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Published Wednesday, September 14, 2011 in Opinion
If you drop out of high school, you may drop out of the work force
Editorial
This week -- Sept. 12-18 -- is National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week across our country. This is a time to raise public awareness of adult education and family literacy.
We are blessed in our community to have organizations that are committed to providing adult education classes. We also have programs locally that deal with other aspects of family literacy.
When it comes to adult education, CLICK (Certified Literate Is Coweta's Key), West Georgia Technical College and the Coweta County School System work together to provide classes that allow adults to get a GED, the equivalent of a high school diploma.
In today's global economy, it's imperative that an adult have a high school education if he or she is going to be productive members of the work force. If you drop out of high school, you may be dropping out of the work force. And every day it is becoming more important for people to have a college education. Consider this:
A recent labor analysis reports that by 2018, 63 percent of all U.S. jobs will require at least some postsecondary education. Other analysts warn that by 2025 there will be a shortage of 23 million college-educated adults in the U.S. work force at current rates of production of college graduates.
While a high school and college education is so important in today's society, we also must attack literacy issues for our children at a much earlier age.
We salute the local efforts of Stepping Stones, Puddle Jumpers and the Coweta Ferst Foundation for their work in early childhood education. Their efforts, among other things, is to get books into the hands of children -- and their parents -- at an early age.
As we observe National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, we are thankful that our community has a multitude of programs to address adult education and family literacy. But we all must do more to support these programs and to create a greater awareness of literacy issues in our community.
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Most of us dont need to get a degree in common sense. We have an abundance of it already. Maybe you`re just "different".
Posted by Dave at 4:32 AM
My son didnt finish school, but he realized his mistakes and is in a military school to obtain his GED. Im sure he will be just as proud of it , probably more so as you were of yours 5o yrs. ago in the fields. I also am very proud of him. Basically what im trying to say is "who cares about your opinion Bonnie?" You find someway to criticize everything you read on here. You must be a very miserable person.
Posted by Dave at 4:29 AM
No kidding, Joe...unfortunately you can't get a degree in "Common Sense."
Posted by Psh! at 11:25 PM
Well said my friend!
Posted by Joe Cool at 12:41 PM
Just because you have a degree doesn't mean you are well educated. Knowing a lot about something can leave you still ignorant about many other important issues.
Posted by mitchell at 10:46 AM
Are you in need of instructors for Adult Education classes?
Posted by Linda at 12:33 AM
College just isn't for everyone. While I agree that it takes more than just a GED or a high school diploma to get a decent job, tech school is often the better option for a lot of kids, yet college is pushed much harder. With that being said, I have an advanced degree in something specific (read not an MBA) and I'm glad I did it, but there are plenty of plumbers, electricians, medical techs, etc..(especially business owners) that are highly successful and didn't need to sit through years of history, literature, etc... As for GEDs, I admit that I stereotype them as folks who couldn't hack it in high school despite high school being ridiculously easy now due to grade inflation due to HOPE.
Posted by Newninja at 1:55 PM
People who got their GEDs 50 years ago were worth hiring because they missed out on a education from working in the fields. People who get their GEDs now are nothing more than lazy. They are not worth hiring unless it is a job for testing WII and Xbox games.
Posted by Bonnie Blue at 12:47 PM
Really, High School Education? To get a real job, a college education is minimum entry level today. And don,t stop there. A masters is better. Else you will always wear a shirt with your name on it.
Posted by On the Mark at 12:17 PM
My husband works for a major telecommunications company based in ATL. He is a lineman. For at least three mgt. levels up, the people running the show are women who have NEVER worked in telecommunications, let alone on a construction crew, but they have that DEGREE! So decisions are made on NOTHING but "numbers," and they are made with NO clue of the jobs being done by the people they supervise. This is what's wrong with corporate America today.
Posted by Psh! at 11:39 AM
Emphasis of education on job performance can be misleading. Job performance hinges on motivation and innate skills, many of which do not come from the classroom. This does not mean that education is not important in the job place, it is. But there are many other factors that are more important. Most folks work in jobs that have no relationship to the type of education they received. Many poor job performers did well in the class room, but fell in the work place. We need to instill in our children that to fly high, they need many, many feathers and education feathers will not alone provide the lift they need.
Posted by Sambo Pete at 1:09 AM
you call them Educated idiots. They only get a piece of paper that says they are smart. For the most , I have worked all my life and never had a problem getting a job with just a Ged.You can not go thru life thinking some one owes you a job just because of a piece of paper.Your attitude and willingness to work means more, not just a place for you to go flop and draw a check.
Posted by don at 11:31 PM
Roger said it...the "three R's" have been replaced by "diversity," political correctness and "sensitivity training." And you can see how that's working out for us.
Posted by Psh! at 10:55 PM
Smart enough for college, remember college boys are the ones that got us in this mess in the first place. and they are the ones running companys into the ground or overseas. I know plenty of college grads or PHDs that are complete idiots. Now about literacy, please teach your kids to read, it's a wonderful escape and knowledge is the greatest weapon.
Posted by North Going ZAX at 8:31 PM
It is amazing how much times have changed. When the CEC opened they offered a program in Customer Service. It seemed strange at the time that people needed to be trained in how to treat people in a business setting. Now, the costumer service department can make or break a business. This is an example of how things have changed. We have to understand that the public demands proof that the person providing a service is trained to do that service.
Graduating from high school is the first step to getting and maintaining a viable job. My hat is off to those people who have taken time to attend classes and get their GED.
Posted by Born Here at 3:44 PM
Over the past 40 or so years, we have replaced competence, ability, and literacy. We have replaced them with political correctness and diversity. It hasn't worked out too well.
Posted by roger at 3:28 PM
I believe that the problem with high school is that push college on everyone whether they would be cut out for it. It used to be that you had wood shop, auto shop, and the like in addition to your classes to prepare you for either college or a trade. Not everyone is smart enough for college. It used to be that a young person in need of a job would be hired because they were green and easily taught. Now you have to have college *and* several years experience. My parents world of the 60's and 70s are far gone. Sad.
Posted by HND at 2:43 PM
when people with Masters Degrees are competing for fast food jobs, to pay the student loans off for the education they got to get a job they now can't get, what difference does it make? NOT that I think anyone should drop out of school, I'm just saying.
Posted by Psh! at 11:59 AM
Until about 40 years ago, high school education in the US was the best in the world. Today we are not even in the top 20. In the old days, such good high school education and an apprenticeship provided good paying jobs for plumbers, electricians, machinists, etc. Times have changed. Our adults and education system today are not world class. It is time to wake up and fix our broken system.
Posted by GM at 11:53 AM
Some people don't have the time, money, or patience for college. Perhaps they should allow an exit exam to be taken to assess whether an individual possesses all the knowledge a core curriculum would have provided, sort of like the GED for college. It may not provide major-specific background, but it could provide an extra measuring stick for those who are so dependent upon paper proofs.
Posted by Ainnir at 11:19 AM
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educated
9/19/2011
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Some folks with degrees are just educated beyond their intelligence. They are the ones who pay people like me big bucks to reset their circuit breaker or replace a light bulb or put a new battery in their T.V. remotes.
Posted by coweta cur-mudgeonM at 9:45 PM