Teacher's compensation in America is fourth from the bottom amongst OECD countries (OECD, 2010). Seriously? We are so proud of being the wealthiest country in the world, but how can we continue to defend our lack of investment in our future citizenry?
This is truly disgraceful. I knew our public expenditure on education was pathetic, but I didn't realize it was this bad.
Seriously? Our value system, to the core, needs to be re-analyzed.
In terms of pursuing a true meritocracy, maximizing our return on our investments, and maintaining our comparative advantage in the global economy, we need to invest heavily in our education system, especially, in the communities and students that need it the most. Why? Because the majority of the population and our labor force needs help.
Another note, does nobody else find the brain drain effect to be concerning? Yes, we are attracting the best labor from around the world to the US, but this also implies that Americans skilled labor force is less competitive than other nations. How can this be? Are Americans just not capable of becoming scientists and knowledge workers? Of course not! Yet, we continually fail to meet our own demand for a skilled labor force. College graduates often have skill sets that match personal interests, but don't match the demand in the labor market. Seriously? We don't have the largest population in the world, but we certainly have a large enough population to meet our labor demands. And so many Americans are capable of more! Everyone knows somebody who is certainly intelligent but school, as it currently is designed, wasn't for them. I bet that this missed talent pool is much wider and deeper than any of us currently imagine.
...tangent after tangent...Brain drain continued...On the other end, the international students often do not return to their own countries, which especially in the case of developing nations is a huge problem! Let me be clear, I am not saying to send immigrants, international students, or anyone packing or anything of the sort. These are paradoxes that are above my pay scale, I just want more people to talk about these things. (In summary, we have a demand for highly skilled labor; our own citizenry doesn't meet this demand; we hire citizens of other nations. This is completely rational...but is it the most beneficial...maybe not for our society or theirs...fair?)
Simply, how do we not see that it is better for the country if everyone is a valuable contributor to our economy and society? An unemployed, unskilled worker should be viewed as untapped potential. But how do we get there? We invest in our education system. Let's start thinking more macro and long-term.
Education reaches down to our most core values...I hope... For example, if we all believe in the ideal of democracy, then it relies upon an engaged and educated citizenry. Why? Because ignorant and myopic participation can cause a lot of harm to a lot of people...agreed?
A lot of what I said in this post is sure to be contentious to many of you. GOOD! The only way to progress is to work past our differences and get at solutions. Then once we have collaborated to design solutions, INVEST IN THEM!
We as a nation have a lot of money, and how we spend it reflects our values. It is CLEAR that as a whole, our nation does not truly value education. My family and community did, sure, but Marblehead is a carbon copy of the American Dream. I was given this dream when I was adopted. I didn't earn it or get it by merit. Yet, this dream, for a large portion of Americans, is kept just out of reach, and one of the levers keeping it this way is the dilapidated and outdated education system. Is this fair? Is this just? Is this merit?
So where do we begin? Honesty with ourselves. For example, don't ever claim that you got where you are on your own because that just isn't true. Were you born...how did you do that without your parents? If they were "awful" parents and you made it, then that negative INTERACTION probably pushed you to separate yourself from them. Did you ever have a teacher? A friend? Did you ever have a job? Who paid you? Did you read books? Who were they written by? Be humble and realize you can't do anything on your own.
Ok, I need to get back to my studies, but I needed to rant a bit. The more you learn, the more problems you see. This is good, because seeing the problems means you can address them!
OECD. (2011). Lessons from PISA for the United States, Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education. OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264096660-en
This is truly disgraceful. I knew our public expenditure on education was pathetic, but I didn't realize it was this bad.
Seriously? Our value system, to the core, needs to be re-analyzed.
In terms of pursuing a true meritocracy, maximizing our return on our investments, and maintaining our comparative advantage in the global economy, we need to invest heavily in our education system, especially, in the communities and students that need it the most. Why? Because the majority of the population and our labor force needs help.
Another note, does nobody else find the brain drain effect to be concerning? Yes, we are attracting the best labor from around the world to the US, but this also implies that Americans skilled labor force is less competitive than other nations. How can this be? Are Americans just not capable of becoming scientists and knowledge workers? Of course not! Yet, we continually fail to meet our own demand for a skilled labor force. College graduates often have skill sets that match personal interests, but don't match the demand in the labor market. Seriously? We don't have the largest population in the world, but we certainly have a large enough population to meet our labor demands. And so many Americans are capable of more! Everyone knows somebody who is certainly intelligent but school, as it currently is designed, wasn't for them. I bet that this missed talent pool is much wider and deeper than any of us currently imagine.
...tangent after tangent...Brain drain continued...On the other end, the international students often do not return to their own countries, which especially in the case of developing nations is a huge problem! Let me be clear, I am not saying to send immigrants, international students, or anyone packing or anything of the sort. These are paradoxes that are above my pay scale, I just want more people to talk about these things. (In summary, we have a demand for highly skilled labor; our own citizenry doesn't meet this demand; we hire citizens of other nations. This is completely rational...but is it the most beneficial...maybe not for our society or theirs...fair?)
Simply, how do we not see that it is better for the country if everyone is a valuable contributor to our economy and society? An unemployed, unskilled worker should be viewed as untapped potential. But how do we get there? We invest in our education system. Let's start thinking more macro and long-term.
Education reaches down to our most core values...I hope... For example, if we all believe in the ideal of democracy, then it relies upon an engaged and educated citizenry. Why? Because ignorant and myopic participation can cause a lot of harm to a lot of people...agreed?
A lot of what I said in this post is sure to be contentious to many of you. GOOD! The only way to progress is to work past our differences and get at solutions. Then once we have collaborated to design solutions, INVEST IN THEM!
We as a nation have a lot of money, and how we spend it reflects our values. It is CLEAR that as a whole, our nation does not truly value education. My family and community did, sure, but Marblehead is a carbon copy of the American Dream. I was given this dream when I was adopted. I didn't earn it or get it by merit. Yet, this dream, for a large portion of Americans, is kept just out of reach, and one of the levers keeping it this way is the dilapidated and outdated education system. Is this fair? Is this just? Is this merit?
So where do we begin? Honesty with ourselves. For example, don't ever claim that you got where you are on your own because that just isn't true. Were you born...how did you do that without your parents? If they were "awful" parents and you made it, then that negative INTERACTION probably pushed you to separate yourself from them. Did you ever have a teacher? A friend? Did you ever have a job? Who paid you? Did you read books? Who were they written by? Be humble and realize you can't do anything on your own.
Ok, I need to get back to my studies, but I needed to rant a bit. The more you learn, the more problems you see. This is good, because seeing the problems means you can address them!
OECD. (2011). Lessons from PISA for the United States, Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education. OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264096660-en
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