What Others Say About the Challenges
Journalists, educators, economists and others are part of a growing chorus calling on us to take note of the education and workforce challenges facing Minnesota and the nation. They are sharing their interpretations and calls to action. Read what they are saying below:
White Paper for Presidential Candidates, State Higher Education Executive Officers, April 2008
"By the end of the next President’s first term the United States will have 3 million more jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree and not enough college graduates to fill them; ninety percent of the fastest-growing jobs, 60 percent of all new jobs, and 40 percent of manufacturing jobs will require some form of postsecondary education; and global competition will demand research and innovation on a scale that even the U.S. is not yet prepared to sustain." The paper recommends re-focusing federal student assistance, research and immigration policies to reestablish and sustain a higher education system that is second to no other nation.Editorial: Judge Alexander's change of venue, Star Tribune, April 19
These facts and projections aren't news to state policymakers...that reality has led the Private College Council to spearhead a public information campaign, called LearnmoreMN. The video produced in conjunction with TPT is the campaign's impressive first project. It's not a plea for higher taxes or new laws. Rather, it asks for citizens to get informed, for parents to visit schools, for educators to throw open schoolhouse doors and for employers to speak out about their workforce needs.Following Up on System Reform By Innovating with School and Schooling, by Ted Kolderie, March 12, 2008
"It is simply becoming clear that system reforms do not and cannot themselves improve achievement. Kids don't learn from standards, from accountability, from choice or from charters.... For achievement to improve, school and schooling have to improve."Joe Nathan Column: Requiring a college application for high school graduation, ECM Publications, March 7, 2008
"It’s time for school boards to add a new high school graduation requirement. All students (except those with major mental handicaps) should apply to some form of higher education. Many of the high schools showing the strongest success with low and moderate income do this." (Nathan directs the Center for School Change, University of Minnesota.)2008 State of the City Address, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, March 5, 2008 (see Future Employment section)
"Major demographic shifts are occurring in this state and country that threaten our economic prosperity. We will not be producing enough graduates to replace retirees at a time when we need more educated workers, not less. Too many youth are unprepared and unsupported as they enter the world...if we do this right, the students in Minneapolis schools could be our state’s greatest asset to compete in the global economy."We're failing our kids, Garrison Keillor on Salon.com, Jan. 30, 2008
"No Child Left Behind has plenty of flaws, but throwing it out because it's a Republican plan is morally disgusting.... Reading is the key to everything. Teaching children to read is a fundamental moral obligation of the society. That 27 percent are at serious risk of crippling illiteracy is an outrageous scandal."Two million minutes, video trailer for documentary film (2007)
Watch the promotional video on YouTube for a controversial education documentary that contrasts the high school experience of six seniors in the USA, India and China. Once children exit the eighth grade — the clock starts ticking. They have roughly Two Million Minutes to build their intellectual foundation and prepare for college and career. More about this film.Talking about elephants, The School Administrator, Nov. 2007
"Nationally, we do not educate most African-American male students well. In many cities and other districts with large numbers of African-American students, it is twice as likely male African-American students do not graduate from high school as do white students. ...beginning in the crucial elementary grades, school quality is the essential variable in educational outcomes for African-American students."From Aspirations to Action: The Role of Middle School Parents in Making the Dream of College a Reality (download PDF, read press release), 2007, Instition for Higher Education Policy
"More people are recognizing that preparation for college must start before high school.... These elements include having the motivation to attend college, choosing the appropriate courses to prepare for college, and (particularly in the case of parents) developing an understanding of college costs and financial aid options."Prospective First-Generation Students Need Better Information, Report Says, Chronicle of Higher Education News Blog, Dec. 11, 2007
"Low-income and first-generation students often find it hard to obtain reliable information that can help them decide whether and where to attend college, according to a report released today by the National Center for Education Statistics. One theme of the report is that first-generation students generally don’t begin to think seriously about college until their junior or senior years of high school, which might be several years too late."
Wanted: educated work force for the U.S., Financial Week, Dec. 28, 2007
"The ability to succeed in the 21st century is all about the race for human talent. That challenge will get harder and harder and harder if we don’t fix the education problem,” Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a speech in September to the Education and Workforce Summit of the Institute for a Competitive Workforce in Washington."
