Only 66% of the New Jobs from 20

Teach Students to Read and Do a Little Basic Math and
Get Out of the Way

"http://www.textbooksfree.org/Individualized%20Curriculum.htm#Teach%20Students%20to%20read

"Computerized work has also made knowledge more abstract and more reliant on data. In the late 1970s, Ford Motor Company began to use computer-controlled fuel injection systems in place of mechanical carburetors. Ford soon experienced heavy warranty expenditures because many technicians, not understanding fuel injection, would tackle a problem by "throwing parts at it"—replacing one component after another in the hope that something would work. Ford responded by requiring that warranty repairs could only be made by technicians who had passed a training course on repairing fuel injection systems. Half of the technicians who took the training course failed, many because they could not read well enough to understand the technical manuals. They knew how to repair mechanical carburetors because they had watched other mechanics do it. Watching other mechanics could not teach them to use computerized tools to test electronic components."

By making students read what the system wants and not what the student wants means too many students never really learn to read. Learning to read is key and what they read is secondary. The idea that you taking CIVICS or studying US History makes someone a good criticize seems unrealistic. Taking General Science for students who don't like science was like me taking Gym. It was a waste of time. Let students study what they want to study and manage their studies. Can you imagine all the money we spent educating these mechanics and they couldn't read. Algebra was not the problem. The term length of a senator versus a house member wasn't the problem. They couldn't read!

Dancing with Robots Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane,

They are correct in one respect
and incorrect in another.

"It is important to put these trends in perspective. American schools are not worse than they were in a previous generation. Indeed, the evidence is to the contrary. Results from the NAEP long-term assessments show that most American students now master foundational skills as defined 40 years ago—for example, reading well enough to follow directions. Today’s education problem stems from the increased complexity of foundational skills needed in today’s economy and from the changes in family income and family structure that leave a significant portion of American children unprepared to learn when they enter school."

He is correct. There has been an increase in the complexity of foundational skills needed in today’s economy.

He is wrong that the changes in family income and family structure leave a significant portion of American children unprepared to learn when they enter school. Why? Because intelligence is normally distributed and it is impossible to increase large numbers of people capable of mastering these more difficult foundational skills. Just find the selected few intelligent people and encourage them to develop foundation skills and reward them economically.

Stay Current
John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy
covers post-secondary issues.
The Rising Value of a Science Degree
College Degree Value:
P-Tech Early College High Schools are vocationally oriented.

David Hummels, Rasmus Jorgensen, Jakob R. Munch and Chong Xiang examine data from Denmark to look at the connection between globalization, inequality and the value of a college degree. “With stagnating wages and lingering unemployment, income inequality is back in the headlines. Is globalization to blame for this inequality? Is more education a solution? This column argues that focusing on university education misses important effects. It presents evidence that wage effects vary markedly among those with degrees depending on their specific skill sets, and that globalization can often benefit workers without degrees.”
From Pew Institute: Millennials will benefit and suffer due to their hyper connected lives seems directed toward the top thinkers.

If we listened to the Very Serious People, we'd be trying hard to train people to work in tech,
rather than in burgeoning heavy industry, that are having major booms. Read Article »

1) Primary Education should not be so rigorous that a substantial number of students dislike school.
The first 6-8 grades should be changed to concentrate on a student does best, their special intelligence. Gardner's multiple intelligences which include Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily Movement, Musical, Verbal, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal is a reasonable model.
. Curriculum should maximize special intelligence.
2) Core Intelligence centers on mathematical-logical intelligence and verbal intelligence.
Skills related to core intelligence are emphasized by traditional curriculums.
3) We must adjust curricula to acknowledge that technology helps those with high mathematical-logical and verbal-linguistic (problem solving, fix or repair, programming) intelligence more than those with Spatial (dance, sports, driving a bus), bodily-kinesthetic (acting, mime, sports), musical-rhythmic (composing, playing music, clapping, reading, using words, public speaking, storytelling, interpersonal (social skills, reading other people, working in a group), 7. interpersonal (introspection, self-assessment, goal making, vision, planning), 8. Naturalist (able to distinguish among, classify, and use environmental features) intelligence.
4) Because 66% of the high school graduates taking jobs that require no additional formal education curriculums must be made more life skills applicable. For example, studies show that those people with self-control do better in many aspects of life and this is something that can be taught. See BLS Projections
5) Technology and International Trade are destroying good middle income jobs. In addition,
see The Sagging of the Middle Class.
6) With only 4% of the jobs requiring an advanced degree, a bachelor's degree should be solely directed toward entry level careers, not graduate school. That is, a nursing student should not have to take statistics (a course I taught for 35 years) because they might some day go on for a master's degree. So for every 100 nursing students who take statistics, 10 might need it later and by then will have forgot what little they learned or choose a non-quantitative thesis.