Randolph Jennings asks the age-old question above in response to comments
from Archie Kregear. At the expense of repeating myself, let me pass on
my informal poll results, conducted over the last 6 years, in which I have
been asking business leaders what they want from the educational system.
The almost universal response is that they want people to have the basic
skills that anyone would want people to have -- ability to read the
newspaper, think critically and logically, do baisc mathematics,
understand the basics of the American process, and be a constructive
participant in democracy.
In other words, business leaders are not looking for welders or
ball-bearing makers. They are looking for the same skills that anyone
would be looking for in reasonably well-educated people. The reality is,
however, that these skills are not generally available to the extent they
should be. Middle-class Americans, yes. Inner-city or black or hispanic
or rural or native American or immigrant -- no. Not a very good report
card.
--Rol Fessenden LL Bean, Inc. 76234.3636@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>