The Liberal Arts education that has been the push for the past five decades has not delivered what was intended. Slowly in the halls of academia this is being recognized. There are changes underway to address some of the issues. Internet lectures offered for free is one of them.
I want to explore a different direction. One that is tried and proven and comes from Germany. You have heard me say that the battle of the coming decades will be for talented personnel. I have no idea how long this will exist but it will be for some time as the needs and the resources will be slowly rebalanced.
Peter Drucker once said the brightest future business opportunity for going to be in adult re-education. Retraining people who have had the value of their skills eroded as productivity increases have brought dramatic changes. But that does not address the young people starting out in the work force. How do they get opportunities? When the Universities are too expensive (see student loan debate) and the product (the student) that they deliver doesn’t fit the needs of society something is terribly wrong.
In Germany there is a partnership between schools, business and yes even government. “Germany’s apprenticeship programs and its renown as the standard bearer of quality manufacturing are helping companies rejuvenate their workforce with foreigners eager to escape economic malaise at home” – Bloomberg online.
“Germany’s unique educational approach is rooted in a guild system dating back centuries. Trainees receive a modest salary during their education and most get a job offer once they complete their apprenticeships. The country’s vocational training system combines practical training with classroom sessions and has companies pitching in, offering more than half a million high-school graduate’s annually hands-on education in hundreds of professions as well as a respected alternative to a university degree. With the government paying for the schools, the system has helped keep youth unemployment at 7.9%, the lowest rate in Europe.”
We have some schools leading the way with advanced degrees in Industrial Distribution, or partnerships between equipment dealers/distributors and manufacturers of construction equipment and State Universities. But much more needs to be done. The image of vocational schools has been besmirched with the message from colleges and universities over the years that vocational school was a code word for education for the low skilled workers. Nothing could be further from the truth but it fit nicely into the political messages pronounced over the decades. This self-aggrandizing approach from politicians and ivory tower educators has badly hurt two generations, so far hopefully it is going to change soon. The time is now.
CAS Filosophy v1.1
Another great quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt: a woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is, until she gets into hot water
The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #29
Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.
Charlotte Whitton
The phrase “working mother” is redundant.
Jane Sellman
I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb … and I’m also not blonde.
Dolly Parton
Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
Maryon Pearson
The time is now.
Education #10
The latest iteration of the nonsense is the labor strife in Chicago. Imagine the highest teacher wages in the country at $75,000/year, about $20,000 higher than the average in the country, with a high school graduation rate of 50%. No wonder there is a desire for teacher performance in the new agreement.
This morning on CNBC the discussion was on the toolbox provided by the teaching profession (sic) to the graduating students for their entry to the work force. What about the empty tool box of the students who don’t graduate? Who will speak for them, the failures of the education system?
Isn’t it time for the parents and the teachers to take control of the education system and eliminate the overheads of the school boards and the teacher unions. I suspect the results would be much better. The time is now.
Friday Filosophy #28
There are four stages to the life of a man.
The time is now.
Education Step 9
To continue the discussion on education I want to explore curricula and start from elementary school and move up to the end of high school. The last time I looked the tax payers provide the money for the school system at the state level. I am not sure that the educators have a clear grasp on what it is that is expected from them. What is the objective of the education of school age children?
Is the ultimate aim to provide employable people? If that is the case why does the curricula discussion not include employers? The ability to have electives is fine as long as the individuals pay for those electives if they are not considered core requirements of an employable individual.
Similarly why has physical education been dropped from many school systems where there is substantial research that shows physical activity enhances the ability to learn and perform academically?
What do you think on this subject? Should business get involved in developing curricula? Should pre-technical school and pre-college education provide work ready people? The time is now.
Thought of the Day #10
Today will be some thoughts of the day. The Elephants have had their turn now is the time for the Asses.
The time is now.
Education Step 8
The Liberal Arts education that has been the push for the past five decades has not delivered what was intended. Slowly in the halls of academia this is being recognized. There are changes underway to address some of the issues. Internet lectures offered for free is one of them.
I want to explore a different direction. One that is tried and proven and comes from Germany. You have heard me say that the battle of the coming decades will be for talented personnel. I have no idea how long this will exist but it will be for some time as the needs and the resources will be slowly rebalanced.
Peter Drucker once said the brightest future business opportunity for going to be in adult re-education. Retraining people who have had the value of their skills eroded as productivity increases have brought dramatic changes. But that does not address the young people starting out in the work force. How do they get opportunities? When the Universities are too expensive (see student loan debate) and the product (the student) that they deliver doesn’t fit the needs of society something is terribly wrong.
In Germany there is a partnership between schools, business and yes even government. “Germany’s apprenticeship programs and its renown as the standard bearer of quality manufacturing are helping companies rejuvenate their workforce with foreigners eager to escape economic malaise at home” – Bloomberg online.
“Germany’s unique educational approach is rooted in a guild system dating back centuries. Trainees receive a modest salary during their education and most get a job offer once they complete their apprenticeships. The country’s vocational training system combines practical training with classroom sessions and has companies pitching in, offering more than half a million high-school graduate’s annually hands-on education in hundreds of professions as well as a respected alternative to a university degree. With the government paying for the schools, the system has helped keep youth unemployment at 7.9%, the lowest rate in Europe.”
We have some schools leading the way with advanced degrees in Industrial Distribution, or partnerships between equipment dealers/distributors and manufacturers of construction equipment and State Universities. But much more needs to be done. The image of vocational schools has been besmirched with the message from colleges and universities over the years that vocational school was a code word for education for the low skilled workers. Nothing could be further from the truth but it fit nicely into the political messages pronounced over the decades. This self-aggrandizing approach from politicians and ivory tower educators has badly hurt two generations, so far hopefully it is going to change soon. The time is now.
Thought of the Day #9
There are some simple definitions that are very important at this time in our history what with people making decisions on elected officials and referendums and initiatives all across the country.
Ignorance can be defined as not knowing what to do.
Stupidity can be defined as knowing what to do and not doing it.
Insanity is continuing to do what you have always done while expecting different results.
Which one will we choose to be in our votes? The time is now.
Thought of the Day #8
“Long-term Treasury bond yields are an excellent barometer of economic activity. If business conditions are better than normal and improving, exerting upward pressure on inflation, long-term interest rates will be high and rising. In contrary situations, long yields are likely to be low and falling. Also, if debt is elevated relative to GDP, and a rising portion of this debt is utilized for either counterproductive or unproductive investments, then long-term Treasury bond yields should be depressed since an environment of poor aggregate demand would exist. Importantly, both low long rates and the stagnant economic growth are symptoms of the excessive indebtedness and/or low quality debt usage.
This line of reasoning also provides an important corollary. If the effects of excessive indebtedness (low growth and low interest rates) are addressed by additional debt, or by debt utilized for investments that cannot produce an income stream to repay the obligations, then this even higher level of debt will serve to perpetuate the period of slow economic growth and unusually low bond yields.”
This is a short abstract from and investment company Hoisington letter for the 2nd quarter of 2012. The arguments presented are from academic studies. The real problem it is clearly too much debt caused by government officials. There is a lot of evidence to this end yet the media does not share it with the public for whatever reason. Curiosity is rewarded with knowledge. Become more curious. The time is now.
Service Statement v1.6
Customers want certainty. They want to know the price of the job before they give you authorization to proceed. They want to know when you will be finished, a completion date before you start. They tell us this is every survey that I have seen in the capital goods industries. If they tell us what they want why don’t we deliver it?
No guts no glory used to be the saying in place for things like this. Today I say no systems and no structures no glory.
Then you can give a GUARANTEED completion date. I mean GUARANTEED. You will provide a reduction in price, a penalty, if you don’t meet your completion date. For instance you will credit the job with a day of labor for each day that you have missed the completion date. Are you ready to stand up and make a difference for your customer? Needs statements from the customer require that we deliver, not just talk. The time is now.