We are all in a journey where no one comes before.
Human ingenuity and creativeness continue to produce rapid new technological
changes that affect the way we live, learn and work. These changes are so
innovative that no one can fully predict what is going to come in the future. There
are so much new things coming out that schools need to prepare students how to
sift through this barrage of information and determine what is relevant or
irrelevant to them. Technology also
diminished the barrier of physical distance making global economies all part of
interconnected world. This means graduates have to be competitive not only with
local graduates but also graduates from around the world. Thus, schools need to
prepare globally qualified graduates. We need to equip students with the skills
and knowledge they need to be competitive in a global information-based
economy.
Capitalism along with the
ever-changing technology produces so many choices for consumers. With so much
market competition going on, companies also need to be competitive or else they
will be eliminated by competition or go bankrupt. They want to hire graduates
that will help them produce the most return in their investments. Companies
hired graduates with good work ethics, know how to communicate, and work with others in the company, and have good critical problem solving skills.
Work ethics is defined as “demonstrating personal accountability, effective
work habits, e.g. punctuality, working productively with others, time and
workload management.” - (CorporateVoicesforWorkingFamilies, 2006). Students
need to learn
good communication skills
because they need to articulate innovative ideas to excel or even just perform
well in the work place when they graduate. Students need to learn how to work
in groups while in school because companies sometimes call
collaboration among team members to be able to come up with the
most economically sound solution from different experts in various departments
within the company. Students need to learn
critical
thinking and
problem solving skills
because companies also faces changes and future workers need to come up with
solutions that maximize productivity according to the challenges face by
companies because of the rapid changes of technology. However, even if the
worker possess the good communication, critical and problem solving skills as
well as ability to work in groups or collaboration skills, if the worker didn’t
have work ethics then nothing will be accomplished or not done in time again
affecting the companies productivity and profits.
Unfortunately U.S. high school graduates
are graduating not prepared for the world of work judging from the workforce
survey “Are They Really Ready To Work?“ nor are they prepared to be competitive
with other graduates from other countries as the Educational Score Performance
– Country Rankings suggest (geographic.org, 2009). Even with
grants for retraining existing workers
(DOL, 2010) the continues
hiring of foreign workers
(NumbersUSA, 2011) in specialty occupations such as
scientists, engineers or computer programmer
(USCIS, 2011)
suggests a difference in the skill set that the employers need and the skill
set that current U.S. graduates have. They are lacking in written communication,
leadership, work ethic, critical thinking and problem solving, and
self-direction. There is a growing gap between the knowledge and skills that
students learn in schools and the skills needed in the 21
st century
workplace. With so much distraction such as watching too much TV, video games,
social media, we need to create learning environments that engage this
generation and help them reach their full potential. We need to prepare
students for the real world. We need to prepare students for the world of work.
I believe that U.S.
education is superior in teaching 21st skills compared to other
countries as the U.S. has the most number of patent application compared to
other countries (WIPO, 2010). This
suggests U.S. was able to produce innovative or creative thinkers just like the
educational leaders or policy makers wanted. It’s just that not every student
takes advantage of what is offered to them in school nor not every parent
becomes adequately engaged with their children’s education. Students are
sometimes disinterested in learning things in school, not seeing the relevance
of what they are doing in school to their future. Sometimes parents has the
notion that all they need to do is demand changes, more technology, more budget
and yet leave all the responsibility of their children’s learning process to
the teachers, blaming the teachers when their children did not meet learning
standards instead of supervising their children so they actually do what is
expected of them in schools. The media with its politically correct bias do not
help matters. Instead of calling proactive mothers who choose to be part of
their children’s learning process by supervising them in doing homework as
Tiger Moms, the media need to stress that education is supposed to be
partnership between teachers and students, teachers and parents and parents and
their children. Parents need to realize that teachers want their students to
succeed as much as they do, that teachers are in the profession because they
care. It is unfortunate that even with one of the highest amount of money spent
in education as compared to other countries(
MAT@USC), even when leading other countries
in terms of available technology in school, some U.S. students are sadly not
faring well compared to other global students who have
less (
geographic.org, 2009). As long as some students and parents do not have the right mindset, there
will still be students falling through the cracks, not meeting what is expected
of them to compete in the 21
st century workplace. As work ethics is
part of the requirements in the workplace to succeed in the 21
st
century, the proper mindset among students and parent’s engagement are also
important to succeed in schools.
The US government already has good policy on
technology integration (as the National Technology Plan and district technology plans across the U.S. suggests); it is just a matter of dissemination to the
stakeholders. The U.S. government will have to institutionalize professional
development as never before. They can start at requiring all teacher
preparation colleges and universities to align their curriculum to the needs of
the 21st century workplace, encourage more partnership between the
industries and schools so students will have a practical idea of what is
expected of them in the work place as interns, create connections with industry
people. Since there is a rapid change in hardware devices and software in
school, teachers already in the field should be continuously retrained.
Certification agencies need to demand more professional development hours from
already certified teachers in order to maintain their license so as to force
teachers to attend workshops related to their field. Technology grants have to
be modified so it will include software as well as hardware and the much needed
professional development because even when technology are there if teachers do
not maximize their use because of inadequate training, results will not be as
good. The learning environment should promote the four Cs: critical thinking
and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity in innovation
along the three Rs: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic.
Curriculum Transformations and technology infusion in
education will results in teachers becoming facilitators exploring with their
students the vast world of ideas and information. Students will be open and
responsive to new and diverse perspective. They will be able to articulate
ideas clearly and effectively through speaking and writing. They will demonstrate
ability to work effectively with diverse teams. They can exercise flexibility
and willingness to compromise to accomplish a common goal. The students will
become adults adept at multitasking in a multifaceted technology-driven diverse
vibrant world. There will be a better fit between the graduates and the workers
that the industries need. People will be more productive and the nation’s
economy will benefit.
Sources:
CorporateVoicesforWorkingFamilies.
(2006, October 2). MOST YOUNG PEOPLE ENTERING THE U.S. WORKFORCE LACK CRITICAL
SKILLS ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from Corporate
Voices for Working Families: http://www.cvworkingfamilies.org/node/153
DOL, U. (2010, January 08). Grants To Train U.S. Workers
For High-Tech Jobs Often Filled By Foreign Workers. Retrieved March 11,
2012, from United States Department of Labor:
http://www.doleta.gov/grants/awards/00-104award.cfm
Forgione, P. D. (1998, April 3). ACHIEVEMENT IN THE
UNITED STATES: PROGRESS SINCE A NATION AT RISK? Retrieved March 11, 2012,
from National Center for Education Statistics:
http://nces.ed.gov/Pressrelease/reform/#International
geographic.org. (2009). Educational Score Performance -
Country Rankings. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from Countries of the World:
http://www.geographic.org/country_ranks/educational_score_performance_country_ranks_2009_oecd.html
NumbersUSA. (2011, December 7). USCIS Data: U.S.
Companies Hiring Foreign Workers at Record Pace Despite 8.6% Unemployment
Rate. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from NumbersUSA Action:
https://www.numbersusa.com/content/news/december-7-2011/uscis-data-us-companies-hiring-foreign-workers-record-pace-despite-86-unemploym
USCIS. (2011, November 23). USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year
2012 H-1B Cap. Retrieved March 11, 2012, from U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f0a78614e90d3310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
WIPO, W. I. (2010, February 8). International Patent
Filings Dip in 2009 amid Global Economic Downturn. Retrieved March 11,
2012, from WIPO News and Events:
http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2010/article_0003.html
