Re: functional illiterates

Posted by Ryan - WI on June 13, 2009 at 14:01:30 from (66.114.188.228):

In Reply to: OT Mechanics posted by John B. on June 12, 2009 at 20:52:11:

I have somewhat of a unique view of the situation. I teach high school tech ed. I myself have a college degree but many of my students do not pursue one for themselves.

No matter how many stories you hear of people who dropped out in the 8th grade and now make millions etc. you have to remember those people are the exception to the rule. For every one of them there are 100 or more dropouts either in prison, dead end jobs or worse.

You also need to realize that todays working world is changing. Many times discussions on this very board are about how we don't manufacture anything in this country anymore. With the lack of low skill, learn on the job manufacturing the competition for those jobs is getting more and more fierce. Top that off with incoming guys with less living expenses and your buddy who has no formal training and dropped out of high school is SOL if he ever gets laid off as there are 20 guys who look better on paper standing in line for the same job hje is applying for. In this day and age of employment in most cases you need the company more than they need you. You need to be as marketable as possible. If that means spending 4 years of your life to get a piece of paper that says you are qualified (even though your actual skills may not have changed much) then so be it.

Finally, you need to realize to a company that a diploma, degree etc is not entirely about the skill set you should have to go along with that certification. It is a litmus test. The average company spends in the neightborhood of $5000-$8000 to train an employee. Companies need to make sure the employee is stable. A diploma or degree is a good indicator of that. The company needs to do their best to make sure that training investment is not wasted. If a guy cannot finish high school like the other 93% of the world that is not saying much about his ability to follow directives, gut things out if needed etc.

Likewise a diploma or degree shows the ability of the applicant to set a goal and achieve it. Don't think for a minute that a company won't do the math and figure out it took you 5 years to get your diploma or 6 years to get your degree. Companies demand efficiency, motivation, productivity and skills People who cannot complete degree programs or do so very slowly generally are lacking in these categories.

Do I have a degree, yes. Do I need it every day to do what I do, maybe. Do all my students need to get a 4 year degree, absolutely not. Should all of them at a minimum get their diploma, absolutely.

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