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<DIV>Some of the ideas Jerry expresses here are going to be the topic of an MCA
forum on Monday night, Nov. 27 at 7 pm, at the 1912 Building on Third
Street. The topic is how to improve professional technical education
in Moscow. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">Dr. Weitz has been a prolific
commentator on local education issues. Many other important opinion
leaders from a variety of education, business, legislative and community
perspectives will be joining Jerry at the MCA forum on Monday
evening. Our goal is to work toward understanding current educational
offerings and ways to improve them, either within the current financial
constraints or by creatively finding new ways to avoid or eliminate some of
those constraints through public and private partnerships. We hope to see
many of you there to discuss this important community issue. </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> </DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>The list of local leaders scheduled to attend includes Representative Tom
Trail, Representative Shirley Ringo, Dr. Jerry Weitz, Marsha Royer (Schweitzer
vice president of human resources), Barry Ramsay (owner of D8 in Potlatch), Jeff
Martin (CEO, Gritman Medical Center), Ken Medlin, Shirley Greene (chair of
Rotary Club's vocational education committee), Dean Paul Rowland (UI College of
Education), Dean Steve Daley-Laursen (UI College of Natural Resources), Dean Rob
Lohrmeyer (Lewis-Clark State College Professional Technical Programs), Cindy
Bechinski (Moscow School District curriculum director), <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Bob Celebrezze (principal of Moscow High
School), Carole Jones (principal of Moscow’s alternative high school), and other
administrators, teachers and school board members from Moscow School
District.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>These community leaders and others in attendance will participate in an
in-depth discussion that seeks innovative solutions to the quandary of improving
educational offerings within or by lessening current budgetary
constraints. The community discussion follows an initial presentation by
three panelists, Mike Rush, the Idaho State Director of Professional Technical
Education, Paul Kimmell, Executive Director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce,
and Jim Gregson, Chair of the University of Idaho Dept. of Adult,
Career and Technology Education.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Here is an article previewing the forum from the Friday edition of the
Moscow-Pullman Daily News:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT size=5><STRONG>Panel To Explore
Tech Ed Options<BR></STRONG></FONT><BR>By Kate Baldwin, Daily News staff
writer<BR>Friday, November 24, 2006 - Page Updated at 11:53:58 AM<BR><BR>Debby
LeBlanc remembers a time when Moscow High School had more professional
<BR>technical classes available through its marketing department as well as
its <BR>agriculture department.<BR><BR>The business teacher said those
programs were cut years ago, and the state's <BR>newest changes to the
education system now have her worried that her <BR>business program might go
someday too.<BR><BR>"It's really nobody's fault," she said. "We're being
forced into a road with <BR>all academia."<BR><BR>The recent changes in high
school graduation requirements increase the <BR>number of required math and
science courses. When overall course <BR>requirements increase, the number of
student-chosen electives decrease.<BR><BR>Along with those changes, the
students' opportunities for electives are <BR>limited by the need to take
extra classes for remediation in order to pass <BR>the ISAT, or the Idaho
Standards Achievement Test.<BR><BR>LeBlanc said people are trying to stop the
loss of professional-technical <BR>classes, but she doesn't know if that is
possible.<BR><BR>She said she is going to attend a forum on Monday about
<BR>professional-technical education to find out more.<BR><BR>The Moscow Civic
Association is hosting the event, "Education for a Flat <BR>World: Creating
Opportunities for Moscow Students and Business." It will <BR>bring three
panelists to talk about the issues that face professional <BR>technical
education programs in agriculture, mechanics and shop, business <BR>and
accounting, and computer applications, among others.<BR><BR>"If people have an
interest in making learning more relevant, interesting <BR>and engaging to
youth, I would encourage them to attend," said Jim Gregson, <BR>a panelist and
the chairman of the Department of Adult, Career and <BR>Technology Education
at the University of Idaho.<BR><BR>Gregson agreed with LeBlanc that school
districts have had to make very <BR>difficult decisions as resources have
become increasingly scarce.<BR><BR>He suggested that the area universities,
businesses and the schools could <BR>merge their resources.<BR><BR>Internships
and job shadows are just a few ways to provide students the <BR>hands-on
experience and applied learning that are the hallmarks of <BR>professional
technical education, he said.<BR><BR>Gregson said he hopes to find out the
level of support across the community <BR>for reviving and modernizing these
programs. He also is interested to find <BR>"in a pragmatic sense - how we can
make one or more of these efforts <BR> happen."<BR><BR>Panelist and
Moscow Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paul Kimmell said <BR>attendees
of the event will be able to participate in the discussions.<BR><BR>"What
we're hoping to do is flush out some possible actions in the future," <BR>he
said.<BR><BR>Kimmell said the Moscow School District is open to introducing
new <BR>programming but it remains "very constrained financially and
<BR>curriculum-wise."<BR><BR>"They are challenged to make any room in their
existing school schedule," he <BR>said.<BR><BR>The system is doing a good job
now, Kimmell said, but that doesn't mean <BR>there can't be more
improvements.<BR><BR>"We've got all the right people here," he said. "It's not
going to happen <BR>over night, that's why we have got to keep raising the
issue and raising the <BR>awareness."<BR><BR>INFO BOX<BR><BR>The Moscow Civic
Association's Forum on Professional Technical Education<BR><BR>* WHAT: A
three-person panel will discuss enhancing professional technical <BR>education
in the area. The panel members are Mike Rush, Idaho state director <BR>of
professional technical education; Jim Gregson, chairman of the University
<BR>of Idaho's Department of Adult, Career and Technology Education; and Paul
<BR>Kimmell, executive director of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce.<BR><BR>*
WHEN: 7 p.m., Monday<BR><BR>* WHERE: 1912 Center, Moscow<BR><BR><BR>Kate
Baldwin can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 239, and by e-mail at <BR><A
href="mailto:kbaldwin@dnews.com">kbaldwin@dnews.com</A>.<BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">Bruce Livingston</DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">MCA President</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=gweitz@moscow.com href="mailto:gweitz@moscow.com">Jerry Weitz</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 24, 2006 11:45
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Fwd: Reality of
Poverty in Idaho</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV> At 11:29 PM 11/24/06, Gerald Weitz wrote:<BR><BR>
<H1><B>Skills (Learning by doing) education: A thumbnail
perspective</B></H1> <BR>Changing American secondary education around the
needs of the students in the present and the future requires honesty, courage,
and a willingness to accept that the status quo is not working
optimally. Real change, made for the right reasons and toward the right
mission, will yield dramatically better results and a bright future for all
our young people, for our national economy, and our cultural well
being.<BR> <BR>In a recent speech Bill Gates made a provocative case
about American high schools. <I>“American high schools are obsolete. By
obsolete, I mean that our high schools, even when they are working exactly as
designed, cannot teach our kids what they need to know today. Training
the workforce of tomorrow with the high schools of today is like trying to
teach kids about today’s computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It’s the
wrong tool for the times.”<BR></I> <BR> WSU’s President Rawlins, in
his recent State of the University speech, detailed the effects for the
University in having to remediate math and communication skills that should
have been accomplished by k-12. Too many Colleges and
Universities grapple with the same dilemma. <BR> <BR>Many students
are currently disengaged and leaving, or have already left the traditional
high school. Idaho’s graduation rate is 84% and MSD’s, as reported, is
86%. Many go to college only to drop out. UI is focusing on
retention as the University has had an almost 1100 student enrollment decline
in the past two years. <BR> <BR>Educational reform has been an enduring
topic since the beginning of the republic. At the start of the
twentieth century our system was the best in the world and had the longest
school year based on the 180-day agricultural model. We are a country
that believes in positive and forward change. Everyone gets a chance and the
tools to succeed. <BR> <BR>By mid century, with a strong influx of
skilled labor from Europe, America was at the top. In 1950, America
represented 75% of the world’s economic pie. 30% of our workforce in
1950 could join the middle class by working at a factory. Yet, danger loomed
with the Soviets going nuclear, the fall of China to the communists, Europe
requiring the Marshall Plan to avoid collapse, and the Korean War. To
beat the communists, America (starting with President Truman) invested in our
colleges and universities at an unprecedented level. America transferred
its research, technology, and systems freely to the non-communist world.
The GI bill, instituted in 1944, and the tremendous growth of public
colleges/universities served America well. Focus was not on k-12. Thus
other nations observed our k-12 system and vastly improved their own with
higher expectations and standards. <BR> <BR>Today, our
research universities are unreservedly the best in the world. In a recent
Economist feature reviewing the importance of education as a driver of
prosperity, the American community college was ruled as a distinctly American
world-class innovation. America’s economy is the most successful in the
world, even with Katrina, the challenge of Iraq, and the national
debt. We are dynamic, creative, entrepreneurial, flexible, and
innovative. In every field, U.S. firms are at or near the frontier of
technological advance. Unfortunately, our high schools are not the
world’s best.<BR> <BR>Despite 25 years of strong competition from Asia
and Europe, our giant economy has remained resurgent. U.S. unemployment
is one of the lowest in the world. The advantages of this onrush of
technology are obvious. But there are major social costs as well.
What is called a two-tiered labor market has evolved in which those at the
bottom lack enough skills and education to compete, failing to get pay raises,
health coverage and other benefits. In the lower and middle-income
quintiles stagnation or declines in incomes have become the norm. The
days of checking into the local factory and entering the middle class is in
steep decline. For example, GM and the UAW have recently agreed to start
workers at $12/hour with diminished health benefits. Further, downward
adjustments may still be required according to both GM and the UAW.
Non-skilled labor is not the future. Adjustments in the minimum wage,
while meritorious and fair, may be helpful for some, however, in many cases
worsen the hiring levels of the non-skilled/inexperienced. (An unintended
opposite effect).<BR> <BR>There has been a strong k-12 movement to catch
up to our international peers in science, math and communication skills.
Standards and testing have been instituted. Spending levels on education
in the US are among the highest in the advanced economies. Public
sentiment in Idaho is not on the side of just adding more money into the
system as evidenced by the defeat of prop. 1. (Although Latah County
bucked the trend). <BR> <BR>Many commentators assert that
Globalization will transform the world economy in the 21st century, leaving no
national products, no national corporations, no national industries and no
national economies. To succeed in the global marketplace, countries will
have to depend entirely on the skills of their inhabitants, and will have to
deal with powerful external forces that could create an ever widening gulf
between skilled, globally aware citizens and a growing unskilled out-of touch
underclass. The slogan “think globally, act locally” may prove to be the
correct framework for our k-12’s prosperity and our rural region’s
future.<BR> <BR>Learning by doing (skills) is not a new concept. During
the Dark Ages the city states (Genoa, Venice, Florence, Bologna, Milan) of
Italy forwarded education and skills. Italy became very
prosperous. For example, eyeglasses became a defining industry for
Venice during the dark ages. Even today, the best eyeglass frames come
from Italy. From Dark Age Italy, western philosophy of individual betterment
through education and skills formed the basis of democratic capitalism,
individual rights, higher education, trade, and property rights.
<BR> <BR>Resistance to change is not new. For example, Isaac Newton
pushed against the establishment by forwarding the concept that math ought to
be taught to orphans. John Sperling, founder of the University of Phoenix, was
literally discredited and run out of California for forwarding the idea that
we’re entering the computer age and non-traditional educational models must be
employed for non-traditional students.
<BR> <BR><B>Recommendations:<BR></B> <BR>1)
<B>Increase the number of days</B> (not necessarily hours/day) instruction.
Our major<BR>trading partners average 211 days. MSD is about
170days. Canada has a 200-day school year and consistently is in the top
4 in science, math and communication skills far outpacing U.S.
counterparts. Thus the obstacle of not having enough time can be
overcome. <BR> <BR>2)
<B>Increase teacher training</B> outside of instructional days (UI could be
pivotal). Thus having a qualified staff is obtainable.
<BR> <BR>3) <B>Institute skills
curriculum</B> for the non-college bound (Recall Virginia under former Mark
Warner offered 50 certifications in 50 trades at Virginia’s community colleges
for the non-college bound. Virginia’s graduation rate = 94.6%. Idaho, by
its size and population, must co-use local high schools as community
colleges. Ely Nevada High School serves as a high school/community
college. Recall that community colleges evolved from local Boards of
Education. The demand for workers with postsecondary degrees and
certifications has outpaced the supply. Jobs that require an associate’s
degree are growing the fastest and those requiring professional doctorates and
Ph.D.’s are the second fastest.<BR> <BR>4)
<B>Study the Finnish model</B>: Finland, with 5.3 million, has one of
the best-educated workforces in the world. In a land of snow and ice,
1/3<SUP>rd</SUP> of its landmass in the artic, 60,000 major lakes and zillions
of B-52 sized mosquitoes, Finland has a remarkable economy. (from cell phones
to high end medical/dental equipment.)<BR>Finland consistently scores in
the top 3 internationally in science and math.<BR>Ireland has one of the most
educated workforces and it has an impressive high tech economy. New
Zealand has rebound from a low performer to a high performer in science and
math.<BR> <BR>5) <B>Establish a system
where every student should be led through a process of academic and career
awareness exploration, and planning</B>. Make sure our system
re-engages/reconnects students that are about to drop out or have. Extending
the school year would help. <BR> <BR>6)
<B>Be resurgent as the US economy.</B> Present a definitive plan to the
patronage, build alliances with the UI, private schools, and the business
community, then run a supplemental levy. Prop one was too broad and
non-specific. The public is not at all convinced that adding money is
the sole answer. Make our system the best and accept no less.
<B>Think Globally, Act Locally.</B> <BR> <BR> <BR>Gerald
Weitz, D.D.S.<BR> <BR> <BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>