Former Secretaries of Labor put their heads together to come up with 10 steps to "better" schools. I wonder what they would have said if teachers had written up a list of how to fix the business world.
Their premise begins with:
Notice they do not say what our "ranking" was in the 1940's. They just state that we had the best-educated workforce. No data, just their words.
It is also difficult to compare "US schools" to other nations, since the education system in the United States is really 50 different systems. Education is a state power, not a national power. It would be far more accurate to compare Arizona to Germany or the United States to Europe than to compare all 50 states (by some form of averaging) to any one nation. There are many reasons why this is a difficult comparison (pluralistic society, wide range of funding disparities, etc.), but we still allow it to happen.
The worst idead of the 10:
Why is it that everyone is so focused on college entrance? Only about 20% of Americans have a college degree-- and many of them cannot find jobs. Why should we get 90% of students ready for college when less than half will attend? Again, these are former Secretaries of Labor who are writing this, but they fail to address technical skills. Where is the emphasis on trade skills? We need more mechanics, carpenters, and plumbers. We have plenty of lawyers.
Their premise begins with:
The key to U.S. global stature after World War II was the world's best-educated workforce. But now the United States ranks No. 12
Notice they do not say what our "ranking" was in the 1940's. They just state that we had the best-educated workforce. No data, just their words.
It is also difficult to compare "US schools" to other nations, since the education system in the United States is really 50 different systems. Education is a state power, not a national power. It would be far more accurate to compare Arizona to Germany or the United States to Europe than to compare all 50 states (by some form of averaging) to any one nation. There are many reasons why this is a difficult comparison (pluralistic society, wide range of funding disparities, etc.), but we still allow it to happen.
The worst idead of the 10:Hold faculty accountable for student achievement. Take over every school that, after three years, is unable to get at least 90 percent of all major groups of students on track to leave high school ready to enter college without the need to take any remedial courses
Why is it that everyone is so focused on college entrance? Only about 20% of Americans have a college degree-- and many of them cannot find jobs. Why should we get 90% of students ready for college when less than half will attend? Again, these are former Secretaries of Labor who are writing this, but they fail to address technical skills. Where is the emphasis on trade skills? We need more mechanics, carpenters, and plumbers. We have plenty of lawyers.
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