I love calling home. Whenever someone rings me up or I give them a call, I feel as if I were tapping into a city many miles away. Whether it is my brother, friends, or parents on the other side of the call, I get a glimpse into what is happening, what I have missed. My grandfather used to drive around my home town making stops in a circuit which he called “taking the pulse of the city.” With these calls, I try to take the pulse of my friends, family, and the city in general.
What I have heard increasingly, and saw a bit of when I was in Dearborn over Labor Day weekend, is a resigned sense of desperation. There are too many people who financially don’t have the option to miss an opportunity to work, no matter when that call comes or how they are feeling. People with college degrees and people without degrees struggling to maintain a job and some of those who do have a job are still barely able to make ends meet. Something is missing if people who put this much effort in see this little return.
Detroit is a special case with the fall of the Big Three American auto makers, the effects of which are still felt by many families. There is a supposed sense of great hope in Detroit propagated by the media which paints Detroit as a hotbed for social innovation and a developer of solutions. This is wonderful and that sense of hope is a spirit necessary to move Detroit forward. However, I have seen more unemployed people. I have seen more desperation and then hope. I have seen more people grown accustomed to earning less and complacent with unemployment.
Detroit is a special case with the fall of the Big Three American auto makers, the effects of which are still felt by many families. There is a supposed sense of great hope in Detroit propagated by the media which paints Detroit as a hotbed for social innovation and a developer of solutions. This is wonderful and that sense of hope is a spirit necessary to move Detroit forward. However, I have seen more unemployed people. I have seen more desperation and then hope. I have seen more people grown accustomed to earning less and complacent with unemployment.
It is glimpses such as this which speak to the importance of my work as a teacher. Without a high school diploma, the unemployment percentage is nearly 15% as of 2010 (http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm). There is a $9,000 difference in average yearly earnings between people who have completed high school and those who have not. But that is the bare necessity, graduating from high school. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, a person earns $19,000 more per year than their peers with a high school diploma.
It is not just shuttling the youth through an expedited system to graduate “functional illiterates” as Robert Balfanz calls students who graduate from what he calls “dropout factories,” because their functionality will not be very great. Students need not only know the content, they also need the soft skills to better prepare them for an every evolving world and market. Some of these necessary soft skills are problem-solving, determination, organization, financial skills, and other job readiness skills. My challenge will be to develop these skills while teaching ELA and literature to middle school students who will need them next year in high school, and afterwards if they are to be competitive. Any suggestions on implement strategies of encouraging these skills in my classroom?
It is not just shuttling the youth through an expedited system to graduate “functional illiterates” as Robert Balfanz calls students who graduate from what he calls “dropout factories,” because their functionality will not be very great. Students need not only know the content, they also need the soft skills to better prepare them for an every evolving world and market. Some of these necessary soft skills are problem-solving, determination, organization, financial skills, and other job readiness skills. My challenge will be to develop these skills while teaching ELA and literature to middle school students who will need them next year in high school, and afterwards if they are to be competitive. Any suggestions on implement strategies of encouraging these skills in my classroom?
I think the power of modeling is critical. That you have decided to become a teacher and share your personal and professional aspirations with young people is probably the most important part of this work. Second, I would say that paying attention to them is critical...paying attention to their academic work and something about their personal lives (not everything, but something). Last, sharing your energy with your students and colleagues I am sure is already making changes. Keep asking good questions, too, in front of your students. I can go on...
ReplyDeletePlease do. Students have asked me the same question Kate asked me early in the summer semester, "are you always smiling/happy?" With that, I am looking for ways to involve the "soft skills." Any ideas?
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