The first personal computer came out in 1975 - and while computing as a career was possible before that it was not really until the 1980's that this was more broadly the case. In effect the industry is less than 40 years old.
When cars were 40 years old, the owners had to have an understanding of how they worked. So it is no surprise that at the same point in their history a good understanding of IT is required to make the most and further this spreads because business is so dependent on IT to survive. That is before we get to the use of IT outside the workplace - such as ATMs, your banking and credit card websites - even ordering the groceries, or getting advice
Grade school children may not need that level of IT, but they do need to be comfortable with it. Once you get to Secondary School then they can learn IT - it is becoming prevalent in most modern careers and to get the most of it - which is somewhat more than the ability to write a letter in word or add a column of numbers in Excel.
But then of course it is not just about IT. Maths, Physics, Chemistry are all becoming more important in creating new industries and markets for British goods - and these are the ones suffering as schools move towards more Humanities in a desperate bid to improve their league positions.
If you want to improve social mobility that starts in the classroom - you give people the knowledge and the skills to survive the workplace and they will be able to improve their social position (if they are willing). At the moment too many school leavers move on from education without basic skills in English and Maths - there was a report this morning in the Metro of how one school insisted spelling corrections to be limited to 3 times - how on earth are children going to learn if they are not corrected - it is based on some idea that it helps their confidence - bit like that other daft idea that competitive sports be banned because those who are not good at sports look bad - tough, did me no harm - that also leaves children unable to properly deal with life's ups and downs - life is tough, get over it.
Well the fact remains no politician is going to get any support for concentrating on the basics of education, they always need to throw more money into special projects, or into buying ever more computers and laptops and the rest for students when those are silly things that have nothing to do with the central core of what must be done. You can learn whatever you want, only after you have a solid core of language and mathematics, learning IT before you have solid high level math skills only means you'll become a low level technician, not someone who can design systems.
Job training happens in a job - school should teach to learn so you actually benefit from that training - and give you the basic knowledge to be able to take full advantage of it.
Well would you please tell me how you would encourage students to do the best they can 'cos it is not happening in our education system at the moment.
1. No - school should be about education, producing a bright, balanced individual naturally ready for the choice of specialising in the sixth form and in further education if desired. If you educate from day one with one eye on the requirements of a potential employer the education will fail.
2.I agree education can be much improved -which is why I am proposing one where ideas are studied more. I certainly think the emphasis on exams as a mark of success or failure needs to be jettisoned - or at least lessened. The syllabus needs to be skewed towards ideas and the appreciation of art and beauty in life - the ugliness of life as an employee may then be tolerated more if the young adult can enjoy their free time with more natural flair and insight.
1. No - school should be about education, producing a bright, balanced individual naturally ready for the choice of specialising in the sixth form and in further education if desired. If you educate from day one with one eye on the requirements of a potential employer the education will fail.
Nobody thinks you are going to teach a 3 yr old the skills they are going to need in employment when they enter the employment market some 13 years plus time. But there comes a time when they will need to have the basics and frankly 16 is too late. What exams a person decides to take at 14 - will potentially determine what course they go to at University and what career they go on to. That is why education is the first and most important contributor to social mobility.
School leavers today end education sufficient skills either in English or Maths - and so Employers are calling for immigrants - which is why we have 2.7m unemployed and a record number of people in employment. And the reason is people like you - who come out with this claptrap about rounded human beings, and while education is busy trying to create rounded human beings they are not teaching them the joys of learning - or even how to learn (which is what you need in university) and not giving them the foundation of learning they need to be able to benefit.
Like it or not - after education you are going to spend 30-40 years working - for most that work will be for someone else - school has to teach the basic knowledge people need to get through that. At the moment people like you have watered down our education to such an extent that they are not doing that. Same thing with a lack of competition. Life is full of disappointments. You go for a job and you don't get it. Not teaching pupils that means you do them a disservice in later life.
Education cannot just be about the softer subjects - sometimes they are going to just have to learn a subject - not in detail, otherwise when it comes to choosing subjects they will not have the basic knowledge in order to do that
2.I agree education can be much improved -which is why I am proposing one where ideas are studied more. I certainly think the emphasis on exams as a mark of success or failure needs to be jettisoned - or at least lessened. The syllabus needs to be skewed towards ideas and the appreciation of art and beauty in life - the ugliness of life as an employee may then be tolerated more if the young adult can enjoy their free time with more natural flair and insight.
One of the mistakes John Major made when PM was reducing the element of essays - Labour continued the same mistake, although for different reasons - in the case of Labour because they felt wealthier parents were pushing there kids when poorer parents did not (usually because in the latter case both ended up working, it is also why many get into gangs and get their moral teaching from them - and you saw where that leads last summer).
At least people should have the choice of continual assessment or exam based, because not everyone (including me) are good at exams.
Then of course you can now take an MIT or Stanford University course for nothing but an internet link - which could be at school or the library. That is also another way that poor people - who could not dream of a Stanford education can get it - and that will do much for improving social mobility.
Nobody thinks you are going to teach a 3 yr old the skills they are going to need in employment when they enter the employment market some 13 years plus time. But there comes a time when they will need to have the basics and frankly 16 is too late. What exams a person decides to take at 14 - will potentially determine what course they go to at University and what career they go on to. That is why education is the first and most important contributor to social mobility.
School leavers today end education sufficient skills either in English or Maths - and so Employers are calling for immigrants - which is why we have 2.7m unemployed and a record number of people in employment. And the reason is people like you - who come out with this claptrap about rounded human beings, and while education is busy trying to create rounded human beings they are not teaching them the joys of learning - or even how to learn (which is what you need in university) and not giving them the foundation of learning they need to be able to benefit.
Like it or not - after education you are going to spend 30-40 years working - for most that work will be for someone else - school has to teach the basic knowledge people need to get through that. At the moment people like you have watered down our education to such an extent that they are not doing that. Same thing with a lack of competition. Life is full of disappointments. You go for a job and you don't get it. Not teaching pupils that means you do them a disservice in later life.
Education cannot just be about the softer subjects - sometimes they are going to just have to learn a subject - not in detail, otherwise when it comes to choosing subjects they will not have the basic knowledge in order to do that
One of the mistakes John Major made when PM was reducing the element of essays - Labour continued the same mistake, although for different reasons - in the case of Labour because they felt wealthier parents were pushing there kids when poorer parents did not (usually because in the latter case both ended up working, it is also why many get into gangs and get their moral teaching from them - and you saw where that leads last summer).
At least people should have the choice of continual assessment or exam based, because not everyone (including me) are good at exams.
Then of course you can now take an MIT or Stanford University course for nothing but an internet link - which could be at school or the library. That is also another way that poor people - who could not dream of a Stanford education can get it - and that will do much for improving social mobility.
Pity that what has been an interesting discussion (to me anyway) has ended in insult.
(And to blame "people like me" for unemployment is astounding).
Comments
Well the fact remains no politician is going to get any support for concentrating on the basics of education, they always need to throw more money into special projects, or into buying ever more computers and laptops and the rest for students when those are silly things that have nothing to do with the central core of what must be done. You can learn whatever you want, only after you have a solid core of language and mathematics, learning IT before you have solid high level math skills only means you'll become a low level technician, not someone who can design systems.
1. No - school should be about education, producing a bright, balanced individual naturally ready for the choice of specialising in the sixth form and in further education if desired. If you educate from day one with one eye on the requirements of a potential employer the education will fail.
2.I agree education can be much improved -which is why I am proposing one where ideas are studied more. I certainly think the emphasis on exams as a mark of success or failure needs to be jettisoned - or at least lessened. The syllabus needs to be skewed towards ideas and the appreciation of art and beauty in life - the ugliness of life as an employee may then be tolerated more if the young adult can enjoy their free time with more natural flair and insight.
Nobody thinks you are going to teach a 3 yr old the skills they are going to need in employment when they enter the employment market some 13 years plus time. But there comes a time when they will need to have the basics and frankly 16 is too late. What exams a person decides to take at 14 - will potentially determine what course they go to at University and what career they go on to. That is why education is the first and most important contributor to social mobility.
School leavers today end education sufficient skills either in English or Maths - and so Employers are calling for immigrants - which is why we have 2.7m unemployed and a record number of people in employment. And the reason is people like you - who come out with this claptrap about rounded human beings, and while education is busy trying to create rounded human beings they are not teaching them the joys of learning - or even how to learn (which is what you need in university) and not giving them the foundation of learning they need to be able to benefit.
Like it or not - after education you are going to spend 30-40 years working - for most that work will be for someone else - school has to teach the basic knowledge people need to get through that. At the moment people like you have watered down our education to such an extent that they are not doing that. Same thing with a lack of competition. Life is full of disappointments. You go for a job and you don't get it. Not teaching pupils that means you do them a disservice in later life.
Education cannot just be about the softer subjects - sometimes they are going to just have to learn a subject - not in detail, otherwise when it comes to choosing subjects they will not have the basic knowledge in order to do that
One of the mistakes John Major made when PM was reducing the element of essays - Labour continued the same mistake, although for different reasons - in the case of Labour because they felt wealthier parents were pushing there kids when poorer parents did not (usually because in the latter case both ended up working, it is also why many get into gangs and get their moral teaching from them - and you saw where that leads last summer).
At least people should have the choice of continual assessment or exam based, because not everyone (including me) are good at exams.
Then of course you can now take an MIT or Stanford University course for nothing but an internet link - which could be at school or the library. That is also another way that poor people - who could not dream of a Stanford education can get it - and that will do much for improving social mobility.
Pity that what has been an interesting discussion (to me anyway) has ended in insult.
(And to blame "people like me" for unemployment is astounding).