City by the Lake

Prepare kids to be life-long learners

If there is one constant I have observed in the years since I graduated from Elston High School in 1992, and entered the work force in 1996 after college, it is that the work force is in a constant flux. Twice in ten years I have been a victim of technology in the workplace, having a new inovation eliminate the need for my job. The one thing that has kept me a viable member of the workforce throughout these changes is that I had it instilled in me at a young age to never stop learning.

One thing we must do as a school system is to teach this all important value to our children. With the incredible leaps and bounds being made by technolgy on a seemingly daily basis, the world we are educating our kids for today, won't exsist in 20 years from now. Just as important as any math or science class we can give these kids is the ability to learn. Just think back to a generation ago to when kids graduating high school looked forward to a 30 year stint at a factory like Joy or Jaymar Ruby, with a comfortable salary and a pension to live off of after retirement. Today both of those companies are long gone, as are the jobs that were filled there. History dictates to us, that there will be occupations and jobs that we look at as "safe" today, which will be gathering dust by the time my baby, who was born late in 2005, is entering the workforce.

We also must realize that not all children in our school system are going to be college bound, and we must adjust for those students. We have to have quality programs for those students for whom, no matter how hard they try, will never make it to college, so that they too will have the ability to find employment that they can support a family on.

posted by southsider2k5 @ 12:11 PM