have the highest test scores. So in my opinion, there should be more fine arts classes because they teach students to look at things in a different manner. Another interesting point brought up in the article is that just having an engineering or law degree is not enough to earn a person a job anymore. The focus is on how a person uses that degree. There is a high demand for innovative workers and that demand cannot be met in the United States which is why employers must go elsewhere. Therefore, teachers need to change their methods of teaching. Although we do have the “No Child Left Behind” law in place, it is not specifying how the students are being taught. In conclusion, American workers are struggling because of their lack of creativity and logic, which stems from the schools. If teachers change their methods of teaching and focus on critical thinking, American people will once again be successful in the labor market.
ReplyDeleteI think that Friedman is right when he says the public school system needs to change. However, I think that this said change should apply more to the mentality of the system than the requirements of the system. For example, kids who think that being on varsity freshman year is more important than taking an extra honors class. This has absolutely nothing to do with the system itself, but with the people within the system. I think by now everyone knows how tough the job market is, but I think that some kids are going to do nothing about it until they get hit in the face with a reality check when they enter the job market. One thing the school systems could do is teach kids what jobs are really like, and not what they just seem like. What I mean is that someone might think that this one job they have in mind is really great, but what they really have in mind is a superficial understanding of that particular job. Like Friedman said, “this [unemployment] problem will be reversed only when the decline in worker competitiveness reverses”, and this means that if kids go into the work force, having been to college or not, with no idea of what their job is going to be like, they cannot possibly be as competitive that is necessary in today’s world because they have not acquired the skills to cope with the profession they have chosen. I know kids who say, for example, “I want to be a vet” and then I’ll ask, “So, you like biology?” and they say “No, why would I?” Obviously, becoming any kind of doctor is going to require a huge number of classes involving the sciences. I think in part, it is this general ignorance is what is polluting the school systems. This generation needs more training, not more textbooks.
ReplyDeleteThe US school system does need cleaning up because currently our school system is not ranked #1 in the world or is even in the top 10. For such a prominent and sophisticated leading nation, this is unacceptable. Change can not come overnight, but if our government puts a decent effort to improve our school system then in the few coming years we may see ourselves climb up the list. The reason the other countries have far superior and more advanced education than us is thanks to a better structured school system. The biggest problem we need to work on is foreign language. In this global and busy era, foreign languages need to be taught to children at an earlier age. Learning Spanish or German or Chinese at elementary school level would be immensely helpful since it's been proven that younger children can learn at more rapid pace then adults can in. Instead of starting from high school and taking a minimum of four years, someone who's been learning a foreign language from say 3rd grade would have ten years of experience. That is plenty of time for a person to become fluent and master the language. A student graduating high school with the knowledge of two or three foreign languages would exponentially increase his chances of success. Foreign countries require allow their students to learn English from early on, so why can't we do the same? Another thing that could be a good idea is having a "state" high school where the students with the highest GPAs from schools all over the state are invited to attend with free admission. If the US needs business leaders, innovative people, etc, then this might be a good method of finding some of them. The school can provide accelerated, college level courses, top rate teachers, and a great way to prepare for college. As for the "online high school idea", I don't think that ] would not work at all. There's just too many reasons. First of all, if all the assignments and tests were given online, then couldn't some students find ways to cheat? Secondly, high school students could face numerous health problems ranging from poor eyesight from looking at the computer monitor for too long to an increase in obesity since PE would theoretically be impossible to incorporate into the new "school day". Etc, etc. But then again online college has proven to work so maybe it could work as long as it meets the satisfaction of the majority of students and parents.
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ReplyDeleteIn the education system today, students are not being trained to go out into the workforce successfully. Our system attempts to make us a jack of all trades if you will. It requires us to take multiple years of classes we know we will never be using. If by the start of high school kids could decide what they were going to be, we could make them untouchable by only requiring them to take courses pertaining to their future profession. I understand that people may argue that students haven’t decided what they wish to be yet, and that high school is a learning experience for them to decide. But if you really want students to become untouchable their going to have to figure out their strengths and weaknesses by the start of high school so they can fulfill future goals. These work visa’s are being used because people overseas are doing a better job, and can do the work their needed for better then someone here in the Unites States. To solve that issue children need to decide early what they’re going to be and then focus in on that. Now I know that our education system itself doesn’t exactly allow for kids to specialize at an early age, but I think that is the 1st thing that needs to be done. The biggest problem I have with our system is the fact that we require 4 years of gym. I love gym but that’s one of the stupidest things in the entire system. Gym wastes tons of future potential credits for your entire high school career. Sure we need our exercise but for the most part the kids that actually participate in gym are the kids that are active in sports or other activates and don’t need the exercise anyway. The kids who actually need to get up and active are the ones who stand around and do nothing in gym. So I say we get rid of gym all together and replace them with classes that will help us become untouchable.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have to admit that high school is mainly an effort grade. The vast majority of poor grades is due to lazy kids, myself included, who just don’t think studying/homework is the best, or most “fun,” use of their time. So I think that this problem needs to be fixed first. Regardless of the curriculum, if teenagers do not want to put in the time and effort, they will not succeed. Inspiring hard work/deterring laziness should be one of the main goals of high school administrators. Though this would obviously be unpopular, an idea would be to eliminate study halls/transitions. The only real reason a student would need a study hall would be if he/she participated in a sport. But even then, as I have seen from experience, study halls and transitions are more or less pointless. For every student that actually accomplishes anything in their study hall, there are fifty others who waste their time socializing. Social lives are an important part of high school, hence I disagree with Richardson’s idea of eliminating high schools altogether, but study hall is not the place to socialize. Students in other countries often do not come home from school until after dinner, spending their time studying and reading at school even after their classes end. Obviously, this is not a very plausible scenario for Americans but if we want to compete with such dedicated students in the job market, we need to make some sacrifices. We could use that hour to take another class instead of wasting it chatting about the latest gossip. I also believe that the American education system should emphasize foreign language more. High schools should expand their foreign language programs to offer more choices such as Chinese and Latin (for students looking to study biology or medicine). Though some bigger schools offer such choices, many smaller schools, such as our own, offer very sparse course selections. In foreign countries, English is generally a given for students, in addition to their native language, and sometimes even one or two more. And since many countries start teaching a different language at very young ages, by the time those students are in high school, they are fluent masters of their foreign language already. As we can see in the foreign exchange students we have hosted at GCHS, English is not so special to America anymore; and even though I myself am a student in AP Spanish, I know for a fact that I could never survive, much less thrive, in Spain or Mexico as an exchange student. Since globalization is expanding our market, we can’t get by with only English anymore. If we want to compete with students from abroad, we need to change/improve our own educations first.
ReplyDeleteI read the idea that Will Richardson came up with , that talks about how high schools should be eliminated and if this did happen we would have to learn online by a social network like Facebook or something else. I thought this was a very interesting idea, but overall I think it would make our education worse. I say this because their are certain traits and qualities you learn for actually going to high school like Cooperating with other people around you. Also you need to learn to participate and learn to act appropriate. If you do not learn any of these skills you probably will not get into the work force. If we were to learn online I think it would be total chaos because everyone would to things their own ways and how would the teachers know anything about you. If you went to a real high school you would be involved in all sorts of activities, like sports and other clubs. If we were to have online schools what kind of resources would we have? How could teachers give us quizzes and tests without us cheating or asking people around us for answers. Overall I think it is better to go to a real high school because you learn real skills in high school that you would never learn in an online high school. It may be fine to go to a online college because you have already learned most of the skills in your high school career. I think if this would happen the work force would slowly deteriorate. I think this could not be done because it would ruin the work force and no one would be well educated.
ReplyDeleteThe article speaks strongly of how many of today’s workers are out of the job because they are used to having work given to them rather than having to go and look for it. This could be partially due to the years of grade school teaching styles that many educators use presently. These tactics are to just constantly hand worksheets out to students, tell them to complete it, have them turn it in and repeat. This repetitiveness creates the thought that they won’t have to look for something to do but all their life it will simply land on their desk. In many of today’s jobs it is the exact opposite. Laborers have to be innovative in finding work and show that they have a better way of accomplishing goals with fewer resources in a shorter amount of time. In the education system of today, if there is no work to be done students will resort to talking or sleeping in class as they wait for yet another worksheet to be handed out. If these habits continue into the workforce then many of these former students will struggle with finding work because they have been trained to sit and wait, not to move onto the next chapter but to wait for everyone else in class to finish. Employers will seek to terminate employees with these habits because they will prove to be inefficient in today’s economy. As a country we need to step up our education process and prepare the future laborers for successful employment. Other countries are years ahead of U.S. education and in response employers are going to these countries for employees to get better service for a less expensive wage. These so called “Untouchables” are what educators should be producing to give future generations a fair chance. This is what is going to help our economy recover, not outsourcing employment to developing countries.
ReplyDeleteOne way our school systems can make students “untouchable” is by eliminating unnecessary class. Now I agree that student should be exposed to music and arts, but when it come to making an “untouchable” worker those class are unnecessary. I believe our high school systems should resemble college course. What I mean by this, in most high schools we go to school everyday and have English, social studies, science lunch ect, this is a daily retain and we go through all our classes in one day. But at college its totally different because students no longer have the same daily retains, they have certain classes on certain days (Social studies on Monday Wednesday Friday for an hour, English on Tuesday and Thursday for a hour and a half). In doing this the students learn to manage time better and become more independent. If our high schools were like this I believe that students would have to start becoming independent and start focusing more on school. In doing this teachers would have longer classes to teach there student more material but also leaving time for students to ask more questions. Now eliminating unnecessary classes and making the students more independent and focused on school is half the battle, in other half is having the students understand what their strengths and weaknesses are. By understanding this they can pick a career and start training for that career sooner. The sooner students start training for their career the more likely the will become an “untouchable” because they had more training than the other workers around them. By the time students reach high school they should already have an idea of what profession they want to practice. So they can spend the next four years preparing for that career and by the time they reach college they will know a little more about there profession.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Friedman’s argument that our public school system needs to change. Currently our school system in the United States is very poor compared to other nations. In other countries, for example Japan, the education a second grader receives can be equally matched to a fourth grader in the united states. This is why more companies and job offers are given to foreigners rather than Americans because they are more educated, and trained than we are. Also there work ethic is generally is better than Americans. Also I believe it also depends on the student itself. Because in other countries they do not have as much entertainment and stuff that we do to loose focus on our track to becoming successful. For example majority of kids in the united States that are bored and have nothing to do play video games, watch movies, go out, etc. In other countries the school system is so organized in such way that at a young age the kids do not even think about such things but rather read books and discover and strive to have more knowledge and education. What needs to change in our system is requirements’ set for all students. Like music, and arts are classes that every student must receive a credit in but are not close to what students are interested in or will be pursuing. If I were to create a new system it would be to focus on what the student would want to be when they grow up. For instance if a student wanted to be a gym teacher they would not have to learn physics but focus on health classes and other classes that would prepare them for that area of studies. This would allow more Americans master there area of choice and eliminate the threat of competing with foreigners in the job market
ReplyDeleteFriedman argues that the key to becoming untouchable in the marketplace is to have a creative, innovative approach to your job, something that is most easily brought out by passion. I don’t believe schools need to change; their requirements keep all options open to us. What I do believe needs to change in schools is the teachers. One of my biggest problems with public schools systems is tenure. Tenure more than anything eliminates competition among both students and teachers alike. If a teacher is given tenure, the security he/she is granted takes away a lot of the desire for them to excel and teach as well as possible. It seems like the older you are as a teacher, the more money your making, which is stupid at best. A 55 year old teacher, who gets nothing across to his students, could be making 6 figures while a 25 year old, easily relatable and understandable teacher is making around 30k. This system doesn’t reward teachers for what’s important, interacting and teaching our students and age should not mean comfort in public schools. I believe that a good way to change this flawed system would be to base teacher salaries on performance, student reviews and how well the students do in class. Not only would this drive the teachers to reach their maximum potential, but it would be what’s best for our students. If our students are getting the most that they can from our teachers, there cannot be any complaints about the school system other than the student’s willingness to do well in school.
ReplyDeleteAnother argument I can make against public schools achieving maximum potential from students is time. It is scientifically proven that a teenage student’s brain starts working best around 10 o’clock, so why would we start school at 7, taking away arguably the most important aspect of learning: sleep. I linked an article that stated “a series of previously-conducted studies all found that adolescents reporting inadequate sleep, irregular sleep patterns, and/or poor sleep quality do not perform as well in school as students without sleep complaints”. This problem, once again, holds students back from achieving the most that they can in school and doing all they can to be untouchable in the marketplace.
Sleep Link-http://www.psyarticles.com/sleep/adolescent-sleep.htm
Bigandz
I think becoming “untouchable” in the competition for jobs is a difficult task but with a few changes in our educational system, it can be achieved. Friedman says in his article, “Now that we are picking up the pieces, we need to understand that it is not only our financial system that needs a reboot and an upgrade, but also our public school system. Otherwise, the jobless recovery won’t be just a passing phase, but our future.” If we don’t reform our public school system, unemployment in our country will continue to plummet as businesses look overseas for workers. I do not believe Will Robinson’s plan is the way to go to make American workers untouchable in the market. He says that we should eliminate high school and have kids learn online at home. Would this make things better? Maybe for a few dedicated kids, but for the most part it would only make the problem worse. Kids would just spend more time doing anything but schoolwork if they are left home and not forced to go to school. If this is not the solution then what should we do? Well I think that we should give students more freedom to choose their career path. I do agree with schools forcing kids to take a well-rounded class load involving history, math, science, english, and foreign languages however, I do not think this is necessary for all four years of high school. I think up until the 9th or 10th grade, class loads should be fixed and predetermined like they are now, but after that, kids should have complete freedom on what they want to take. After 10th grade, kids should not be forced to take english, history, or physical education courses if their future careers do not involve these subjects. They should still be forced to take 8 periods of classes but classes that would better prepare them for their future career plan. I also would like to consider a new topic that could play a role in the future of today’s students. I think there should be a nationalized grading scale, as well as nationalized gpa for certain class levels. There are schools like Fremd who punish their students with a grading scale of 92 and up for an A etc. There are also schools like Belvidere Central and Belvidere North who award 4.0’s for prep, regular, honors, and ap classes, giving no motives to take harder classes. Now how is this fair to these kids? This puts these kids at a disadvantage when trying to get into college which affects their future level of education.
ReplyDeleteI believe that some ways that we can make students untouchable is by changing some of the graduation requirements. Students should not be forced to take 4 years of English if they do not wish to. Granted that English is very important for and field of profession, but the basics do suffice in the long run. I think that if I asked a few adults on what direct and indirect parts of speech were not many would know the answer. Its like are you smarter than a 5th grader. Taking those 4 years of English now isn’t going to benefit us in the long run. On the other hand it is also not beneficial if we take just 2 years of science and 3 of math. Most professions revolve around math and science. Even if it’s just the basic principles of them but those are vital to our future.
ReplyDeleteIf we spent more time focusing on learning stuff that we wanted to learn we could apply it in the future when that is exactly what we are doing in our profession. We can all agree that if we don’t want to learn it we don’t. We memorize it for the test and then forget everything that has to do with it. If we had the option to learn the things we wanted to learn, many of us would be more successful in the future. For example, I am positive that I want to do something in the science field. I don’t want to have to take 4 years of English and a year of fine arts. It is just not going to be beneficial when I go to college and I’m learning about the human body. I was stressing out when it came time to pick our schedules for next year because I wanted to take every science class I could but I had no room in my schedule to do so. I had to give up my lunch just so I could take at least a few of the classes I could.
In conclusion, we shouldn’t be forced to take classes based on what the district thinks is beneficial, because not everything they make us take will help us when we need to apply ourselves and enter the work force. It will just add to those random facts that we use once in a while.
I believed that in order for students today to become the new “untouchables,” they need to first of all, get through high school, and second of all, get through school doing something that interests them. If the students are not interested in what they are learning then they will not pay attention, they will not retain the information, and it is an overall waste of time. In order to make the students “untouchable” and ready to go into the work force, the schools need to eliminate the requirements for classes. If the requirements are gone, or at least lessened, then students will be able to have more free periods to take classes that interest them and will affect their job skills for their future profession. By high school, most students have an idea of what they want to do with their life, or at least have the choices narrowed down to a few career paths. If the requirements were gone then they could take classes that focus more on those jobs that they are looking into and get more of an idea of what they do and do not have an interest in. For instance, if someone wanted to be a teacher, then he or she might take the child development class and may even go to the education related classes at the tech campus. Most students don’t consider going to the tech campus due to the fact that they can’t fit it into their schedule, but those who do go to the tech campus say that it is a wonderful experience that really gets them ready for the field they want to go into. In Friedman’s article, he says that Pink believes “In a world in which more and more average work can be done by a computer, robot or talented foreigner faster, cheaper ‘and just as well,’ vanilla doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s all about what chocolate sauce, whipped cream and cherry you can put on top. So our schools have a doubly hard task now — not just improving reading, writing and arithmetic but entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity.” If students could focus on taking more classes that will impact their futures in their different careers then they will learn early, and therefore, have more time to develop and practice using their skills that will help them in their jobs. The aspiring business man will not necessarily need the art history credit he got freshman year, just as the aspiring chemist may not need to know what shifts the supply and demand curves, and the chef won’t need to know how to find derivatives. If students could take more classes that interest them and have to do with their future careers, they would get better grades in school and they would have more experience and do better in their jobs after graduating.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with what the David Cho said, I think he is correct when he claims that the graduation requirements are not a negative necessity high schoolers have. Because the school system forces students to spend a certain amount of years in subjects such as English, Math, and physical education, a majority of the students will have somewhat of an idea as to what they would like to do for the rest of their lives. Also, because they have been through these courses, they are not going to enter the work force completely incompetent. Will Richardson’s idea that totally eliminating high schools and having us students learn from social networks is sort of logical, because sometimes it is easier for students to learn in their own environment. Some kids who feel uncomfortable in school due to bullying or whatever the reason, could have a more successful learning experience knowing that the only person that would be able to judge them is a computer. Based upon Thomas Friedman’s article on “The Untouchables”, I think the thing we most need to change is for students who aren’t as driven as others to have a way to figure out what they would want to do for the rest of their lives. Separating students into regular and honors classes make students in regular courses feel less smart. With that mindset, they lack the drive and ambitions those students in rigorous classes have. Also, although I agree with Cho when he says the class requirements let students experience different varieties that will ultimately determine what field they will go into after college, it might also be a good change to have the students choose what classes they attend, that is, if they know what they want to do when they grow up. That way, it would be somewhat more like college, where your major is based upon what career you would like to do.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Mr. Friedman and his suggestions to change our public schools ways of teaching, and helping focus the students on their future careers. If student is going to into a technological type of career then why does every high school have certain perspectives on what we have to learn. We as the students need to be allowed to choose our classes based upon our interests, not that we do but are guided to certain categories of classes. So instead of the actual school setting a certain criteria that the students must meet in order to receive our diplomas, we should be allowed to pick our classes fully on our interests. Of course the school wants their students to succeed so I suggest letting us choose our courses, but allow the school to force upon us the responsibility to chose according to our level, interests, and the discipline to push ourselves further. I agree strongly with Bryan Clancy when he mentions that there is no reason for a student going into for example medical work, to partake in a yearlong course of fine arts. The credit requirements are formed around a student who has no outlook on their future and just wants to get a feel for a little bit of everything. In order for the students and young adults of America to be ready for the workplace and everyday life in our jobs, there needs to be emphasis on the students interests. If the student is put into a music class and they have no interest in going into a musical profession then most likely that kid will not put forth their best effort. Correct me if I’m wrong but the adults and superiors want us to do well, in both school and in our jobs so our economy will eventually turn around, right? So if this is true then we should be put into courses that we will enjoy and try hard at because we know we will need the information at a later date. Coming back to what I said above, I believe that there should be no requirements per say but there should still be guidelines for the students to follow and focus on so that they may succeed and receive their high school diploma. I think graduating high school should be a requirement or law rather than a choice, because you learn more in high school about work and careers than one does in grade school. In conclusion I believe this because most of the time, if not all the time, the employers of today’s jobs would strongly appreciate their employees having at least GED.
ReplyDeleteThe logic behind Friedman’s argument is quite valid. America definitely has been over consuming in regards to their real production of wealth and the financial system has allowed this until this “Recession wiped out all the credit and asset bubbles that made that overconsumption possible, [and] it left too many American workers not only deeper in debt than ever, but out of a job and lacking the skills to compete globally” (Friedman). This is the problem illustrated in Friedman’s article but he also includes the solution, “improving reading, writing and arithmetic but entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity” to give the future the “ability to imagine new services, new opportunities and new ways to recruit work”. The issue is making America globally competitive and having their production more valuable than any computer or foreigner. Our education system, I believe, could do better to insure our future. One major point of mine is giving children the “right education”. Yes, physical health is important but not enough to devote an hour which could be better utilized to educate children on other fields. Also, schools force Fine Arts education on kids and I can see why, to further their knowledge in these fields but making it mandatory is wrong. I know I will be a doctor, when will I have to make a ceramic pot for my patients? It is all about using the time and resources we have to make us as knowledgeable as possible into our chosen fields of study. This brings with it two more points, choosing as early as possible on career plans and putting the technology we have to use. Major lectures in classes the children pick should be available on the internet as well as other sites, chosen by the teacher to help kids out with the learning. Webcams can be used to ask teachers directly for more information. This way, wasted time in passing periods, transportation, sickness, weather, and useless courses is eliminated, further insight is made into desired fields, and it leaves quite a bit of time for a social life.
ReplyDeleteAmerican education id definatly struggling compared to the education in other countries right now. We aren't as hard working and we are lacking skills that are neede to be successful in the buisness world, but I dont think that is a result of the high schools not teaching us well enough. I think that high school actually prepares us for the real world. People can argue that they will never use what they learned in sophomore honors chemistry, but are they really certain of that. What if they find that they are really good at chemistry and that it could possibly become a career for them. High school allows kids to see what is out there for them to pursue as a career. High school also does a good job of developing skill in fileds necessary such as english and mathamatics becaue no matter what you do those subjects will be used constantly throughout your life. I also think high school developes the social aspect of your life as well. It teaches you how to interact with others. There are a lot of successful people who have gotten by just because they know how to interact with others. This skill cannot be taught from a coputer inside a kids house. In order for someone to be more comfortable around others they have to interact with many people daily. I think that the people that dont succeed in high school are the ones who dont want to succeed, and that is the problem with american education. It isnt the system its the people in it. Because kids aren't taking their education seriously or challenging themselves while in highschool they aren't getting as much out of their educations as they should be. Then when they get into the buisness world and can't find a job they complain how the education they are getting isn't as good as the education others are getting, but in reality they just didn't allow their education to be as good as it could be.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in order for us to become “untouchables” in the labor market, we must be able to select more of our classes willingly instead of having to take most core subjects for all four years. For example, sure math is needed in almost any job, but it does not develop creativity needed to survive in the labor market. Also, unless you plan on being an artist or a musician, fine arts classes aren’t needed for your future job. But, because they do sometimes allow you to be creative, they should still be offered and recommended. I believe that some classes once you get to junior and senior year should be job-based and teach you what you need to know to enter college and the job market. These classes should focus on one specific job and teach you what you need to know, such as creativity, problem solving, and helping you choose the correct college for the profession you want. All this would steer students in the right direction to become “untouchables” in the profession they choose. Also, I believe young teachers connect better with students, causing them to learn more. Teachers should be rewarded for being young and paid more, instead of old teachers earning much more than younger teachers. Old teachers just don’t seem to understand and connect with students to the extent that younger ones do. I disagree with the idea that William Richardson has. He states that there should be no more high school and everyone learns online. There are many problems with that. First off, some kids only have friends because they met them at school. Removing high school would mean that those kids would not have friends. I believe high school improves social skills necessary to have when entering the labor market. Second, the atmosphere around high school is something that all kids need to experience. The athletic games, the clubs and the extracurricular activities all help the students to have fun during this very important period in their lives. Third, because no high school would mean no high school athletics, the obesity in high school kids would increase dramatically. Without high school, kids would just sit in front of their computer all day and become fat. And finally, if you ask any high schooler how much they learn and do their homework while at their computer, most will say very little. With all the distractions the internet has to offer, the quality of learning would decrease dramatically. And except for the few extremely dedicated kids, most would cheat and put forth no effort in their online learning.
ReplyDeleteIn order for us to become a huge force in the labor world, the school must change our curriculum and the amount of credits in certain things we need to graduate. I think it is a good idea to have such classes as keyboarding and economics, because these are things that are actually going to help us in the work force. How is the ability to annotate and find imagery quotes going to help me if I sell goods to the people of America? Focusing on what I’m going to do on life rather than focusing on how to play floor hockey is another example of how they should change things in the schools. The credits that are needed are somewhat ridiculous, in my opinion. Instead of 4 years of English, why not 3 of science, math, and English? Also, I think that gym class should not be mandatory all 4 years. For example, If I did not have to go to gym, I would be able to have a full lunch next year, but instead I might not have one at all. For us to strive for success, we must not hinder students by taking away classes that will help us in the work force. In order to become “untouchable” a person has to be well balanced and prepared in all areas. In order to make big companies, like Abbot, want American workers, America must match the education of students in other countries like Japan and China, where they are in school longer. Why would companies want less skilled workers, when they can higher workers with better educations at the same wages, which would increase production and increase revenue for the company. As concerning Mr. Richardson’s ideas of online schools, I completely disagree. Having online schools would eliminate necessary skills that kids need, like socializing and how to develop higher morals. All in all, I think America should rethink their ideas on what to do with our school’s curriculum. Maybe we should do what President Obama said and decrease summer break or have longer school hours, because if we do not change some ways of the school, no Americans will be “untouchable”.
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ReplyDeleteTim Adornetto
ReplyDeleteMr. Janczek, Prd. 6
Sophomore English
1/24/10
I think that the general idea of “The New Touchables” is legitimate. People who have a job that can be done by many others for less money are going to have a hard time keeping their positions. In order to keep yourself from being fired, you have to be able to complete tasks that the Average Joe cannot. Learning how to complete basic tasks and receiving a general degree is not enough. Schools teach students information for the test rather than teaching students life skills. The whole teaching structure of school needs to change. Some people are not good test takers, and test taking ability is going to matter so very little in a person’s job. Fact memorization for a test is not the same as actually completing tasks. Teachers have strict teaching guidelines and they are forced to completely ignore any information that will not be on the test. I can think of so many times where I have asked a question and the teacher says “Oh, you don’t need to know that for the test.” It’s not whether we receive a good grade on a quiz that is going to matter in the long run. It’s the skills we have learned from the class. If everybody is being taught the same information for a test, how are people going to stand out as untouchables? The whole point of schooling is to try and raise yourself above the crowd in competition but if everybody in your field is being taught the same information, then you have another great big crowd you have to contend with even after your education. Education needs to be far more individualized and creative because if it isn’t, then there will be way too many workers for a select few job opportunities.
Tim Adornetto
ReplyDeleteMr. Janczek, Prd. 6
AP Economics
1/24/10
I think that the general idea of “The New Touchables” is legitimate. People who have a job that can be done by many others for less money are going to have a hard time keeping their positions. In order to keep yourself from being fired, you have to be able to complete tasks that the Average Joe cannot. Learning how to complete basic tasks and receiving a general degree is not enough. Schools teach students information for the test rather than teaching students life skills. The whole teaching structure of school needs to change. Some people are not good test takers, and test taking ability is going to matter so very little in a person’s job. Fact memorization for a test is not the same as actually completing tasks. Teachers have strict teaching guidelines and they are forced to completely ignore any information that will not be on the test. I can think of so many times where I have asked a question and the teacher says “Oh, you don’t need to know that for the test.” It’s not whether we receive a good grade on a quiz that is going to matter in the long run. It’s the skills we have learned from the class. If everybody is being taught the same information for a test, how are people going to stand out as untouchables? The whole point of schooling is to try and raise yourself above the crowd in competition but if everybody in your field is being taught the same information, then you have another great big crowd you have to contend with even after your education. Education needs to be far more individualized and creative because if it isn’t, then there will be way too many workers for a select few job opportunities.
I think Thomas Friedman has an excellent point in his article, “The New Untouchables.” He makes the statement that “Those with the imagination to make themselves untouchables — to invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies — will thrive.” Is that not what schools are attempting to accomplish now? It seems to me that they are working hard to make sure their students do develop creativity and problem-solving skills. I am sure- as with everything- there could be a greater effort, but that does not mean that schools are not trying. On the other hand, I do not think Will Richardson’s idea of “No more High School Play Along” would accomplish anything. If our school decided to operate that way, I do not think it would be as effective as a high school setting. I believe that students need the social skills they learn and develop in high school. As for myself, I know that I would not learn as much. I would think of so many other things to do than school and there would be so many distractions that at my age, I feel I could not resist. All the teachers, faculty, rules and just the atmosphere of school keep me focused, whether I want to be or not. If I was responsible for doing my own schoolwork at home, I could find so many ways to avoid doing school. I know that an education is extremely important, but as a teenager, I also think a social life is important so I would have a difficult time balancing the two. School also makes for a somewhat stable lifestyle. Kids develop routines and I think that is also an important aspect in life; stability is very important. Therefore, I feel that eliminating the high school environment would be detrimental to student learning and accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Thomas Freidman's idea about the need for more graduates to become "untouchable." However, I do not think this is entirely the education system's fault. Along with what Ryan said, the core classes need to be learned so that students can figure out what they are good at and what they enjoy. Some students are completely unaware of what they will do after college before they have taken these required classes in high school and discover a subject they are good at and enjoy. The main problem I see with the school system, is that they do not offer enough classes that relate to analytical and problem-solving abilitites. These abilities are what make workers "untouchable," but they are not being taught enough through the high schools. Without these options, students, although they are recieving helpful education, are unable to learn how to innovate and find new ways to do things. By creating these new class options, new jobs would be created to teach the students, and the students would be more prepared for the labor market. With the ability to come up with new ideas, they will be able to adjust to the developing technology, as well as compete with overseas options. The students that are best able to think of new ideas will succeed the most in the now-global labor market. I disagree with Will Richardson's idea of no high school building, because high school students are not always motivated before beginning to learn about a particular subject they enjoy. Without learning about this subject first, students will not discover their educational advantages. Studnest will not be able to determine what subjects they enjoy and are good at, becuase they will not be already motivated by this pleasure. Students figure what they enjoy by going to that particular class. They then get motivated to learn that subject. If high school was online, they would never become motivated, and they would not learn the problem-solving talents that are needed for a job in today's society. The result of online classes would be even higher unemployment rates because students will not learn the skills that make them "untouchable." Even if you think being "untouchable" is not necessary, students would learn less of the general skills than in today's current high school system.
ReplyDeleteI think one way to make students “untouchables” is to get rid of the credits students are required to have such as a fine arts credit and an applied arts credit. Students should be able to take classes which deal with their future profession, and this means if a student wants to be a chemist why would they need to take a physical education class? The requirements placed on high school students are pointless. For the most part, kids will not work up to their potential in a class they do not enjoy. However if the student is taking part of a class that they plan on doing in the future as a career students will be more attentive and will most likely do better in the class. Now, if there aren’t any requirements set there will be those few students to take slack off classes that do no good for them but if that’s what they want to do then the school should let them. If the student wants to slack off and be lazy it will not affect anyone but themselves. Will Richardson’s idea of getting rid of high school all together is interesting but it is also a bit extreme. While taking classes online instead of in a school would be somewhat beneficial, there are some skills that can only be taught in high schools. For example, if a student is taking classes online that means they aren’t getting a lot of interaction with other kids their age. So this lack of social skills will affect how well they do their job. If a high school student wants to be a lawyer when he is older but has no public speaking skills because of the fact that he took online classes all throughout high school. Although there are many ways to improve the schools in this country, there are always “more important” things that need to be dealt with so the changes that need to be executed won’t be or at least not for a while.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion when the article states that “Those with the imagination to make themselves untouchables — to invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies — will thrive.” Is the best statement that could be put out there to encourage our schools to change the way they have their curriculum. For example I totally agree with Ruchee when she says that there should be more of a requirement in science and math than in other areas like English. I feel that having a four year education in math or science can help students prepare themselves better for the work force than learning a deeper meaning to a novel. Of course we all need to improve our writing but not every job out there involves us being experts in writing. And for me I feel that the classes that should be encouraged are those that make people come out of their shells. Because there are a lot of students in high school that have really bad fright of speaking in public, being open about their ideas or just expressing themselves. Those classes would definitely help us in the future because unlike having to write a 10 page paper on novel we will have to speak clearly in our interviews when we go looking for a job. Classes that make students think outside the box. We are getting so used to doing things just the way they are than we never have the chance to question and say if there could be another way to make things also work. Because every day there is more technology that is taking away our use in this world. There are many jobs that people have lost because of the cheaper and faster ways technology has made it for the firms, but what about instead of giving up finding new ways that technology is not going to compete with us. Like a little example of communication, of course there is email and all those other things that help communication but there is no computer that can connect with us like other people do.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the only way we can all become “untouchables” is by taking classes and doing the things that really interest us. One of the biggest reasons kids don’t like school and often drop out is because they have no interest in what they are being forced to learn. Then, after they are forced to take these classes I feel like people often move on to jobs that they also don’t enjoy. I think that part of having everyone become an “untouchable” is actually enjoying the work that you do and looking forward to going to work every day. Just as the article says “those who have the ability to imagine new services, new opportunities and new ways to recruit work were being retained” and these are the people that enjoy what they do. The article also talks about how we can’t just wait around for the recession to end and we can’t just wait for jobs to be handed to us, we have to work for it. We have to want to create better jobs and be creative in order to help this problem. Another point the article makes about how to become untouchable is that we have to have other skills besides just education. People and problem solving skills are just as important in having a job as being book smart. All in all I do agree that in order for us to become untouchable we have to do what interests us most so we actually look forward to work instead of just having it be this daily routine that we dread.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agreed with Mr. Friedman's stand on how our school system lacks behind in really educating the kids of today for the business world out there! I believe schools are doing a good job, and so are teachers but there's no drive in students any more because if they are wanting to be English teachers, then why would they put so much effort into Chemistry class? I truly think that up until high school, students should get an all well rounded education, more than now, about the world and math and all the sciences, but I think that once the students get into high school they should be taking classes that'll prepare them for the jobs they actually seek in the future. So for instance, if someone wanted to be a Math teacher when they grow up, then they should take instead of the usual required credit classes, an intense amount of math classes and maybe an few other classes in between, but still having most of their daily schedule revolve around math. I really think this will drive students to do great in school and become "the new untouchables" because they'll be doing what they love and exceeding in what they are great at! And a long with what Mr. Pink stated, "...vanilla does not cut it anymore. It’s all about what chocolate sauce, whipped cream and cherry you can put on top" and with having students be particularly interested and focused in one subject, they'll be able to be great and think of new things, rather than having their mind crammed with seven different subjects. And in addition, having eight subjects with only forty minutes or so of each class, what can really be taught? Because from most of my experiences, teachers cram in everything and then as you're going to the next class you're trying to make sense of what you just learned, and then BAM, you're getting more information thrown at you and there's no time to actually make sense of anything. But going to school is a good idea, because having classes be some place else, like through on-line lessons as Mr. Richardson suggested would be chaos! I know that when I get home from school, I'm tempted to do everything but sit down and focus on school. I think going to a school building and having actual classes, sort of sets a mood and mind set for students to learn, since what else can you do but learn?
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article “ The Untouchables”, I suppose you can go both ways with this argument. First lets look at how many credits students must obtain before graduation. In my opinion, I honestly believe that school has required a little bit of a stretch when it comes to credits but I do understand why they give us such requirements. Knowing how bad our economy is at the moment, you cant blame the school public system in trying to push us further in our studies to have us well prepared for the future and our careers. I appreciate how they are trying to help us succeed but I don’t fully agree with how they are approaching the situation. In order for students to become the new “Untouchables” I do believe that students should be given the right to choose which classes they want to take. If we are required to obtain such credits before graduation, shouldn’t we be able to decide what exactly it is we want to use them on? I’m not saying that we should be allowed to do whatever we want because in that case, there are those who will take advantage of it. What I am trying to say is that, we should be able to have a say in which classes it is that we think are best for us to take in order to help us reach that career it is that we want. We all need the basics it’s critical in life I fully agree with that but we also need to be able to get the education we need in order to succeed in our chosen careers. We should be able to explore all areas of education so we can have a general idea of what opportunities there are out there. We want be able to do what we enjoy, not what we are required to do. I believe that schools lack this information. Therefore, what they expected from their students in the first place, doesn’t always necessarily happen.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Friedman’s article and his theory on how to become the “New Untouchables”. The United States is known throughout the world to have a reputation for mediocrity and an overall bad school system. While children around the world were learning their alphabet and numbers, we were having nap time in pre-school. The difference in the education systems is pretty obvious when you look at it. We live in a society where children are protected and pampered until they reach high school; we are accustomed to having very little homework and very little responsibility in school and as a result of this, the majority of Americans have become “touchable” causing most of them to lose their jobs and increase the unemployment effect of the recession. The reason so many adults are used to “having work handed to them” is because this is the way that they have been brought up throughout out grade school; sure, we all had extra time to play, but in the long run the lack of strictness has worked against us and ultimately brought the recession we are in today upon us. The few people who have managed to further their intelligence by providing insights and hard work are the only ones who are left with a job nowadays. If you think about it that way, it seems fair that those who do not partake in mediocrity are the ones who are being rewarded with the security of a job. However, the problem of a promising education still remains in our society: for starters, we need to higher our expectations of young children, the more information they receive during their youth, the more successful they will be. If they are behind the other children around the world at a young age, our country will be behind the other countries as well. It is necessary that we push our students to make themselves useful and help our country regain its status of superiority that it once had. Friedman is right when he says “average won’t cut it anymore”, we live in a world where increasing technology is replacing the average worker easily. Now more than ever before, we need our education system to prepare students to become a powerful workforce so that our country may become “untouchable”.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with Mr. Friedman's view on the education system. I think that in order for students to become “untouchables” as an adult, they need to not have so many required credits we have to have. Unless you are going to pursue a career in art or music, you shouldn’t be forced to take fine art classes. And having to take four years of English in order to graduate is terrible. I think that students should be able to take the classes that are going to help them in the future with their career or even just life. It should be somewhat like college where you take classes that have to do with your major. If someone wants to be a science teacher, their school schedule should revolve around science based classes such as biology, chemistry, physics, and zoology. When kids are taking classes that they want, they get to have a fun but educational experience that will help them with their future. Having eight different classes just stresses us out and especially classes that you have no interest in doesn’t help us pay attention. On the contrary, I also disagree with this article. Even though our classes are somewhat pointless, its gives us a good variety of what is available in the real world and what we can pursue our career as. We all complain about the amount of work and homework we have, but the teachers are just trying to prepare you for the years ahead of you and trying to help you to understand the work load in college. In conclusion, I agree and disagree with Friedman’s article because of unnecessary classes, but the unnecessary classes could also lead you to a career you have high interest in.
ReplyDeleteI think that the author brings up a good point, a lot of kids that come out of public schools these days just don’t have the necessary work ethic and innovative mindset that will help them succeed in the work place. I think that public schools need to put a much larger focus on teaching kids to figure things out for themselves and on being original, creative and constructive, maybe instead of just lecturing on how something is teachers should try to get kids to find out why it is that way. Now obviously that kind of approach can’t always apply, you can’t really find out why history worked the way it did, but as for the other subjects maybe kids should try to figure out why this formula or that equation works rather than just hearing that it does and relying on it. Maybe kids should try to figure out why when this chemical reacts with that chemical it causes such and such a reaction or why did so and so write a book about this topic or that, what are they really trying to say? I think that the biggest problem behind why kids who attend public school are lacking the intuitive edge is that too often do they just have information handed to them and have their learning more focused on memorization and retaining information rather than taking concepts and applying them to situations, and another problem with the school system is that learning is too regimented and boring. As much as teachers might hate to hear this, most of them are quite boring, but its not you, it’s the teaching style you use. If students spent the fifty minutes of class time taking concepts and applying them in creative and at least some what fun ways they would not only learn quicker, they might actually retain that information longer than just enough to pass a test, and that style of teaching would also build creativity, the creativity necessary to make yourself untouchable in the work place. If teachers would try this style of teaching rather than just sitting through an entire class period with a power point or a set of notes and just lecture not only would kids learn better and faster they would be more interested, that’s proven, look at test scores in charter schools that teach in new and creative ways and compare them to those in traditional lecture based public schools, those results will explain themselves.
ReplyDeleteI personally agree with Friedman’s Untouchables article. I believe that he is right when he says that “our education failure is the largest contributing factor to the decline of the American worker’s global competitiveness…” Our public schools are not feeding children with proper education. Public schools are putting no effort into actually making children think outside of the box. We as children are given reading, writing, and math assignments, but we are rarely given projects where we can be innovative and bring out the creativity within ourselves. Public schools are just sliding by, by doing their jobs day to day and not caring about whether kids are interested in what they are learning or even if they actually absorb any of the information that they are being fed. The fact that each average job is now getting more and more competitive should influence the schools’ into better educating their children. For example, “just being an average accountant, lawyer, contractor, or assembly-line worker is not the ticket it used to be.” Nowadays, children have to strive for a superb education in order for them to excel and find jobs easily in their futures. Hopefully this article will influence kids to work extremely hard and not be average and do work just to get by throughout high school. Not only are the basics such as reading and writing important, but the way of thinking is just as important. The most important thing about the untouchables is that they have such a large imagination. They can think of improving jobs and making them more environmentally friendly and much more. If our education system engraved the idea of creativity in our minds, then we will have no labor problems in the future. As long as we fix our schools and our banks we will do just fine.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with David Cho and many others who made this argument. Changing the requirements for us high school students would be a disaster. High school kids are not necessarily people who make the best decisions. If kids got to choose what classes they wanted to take, they would most likely just take what their friends are taking, or take an easy class just so they do not have to work. High school is a time to decide what you are most interested in, and where you want to take your further career. One has to experience firsthand, all subjects in school because what you don’t try, you will never know. I mean let’s face it, freshman year of high school you probably did not know what you wanted to go into. You did not know if you wanted to possibly be a lawyer or a chemist, or maybe even a historian. If someone wants to be a chemist, and then fills up most all of their classes with science and math classes freshman year, but then gets tired of it and realizes that they really do not want to be a chemist anymore, they have just wasted two of their high school years. Those two years are crucial for building a strong foundation for everything and will affect you later on down the road when you start your career. In my opinion, high school is a time for learning as much as you can, and also learning about life in general. Students should be “forced” to achieve all the requirements that schools give them. It helps students have a well rounded education and a strong foundation, along with further understanding of how life works. If one does not like something in their life, they can’t just avoid it. Just like in school, if one does not like a certain subject, oh well. Life is hard. That’s a fact. It isn’t handed to you, you don’t get to pick and choose everything little thing that happens. Plus, say that a person only educated themselves in a certain subject all throughout high school and college and they get a job that revolves around that subject. In order to be more “Untouchable”, you would have to be more handy right? Yes. So say that all that that person knows is facts about that one subject, and maybe the company is looking for a worker who is good on the computer, so they can transfer some data. Well this person is now in trouble, and out of luck, because he only knows everything about one subject, and nothing else. If one were “Untouchable” in that situation they would know at least the basics of plenty of other things, like how to work on a computer efficiently, that would help a company in need. Overall, I do not see what there is to fix about the schools. They provide everything a child could need for an education, and more. The only thing that could be bringing the school systems down is the kids who are used to everything being handed to them, and they are not quite used to being forced to do work. If one wants to succeed in life, being motivated is the first step. There are plenty of chances for people to work on furthering their foundation of knowledge for their future career and life. So if we are to put blame to what is making many go jobless, it would not be the schools, for they provide an excellent foundation for all kids and plenty of opportunities for experience too. People’s motivations need to be examined first.
ReplyDeleteWhile Mr. Friedman’s argument about how the new generation needs to create new ways to do old tasks in order to retain their jobs in a recession makes sense, he is blaming the cause of an increase in unemployment in the past decade due to a lack of education. I personally believe that rather than a lack of education occurring, it is a misuse of and lack of taking advantage of education by high school and college students that is causing this unemployment. And it is because of new technology that this is being brought into our society. With iPhones, Facebooks, video games, and the internet as a whole rapidly changing and becoming more popular, teenagers are becoming more and more distracted with these trivial matters and paying less and less attention to their schoolwork and inevitably their grades. They don’t listen in class and therefore never actually learn all of the material. During most of the 20th century there were none of these problems because there wasn’t must technology to distract teens. This was during the time when America was considered the greatest country in the world, and rightly so. They had a great economy and full employment. Other than the Great Depression and some other economic bumps during the 70s and 80s, there weren’t many complaints. But now with the economy in a recession and unemployment reaching ten percent, American students need to start rethinking their classroom strategies. They have to toughen up and try to focus more on their futures or it will be a very bleak outcome. There isn’t going to be a recall in all technology just so American students can bring their grades up, so for this reason we must be more cautious about our work in the schoolroom. It is only through more deliberate focus and responsibility in the younger generations that there will be more untouchables created and implemented into the American workforce.
ReplyDeleteI think that students coming out of high school do need to improve themselves in order to be ready to join the work force, and some of the other posts have said that this can be done by not setting requirements that all students need to graduate, but others have argued that doing that will leave the decisions up to the students, which may lead to bad choices, especially by younger students. I think we can combat both these problems by allowing only upperclassmen who have already decided or have a good idea of what they are going to do when they leave high school break away from the set guidelines that we have today. This way, the younger students that have no idea what they want to do can get a sample of all the different fields, which will help them make up their minds, and those who are sure what they want to do can advance themselves in their field, giving them that extra edge that they will need in the now extremely competitive labor force. Now, as for the teaching of the students, I do not think that much more can be done that isn’t already being done (at least in our specific school system). I don’t think creativity can be taught to students who do not have any interest in learning how to advance themselves above others. If a student does not show any willingness to improve the way they are learning, they cannot excel past other students who really push themselves to better things. I think that this is the way it should be because those who do not want to work hard for their earnings should not be given the same opportunities that a hard worker has. Since this is happening, those who do work hard will eventually pull through because their lazy counterparts just do not have the intangibles to compete in the long run, and this may in turn create more hard workers because they are now being threatened by unemployed people that are willing to outwork them.
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of learning to be “untouchables” it something to consider. I don’t think that school is fully preparing us for the job world, in certain areas. I mean most of the stuff we learn in school is never used in the profession one goes into. Some students know what job field they want to enter but because of the high school requirements they are not always able to take certain classes that will prepare them for that field. Now sometimes you get that really awesome teacher who makes you want to learn or just makes the class less boring but most of the time you get teachers who are nice and bad at teaching or good at teaching but not nice. The teachers are the main reason as to whether or not the student wants to try in that class. In my opinion I think that not only does the education system need to improve but also the ones teaching. In order for students to grow up as an “untouchable” they need to enjoy learning something that they can use in the job world. However, when students learn something that has no interest to them teachers sometimes don’t go that extra mile to help those students. This can really affect the student’s confidence towards learning that subject. Going back to the requirements for school I think that they are smart but I think that they should be a little more flexible, able to substitute certain class requirements for others for those who want to take some classes over others. The article talks about how in order to survive the business world one has to “invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies”, in order to be “untouchable”. This can be possible if students just take the time to learn and study what interests them with the help of teachers. One thing is for sure and that is that I would never want to have school online. Although technology is thriving and it is important to learn from it social skills are especially needed to be an “untouchable”. As much as I complain about school I know that it is going to help me succeed in the future.
ReplyDeleteWhile some can blame an educational system in some aspects in guiding someone to being untouchable in a labor market it is ultimately up to that person to achieve it. That person needs to work hard and strive to beat out all the others around them. The education system needs to be there to push the students to be innovative and try new ideas and not just have the same boring old routine when a student walks into a classroom knowing what to expect. I do not think doing meaningless worksheets and reading books for deeper meaning than probably the author intended is going to help anybody get prepared for any career. The educational system, in my opinion, is only a foundation for a student and the rest is up to him to decide how he is going to be seen. A teacher can only help a student so much to reach his goals in life. If a student does not want to work hard and does not put forth any effort is the teacher to blame? I think a lot of blame needs to go to the parents for not pushing their kids to work hard. Although there can be circumstances where the parents can’t have that much influence in their kids because they are single parents and is at work, etc. that is where a teacher can step in and help out. I think schools need to be setup where kids are constantly being challenged to be innovative where it’s more challenging classes. I also feel that schools need to hire teachers who care about their jobs and are not just teaching because they get June, July, and August. Teachers should also be required to be constantly learning new techniques and different ways to teach their kids so they connect to them better. I do not consider sitting in a meeting room for three hours once a month learning new ways to teach. Employers want people who are going to be constantly accepting new challenges and working harder than their competitors. The schools should also be demanding this from their kids. Ultimately the ability to become untouchable in the job market is up to the person and not up to the schools. The schools are the foundations and can help guide that someone their. They just have to that job and that person has to do his job.
ReplyDeleteThe article braught up several good points, and I believe that he is right in the way that our education system needs to change. Todays' schools do not prepare one for the real world. Students are so focust on this assigment or that baseball game that noone takes time to think about thier future. With the classes we take not much of them will be very practical in the job market. If I wanted to become a writer or a journalist why do I need to take an algebra class? It will have no practical use in their future. As a whole our system needs to focus the fields individual students want to enter. Unless one doesn't know what they want to do then they are intitled to a more broad education. To be more prepared to enter the job market many people should be aware of the difficulties that one may encounter and subsequently students should have a better idea of their future. Knowing this students will take innitutive and get themselves ready for the everchanging economy in which we live in.
ReplyDeleteI completely agreed with Friedman and how public schools today not only have to improve reading, writing, and arithmetic but also on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship so we can enhance employment in the future. But going along with what I had mentioned, I think students should be allowed to take whatever they want. Four years of English? Really. It’s unfair for people who do not like English to be taking that many years of English. Sure, English is extremely important but one cannot put in creativity or effort if they’re not very interested. Because of the changed graduation requirements, students tend to just lay back and pass the class…that is why none of the students are putting any creativity, innovation, or entrepreneurship. Going back to the 50’s, the teaching methods were completely different than nowadays. We have high tech, computers, unreliable or reliable sources to help with our homework. Back then, the students really had to use their creativity. And teachers back then were more strict and I believe if students today are stuck with an education like this, we cannot improve our school system. So in order for students now to become the untouchables, the school system should change just a tad bit so we can have more opportunity to pursue what we want to do and not what we are forced to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement to become an untouchable we have to change our school program. I do not think it is fair that some kids have to go through schooling for subjects they have no interest in. Instead I think a better plan would be having basic subjects through eighth grade but in high school kids can decide what classes they want to take. If one person wants to be a firefighter, to say, they could take specialized classes for that and skip over taking English and History, which will have no effect on his work. This way after all his classes are through he can go straight into the work force and not be forced to take classes that are pointless for him. I still think high school is good for making up one’s mind on what they want to do in live, but this way the people that know don’t have to waste time. If kids can take classes in high school that are geared toward their career choice then they will save a lot of money and time in college because they would not be taking unnecessary classes. They would then be able to specialize in college and gain an essential advantage on others which will come in handy when they are competing against many others for the specific job they desire. This would also teach them the necessary skills they need to have in their workplace instead of learning them as you start to work there which means they would be falling behind others. This would put them ahead of some people they work with, leading them on a path to being an untouchable.
ReplyDeleteI believe our school systems are fine the way they are. If we try to change them now our entire system will be flawed. It will be like starting over again. Our economy is on its way up and starting over will be starting the recession over in hope that we will be getting out of the recession faster. Most children do not grow up knowing the complete layout of their future they go through many different experiences based on different area rather then one certain category of work. No man’s life is predetermined from birth they work up to what they are going to be. Our school system requirements are what makes individuals who they are and they open them up to a new idea that they have maybe never even known. For me I never used to do art and I always said I was bad at it and that I do not like it. This year to fulfill my requirement I took art foundations and it has been fun since the first day. I enjoy it because I am realizing I’m not as bad as I thought i was at art and if you have a good teacher you can learn anything. If our school was to change it’s system to make it more of the student’s choice to take what class they want there would be no reason for high school, kids should just go straight to college. We are not old enough to be responsible for everything in our lives during college we are still on the way up the hill of knowledge and we still need guidance. I think having classes where one kid is in advance placement and one kid is in preparatory is not a good idea. Every kid has the ability to learn and although they do not want to they need to be pushed to do so. There should be some difference in levels of classes, but having such a gap makes kids feel ignorant and it makes them lose their desire and motivation to learn. We need to find a common ground between completely altering the entire system and improving it.
ReplyDeleteI think the education system needs to focus more on not just teaching the material but show us how to deal with people face to face and how to create different solutions to differnet problems. In public education, they focus on what they need to teach us so we pass tests and make the schools look good and so the schools will look like they are complying to the no child left behind plan. My mom was a teacher and is now a principal. She thinks that the education system is not the only problem. It is that the world is becoming flat and that now that businesses can find technology or cheaper employees of an sort over seas, it is what ever is cheaper and will save businesses money that they will hire. No matter how much more the schools teach or how much more the students study, if foreign labor is cheaper it won’t matter. I some what agree with her, but still believe that the US is far behind foreign schools. In Spain they have to take a spanish class, english class, and then another foreign language. Friedman believes “Those with the imagination to make themselves untouchables — to invent smarter ways to do old jobs, energy-saving ways to provide new services, new ways to attract old customers or new ways to combine existing technologies — will thrive. Therefore, we not only need a higher percentage of our kids graduating from high school and college — more education — but we need more of them with the right education.” Schools need to focus on preparing us for the real world and how to think outside the box instead of having us study a text book for one ap test that will determine if we get money off college. Students need to be able to be creative which means schools should require more than just one credit of fine arts or offer more alternatives for english or more than just inrto to business. I think that friedman has a point that we need to rethink the education system, but my mom also points out that it is not only the schools that need to be improved(our economy and the individual students need to take the initiative to become better and hire inside the US). I think it will take a joint effort between the school system and the businesses who are hiring to fix the idea of “untouchables”. It should not be a competition, it should be whatever moves us forward.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with what Friedman has to say. I agree that the school system does need to get better, but not everything depends on the curriculum and the board of education. The board could try to do as much as possible to lower dropout rates but that does not mean that kids will not continue to drop out. School, as much as it depends on the interest of classes, also depends on the student’s interest to learn and desire to continue learning further. “Now that we are picking up the pieces, we need to understand that it is not only our financial system that needs a reboot and an upgrade, but also our public school system.” I do not think that our public school system needs to be completely rebooted but it does need some changes. As lame as it might make me sound, I believe that certain breaks and days off should be removed. For example, Casimir Pulaski Day and Martin Luther King Day, honestly how many of us know who Pulaski is? I don’t really even know much about him or why we have the day off, all I know is that he’s from Poland. As for Martin Luther King Day, our most recent day off, I agree that he should be respected on a certain day but I do not think it requires a day off. Although every student knows about MLK I doubt that they celebrate or recognize why we have the day off, to most students it is just another day to sleep in late. Again this will probably make me seem like such a nerd but ever since 6th grade I watch and read the ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech. However, I do not need a whole day off to do this. If we have less days off then we can learn more and continue thinking about what we want our future to hold. I believe that all students should have to go through English and History because this way our society can pass on stories and important events, and also because if everyone knows the basics of English and History then they do not seem like ignorant people. Plus, if certain students do not take English and/or History then it will be dividing our society even further which is not what America should be. The Todd Martin quote: “Our education failure is the largest contributing factor to the decline of the American worker’s global competitiveness, particularly at the middle and bottom ranges”, angered me very much. Just recently in my English class we had a discussion on the school systems and how IQs in low-income areas are nothing compared to what they are in high-income areas. In my opinion the reason why IQs are so low is because the people with the high-income make the rules and automatically write off the children with low-income parents. This is where the public school system fails; everyone should have the same opportunity to be in advanced classes. The system also needs to hire teachers that are passionate and caring especially for the lower class students. When Friedman says “… vanilla doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s all about what chocolate sauce, whipped cream and cherry you can put on top. So our schools have a doubly hard task now — not just improving reading, writing and arithmetic but entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity,” he is correct that because the average should not cut it, in our current situation every man and woman should be giving all 110%. In a world that advances as fast as ours everyone needs to be on top of their game to not only help the economy but the human race as well. I 100% agree with Friedman’s last statement, we cannot get anywhere without beginning to fix the, minor, roots of our problems.
ReplyDeleteTo be untouchable education wise, I agree with Friedman. We need to have a higher percent of graduates from high school and college, we need better public schooling, and most of all we need more reasonable requirements. First off, Friedman identifies a very important issue we ourselves, as students experience. Many students end their education the day they graduate from high school due to no motivation. They say to themselves “Well, that was a waste of 4 years of my life. I’m never going to need to know how to calculate the molar mass of anything.” I feel as though this is the main struggle the public school systems encounter. The teachers give their students no motivation. Basically, they make their students hate learning. I know, it has happened to me. Teachers do indeed have a very hard job. They can’t always please every single one of their students. But in order to raise the percent of graduates from high school, their needs to be more motivation coming from the faculty members. I know it is not kindergarten…but didn’t we all love our elementary school days? We got rewarded for being hard workers, not bullying each other, and just the simple manners. Maybe if we brought back some rewards such as, day’s off school for straight A’s. Or even Friday’s off for students with a 3.0 or better G.P.A. Would this give us, as students more motivation and raise the percent of graduates? Maybe.
ReplyDeleteBrining up another argument is the requirements most Illinois schools require. I strongly disagree with having 4 years of English and 4 years of P.E. There is no reason once so ever we should have to waste 50 minutes a day playing floor hockey, when we could be learning, taking fun classes like foods, or an art class. Those of us that are in the Fine Arts programs at our school are not able to take any sort of electives, unless you do not participate in a foreign language. It is absolutely ridiculous that the state requires us to take P.E , every year. Students should be responsible and work out and condition on their own time if they wanted to. We shouldn’t be forced to work out. To me, it is the most absurd requirement on EARTH!
To make ourselves in our generation untouchable, we need to have more motivation and better schooling.
Friedman’s article is very correct in the assumption that our educational system is flawed. How we fix it is where the debate really lies. I really like his point that people are used to having jobs handed to them. I see this in our school systems. Instead of having full understanding and skill in select subjects that a student may be devoted to, we have a system based on success done on generalized tests. What results is a graduating workforce that has a wide range of lightly glossed over skills, rather than a strong comprehension of the skills needed in the job they want. To get what Friedman wants, a workforce that understands the nuances of their jobs, I think we need to move to a system where after eighth grade kids go into school based on the jobs they want. Now some will say you will have an overload of kids in some areas, with few in others. This is why I would include in the system a test that would be a barometer for the student before they could enter the school. If a kid wanted to be a lawyer, he would have to prove that he has a legitimate base aptitude for the field. Same with plumbers, doctors, carpenters, teachers, etc. Now I know this plan is radical and may be a little bit naïve, so I will also put in a suggestion a little more reasonable. Friedman also mentions the collapse of Wall Street and the credit system in general, that is why I suggest we teach some sort of Consumer Education from early on in the schooling process. Helping younger kids understand what a credit card means; what can happen if they are misused; how to pay taxes; use a checkbook; how consumers affect our way of life, will help our economy heal at a quicker rate help those in the workforce stay reasonable when looking for a job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that we can improve our work situation by improving highschools. I also think it would be a good idea to start taking more specific classes when you start highschool. That way by the time you get to college you already know what type of career field you want to go into, and you have been learning and focusing on that type of work for a longer time. This will help to make students more "untouchable" because they will be more qualified for the job they are after.
ReplyDeleteAnd on a larger scale, if the students graduating college are more qualified because they are more "untouchable" then companies will have less of a reason to outsource workers or bring in people from other countries to work for them.
Also I think that the classes you are given to choose from in highschool should not be limited to certain grades. This can prevent people from being able to take all the classes they want to in highschool, and if they are unable to take a certain class in highschool then that may be something they will have to take while they're in college and they have missed out on the opportunity to get ahead in their schooling, which may be all the difference when they go to get a job and are up against other people who might have been able to take all the classes they wanted, when they wanted.
I strongly agree with Friedman's article and that our education system needs major work. I like his point about how many workers are losing their jobs, not because they aren't doing them right, but because they are too average. They lack the ability to think outside of the box, which is essential in the work force. I agree with Jackson White's point about how we need to have specialized schooling after grade school to fit a person's career choice. I know that other countries already do things similar to this and that is why it is no surprise to me why America is currently lacking in the educational department, compared to where we used to be fifty years ago. I also think that not only should we do that, but also have kids strictly evaluated during grade school in tests that categorize them in both personality and intelligence. This way it will narrow their options on what job they wish to pursue in the future. You might say that this is a bit controlling, but maybe it isn't. Think about it, depending on what a child's personality is and where his intelligence level is, their career choices should already be very similar to let’s say some other child with the same statistics. It should be a natural thing.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I think needs to change is the hiring of teachers. I feel that a lot of them do not have good speaking skills or people skills at that. I feel that some people go to teaching because they do not know what else to do, I know people who have done this personally. Some people belong teaching. They are very good at it, and have great people skills. Those are the people that make learning fun, but it is the other ones that need to be evaluated a little closer before they are hired to see if they are truly qualified for teaching. If this is changed, and the requirements for becoming a teacher are raised then I think that kids will do much better in school account of having someone that can really TEACH them, not just go through the text book and hand out busy work, anyone can do that.
I think one way to make students “untouchables” is to not completely change the high school system, but instead make a few tweaks here and there. I agree with several of the posts above me that a lot of high school students have no idea what career they want to pursue after high school. This is why I think demolishing the required graduation credits system altogether would be a bad thing. The unlucky person who wants to change their career would have to redo their entire high school education, rendering the four years they had spent learning those unneeded traits useless. However, I also agree with several people that the student should be able to choose whether they take arts classes. Though arts classes may make the high school experience more enjoyable, why should someone who wants to be, let’s say a doctor, take a music class? Classes like P.E and foods may make the school day more fun, but it doesn’t prepare you for your future, unless you want to be a chef or… a P.E teacher. I think it should be up the student whether they take arts or elective classes. The free periods that students would have since they aren’t taking unwanted classes could be used towards classes that deal with their future profession (this is where kids who want to be artists and musicians could take their desired electives). This would allow them to finish their required classes while also preparing them better for life after high school. Basically, the point I am trying to get across is that the core classes should be required, electives should not.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I agree with Friedman’s article on some points. I agree that being “untouchable” isn’t about just doing you’re job. It is about how well you do it, and how much you are worth to the firm. It is about being innovative, prepared, and always striving to excel and to be one step ahead of coworkers. In other words, making you stand out. In an interview, an “untouchable” would be able to easily answer the question of, “what sets you apart from the rest?” Friedman also states in his article that to create more “untouchables”, we need more people to graduate high school and college. I disagree that demolishing the entire high school structure would help get more people to graduate. Rather than taking high school away completely, I think what I said in the above paragraph would increase the amount of graduates, because people who take the classes they want are more likely to pay attention, and more likely to get better grades. Plus, taking online classes would take away the whole high school experience. People would have little to no social skills. And social skills are crucial for success. How are you supposed to do well in an interview if you aren’t used to talking to different people? It is the same with public speaking, which is also a skill that is helped along through high school, where it is almost required at some point to stand in front of your class and say some thing or another.
A lot of great comments! What I like about the discussion that was going on that was started with David Cho's comments about letting students choose the classes they want is that you the students are saying is in-line with a lot of the discussion points that many concerned educators are having.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the students who were saying that freshman and sophomore year should be core courses and junior and senior year being more elective/college prep centered. We have great discussions about the classes we teachers could teach (for me, I would love to teach a class specifically about the Bill of Rights and another class specifically about investing), but with only an 8 hour day and the class requirements that the state mandates we don't really have the time to do that for now.
When you think about it...most likely, in this ever changing economy, the jobs you will be holding probably hasn't even been creative yet (or thought of!). What are the skills you think you need, regardless of profession, to be successful in your career? A lot of you picked up on this theme in his work saying that a job will no longer be handed to you so you need to rely on being the best, and being the most creative, being a critical thinker and working hard...and that is what schools should focus their curriculum on. This is what you the student should demand...this discussion is just the start and people are listening to you.
I agree and disagree with what Friedman has to say about how the education system. I think that the system needs some minor tweaking, but if it changes completely it will be flawed. The biggest thing I think that needs to change is the required classes. Fine arts and physial education are important, but it doesn't provide the skills needed to succeed in the work place. Schools should allow the students select the classes that interest them, classes that will help them in the professions they would like to be, and classes that emphasize in communication. If students are interested in what they are doing, they will have more concentration, and be more motivated to succeed. Schools have qualified teachers but the teaching style needs to change. The teachers should expose kids to situations that might occur in the work place and prepare them becuase sitting down and taking notes for the whole class period gets old after a while. No matter what education system we use, it is up to the student to work hard. The biggest flaw in the system is that students get lazy and often neglect doing the work necessary to be successful and that simply won't cut it when they get into the real world.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important that education is stadardized instead of individualized. Think about it, if no high schools existed, only the rich would be able to afford quality schooling. The poor children would be forced to learn the same things as their parents, which if they were poor, would not be much. Its the same way with cars. The Rich children can get Corrollas and other nice vehicles while us "normies" have to go with what we are given. It isn't fair. I personally have no problems with it not being fair in terms of luxury items, but education should not be a priveledge. If education becomes a commodity, it becomes an expensive one. Without everyone having access, America would become stupider.
ReplyDelete"Me fail english? That unpossible"