Posts Tagged ‘Work’
I generally find Paul Krugman’s columns helpful and on target, but I was dismayed to read his recent piece, “Degrees and Dollars” published last week in the New York Times. In reading it, I couldn’t help but think of Jon Stewart’s common refrain when he chastises those with whom he usually agrees, but who do or say stupid things: “You’re not helping!” Krugman falsely suggests an either/or choice between restoring “the bargaining power that labor has lost over the last 30 years” or investing in “putting more kids through college.” Don’t we need to do both these things, Paul?
Krugman suggests that because of globalization and outsourcing, the US job market isn’t, in fact, ever going to be characterized by rising demands for more educated workers. He notes the “hollowing out” of the job market—with both high-wage and low-wage employment growing rapidly, but medium-wage jobs lagging behind. He seems to miss, however, the fact documented so well by Tony Carnevale and his colleagues at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce that both medium-wage and high-wage jobs are demanding higher levels of knowledge and skill. Carnevale has also documented that, even with increased outsourcing of jobs at many levels, the American economy still will face a shortage of college-educated workers in the coming years. In their report, Help Wanted, Carnevale and colleagues suggest, in fact, that, “by 2018, the economy will create 46.8 million openings…nearly two-thirds of these 46.8 million jobs—some 63 percent—will require workers with at least some college education.” He notes further that, “by 2018, the postsecondary system will have produced 3 million fewer college graduates than demanded by the labor market.” This is the reason why President Obama–whom Krugman criticizes in his article–is trying so hard to hold the line against those who want to cut education funding. If anything, we need to increase funding for education at all levels–including funding for higher education. This clearly is as important a public policy priority as maintaining the rights of workers to organize.
So, Time Magazine published yet another article last week distracting everyone from the serious challenges facing the American educational system. With the alarmist headline, “Is a College Degree Worth Less?” the magazine distracted its readers more than it educated them. In truth, the article was far less alarmist than the headline indicated. After stating the obvious fact that more students are going to college and graduating with BA degrees—thereby increasing the “supply” of degree holders and, potentially, diluting the value of those degrees—the article notes that, “employers stress that a basic degree remains essential, carefully tiptoeing around the idea that its value has plummeted.”
Luckily for us, Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce continues to set the record straight on the continuing value of a college degree. Make no mistake about it, even as more and more students flock to college and even in the midst of a recession with high unemployment rates for everyone, “college is still the best option.” Read the rest of this entry »
In the category of “most ill-conceived legislation passed this year,” Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed a bill earlier this month that creates a new track for high school students that allows them to opt out of the standard high school curriculum and, instead, pursue a “career diploma” with much lower required standards in math and reading, but with seven added vocational courses. This option will be offered to students who can’t pass the 8th grade level Louisiana Educational Assessment of Progress exam currently required to enroll in high school. A “career diploma?” Skills below the 8th grade level? As a New Orleans Times-Picayune columnist, Jarvis DeBerry notes, this bizarrely named “career diploma” is really “shorthand for ‘no career will be had with this pretend diploma’.”
Apparently, neither Jindal nor members of the Louisiana legislature have done their homework on what is really required to succeed in today’s global economy. All the way back in 2006, ACT definitively showed (pdf) that the level of reading and math skills needed to be ready to enter today’s workforce training programs are no different than the skills needed to succeed in entry-level college courses. What options are really open to Louisiana students who get this substandard credential for “seat-time” and a few vocational courses? Read the rest of this entry »
