A Is our education system making you poorer, even if you are well-qualified, well paid, and don’t have children in school?
B Is there a small, inexpensive action that you, and your organization, can take to change this?
A How could our education system be making you poorer, even if you do not have children in school, and already have a good education yourself?
Forbes.com has plenty of data on the best place to locate a business or build a career. The South East is generally doing well, but Tampa-St Pete is now is 132nd place on educational attainment, compared to similar metros.
(And Florida ranks 48th out of 50 states on indicators like the national ACT college entrance test.)
Good education is the tide that lifts all ships.
Businesses move to, or grow in, areas where they can find educated workers…
–> Successful businesses create local customers, and a strong economic base.
–> Resources recycle back into maintaining an educated, healthy, stable community.
–> More entrepreneurship thrives in the prosperous, safe, high-skill community.
Weak education systems affect everyone.
1) You can be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, but no-one makes good money without good people.
CPS has both the research, and years of experience in analyzing business processes and people issues, to show the costs to organizations, when education systems fail to deliver properly.
2) Bad education costs everyone: Anyone who leaves school without full literacy is largely excluded from the new knowledge economy.
Our educational failures become targets for illegal industries such as drugs. They face a high risk of minimum wage poverty, or time with the 1% of the US population in prison. The community picks up all the extra health /social/criminal justice system etc costs. (That means you pick up these costs.)
3) Education for all kids becomes “dumbed down”. Parents and colleges want straight A’s, so schools can be pressured move away from the higher-order thinking and creativity, which the US desperately needs for international competitiveness.
It is much easier to give out A’s for simple knowledge and basic-level understanding. Teachers may also be rewarded for teaching-to-the-test. These practices then result in the occasional “drop-out factory” statistics scandal, or the discovery that many new hires lack the analytical, innovative and critical thinking skills we need to create a competitive advantage.
B Can you and your organization can something small, inexpensive but effective about this?*
1) Offer courses for employee-parents on reading with children, and other skills which lead to school success. Invite your customers and suppliers too.
2) Teach your employees how both adults and children learn. You are investing in the future of your employees and your community. Off-set the pain by inviting customers too. CPS has this material for you.
3) Get books to kids. Reward employee performance with vouchers for books for home libraries. Arrange used book-swaps. Invite new or second-hand bookstores to put on book displays or sales. Offer a lunch-‘n-learn on “how to choose engaging books for kids”. Create a company family library.
4) Encourage employees to coach kids in need of extra tuition. Add a tutor link-up page to your intranet. Buy tutoring guides or home-schooling type material for your company library, to help volunteer tutors. Summer is a great time to get this going.
5) Call your local schools, public and private. Ask what they need. Some teachers pay for supplies out of their own meager salaries in disadvantaged areas, so basic stationery is treasured. Upgrade and donate old computers.
6) Sponsor a continuing education program, with follow-up coaching, for the teachers at your local school.
7) Contact local colleges and universities. Offer whatever mentoring, research opportunities and internships you can afford.
Consider sponsoring your ex-employees into a career in education during outplacement, if it becomes necessary.
For ideas on long-term vision: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1713557,00.html
*CPS focuses on sustainable, affordable, customized business learning, but we have sourced accredited help in the education field for organizations if required. CPS is involved in presentations to parents and communities regarding reading with children, achieving school success etc. We are very willing to help your organization with these subjects, or to put you in touch with suitable resources.
