Public School Students Being Prepared for Jobs at Walmart

[Hannah Bell]

Professor Lois Weiner:

"...What's really going on is a vocationalization of education, a watering down of curriculum for most kids, so that they're going to take jobs that require only a 7th or an 8th grade education, because those are the jobs that are being created in this economy."

video here:

http://queensteacher2.blogspot.com/2011/03/students-being-prepared-for-jobs-at.html

[jp11]

1. Don't hear the truth when pundits talk about 'reform', just teacher and union bashing.

[leftstreet]

2. "Focus on education reform is replacing a jobs policy"

omg

She cuts through the bs and explains this whole thing in seven minutes!

Well worth watching the video
Thanks for posting

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[madrchsod]

4. true reform would mean a revolution.....

[exboyfil]

5. At least in our district

What we have are a bunch of students who refuse to take advantage of a very high priced education. Our test scores are very good in a very good state for academics, but most teachers can barely touch on more interesting topics because of their classes. The discipline in many of the classes is terrible. My daughter and her 9th grade class of Junior Highers recently attended a play at the High School performed by the High Schoolers. The disruptions were embarrassing - her Science teacher said it was the worst she has seen in 13 years.

I don't think many kids want to think beyond the most basic thoughts at least in this school district. I am looking forward to next year when my daughter will be in mostly honors classes with other students who want to learn.

In a sense what is wrong with thinking about vocationalization. I am not sure it is any different than when I was in school. We had the college prep classes, we had the vocational oriented classes, and we had the holding pins. I do know that, at least at the middle school level, an attempt is made to give everyone an egalitarian shot at the best education. The Honors classes (except for Math) do not start until 10th grade (I wish it wasn't so but it is - one reason I have accelerated my younger daughter in Math and Science by one year and am Homeschooling her in Social Studies and English. I just wish I had Homeschooled my older daughter in those subjects.

[Overseas]

6. K&R! //nt

[Starry Messenger]

7. k & r

[seabeyond]

8. i was telling my boys this driving to school this morning. concluded physics, calculus over educatin...

for walmart.

kids would like at least a bet of honesty, when address THEIR education.

[Jkid]

9. Then what's the point of having a college education?

If most of the jobs are going to be a low-wage retail industries, where's the rest of the jobs go to?

Oh wait, the rest of the jobs will go to those who have connections.

[Hannah Bell]

12. exactly. like the ivy leaguers in "teach for america". too many rich kids,

they need our jobs.

[Edweird]

10. "there’s a reason education SUCKS, and it’s the same reason it will never … ever … EVER be fixed"

“But there’s a reason. There’s a reason. There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education SUCKS, and it’s the same reason it will never … ever … EVER be fixed. It’s never going to get any better, don’t look for it, be happy with what you’ve got. … … … BECAUSE … THE OWNERS, OF THIS COUNTRY, DON’T WANT THAT! … … I’m talking about the real owners now … … … … … the BIG owners! … … … The Wealthy … … … … … the REAL owners! … The big wealthy business interests that control things … and make all the important decisions. … … … … Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. … … The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice . . . … you don't. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. … They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. … They got you by the balls. … … They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying … . . . lobbying, … to get what they want . . . … Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but Ill tell you what they don’t want . . . they don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. … … They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that . . . that doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests. That's right. … … They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting FUCKED by a system that threw them overboard 30 FUCKING years ago. … … They don’t want that! You know what they want? They want obedient workers . . . Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. … And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your … Social Security money. … … … They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? … … … They’ll get it . . . they’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this FUCKING place! Its a big club, and you ain’t in it! … … … … You, and I, are not in The big club. By the way, its the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care! Good honest hard-working people . . . white collar, blue collar it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on. Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means . . . continue to elect these rich COOK SUCKERS who don’t give a FUCK about you. They don’t give a FUCK about you . . . … they don’t give a FUCK about you. …. …. They don’t care about you at all . . . at all . . . at all, and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. That's what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick that's being jammed up their assholes everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth. Its called the American Dream, … cause you have to be asleep to believe it . . - George Carlin

[Wednesdays]

13. ...

[Mimosa]

22. ^ Great cartoons! ^ n/t

[BuelahWitch]

11. K&R

Frightening, but true...

[phylny]

14. Blah. Our three daughters are products of public education.

One graduated from a high school in Northern Virginia, one in New York, and our last in a small, rural high school in southwestern Virginia. All three were accepted at the university of their choice. Oldest graduated from UVA with a B.A. and B.S. Middle is a senior at Emory & Henry College. Youngest is a freshman at JMU. All three did well on their SATs and were well prepared for the demands of college life and study.

I don't know what jobs will be available for the younger ones, but they are certainly prepared for professional life.

[Hannah Bell]

18. ah yes, but they made it out before ed "reform".

[phylny]

25. Good point! nt

[bbgrunt]

15. this is exactly what is happening. A MUST SEE video.

[Modern_Matthew]

16. Besides the school system, Wal-Mart is the largest employer in my county. nt

[CommonSensePLZ]

17. Is our economy just not hiring smart people?

?

[katnapped]

19. Why should they?

Smart people want raises and vacations and better working conditions and stuff... Nuh-uh-uh!

That's NOT in the best interest of corporate America!

[CommonSensePLZ]

21. +1

Good point, helps me make sense of hearing about people with Ph.Ds who can't get jobs an why they're going after teachers first.

[lunatica]

20. Don't forget also preparing them for one of the few jobs left. The military.

the few jobs that will be left that they'll be able to get. You don't need no education for that.

[jmowreader]

23. You need quite a bit of education for that

Forget the World War II "cannon fodder" method of waging warfare. These days even (especially?) infantry is high tech.

I read a story a few weeks ago about all the shit these guys go downrange with today and how it's fucking up their knees. A grunt who isn't carrying a machinegun is packing 75 pounds of equipment. Machinegunners are around 110 because the gun is heavier as is the ammo load.

[lib2DaBone]

24. As long as MacDonalds has pictures on the cash register and they don't have to count change...

.....If a farmer had 2 hamburgers and he ate 1... was he lovin' it?

[TransitJohn]

26. ..................