What is our mission?

One of the reasons that I'm so passionate about educational technology is that I believe that it is finally something that we can teach/utilize in schools that can help make school more relevant for students. But sometimes I feel that I"m in the minority in thinking that our misson in school is to help prepare students to be successful outside of school. I think that teachers/administrators too often focus on teaching students those skills that are designed to help students achieve in school without thinking about the outside world. The disconnect is so obvious that even the students realize it.

An article by Tyler Cowen in the New York Times, Why Is Income Inequality in America So Pronounced? Consider Education addresses this. He claims that the income disparity in our country may be due to lack of education. Duh? In his article he writes, "Income distribution thus depends on the balance between technological progress and access to college and postgraduate study. The problem isn’t so much capitalism as it is that American lower education does not prepare enough people to receive gains from American higher education".

In other words, our students are not adequately prepared to succeed in college and ultimately in the workforce. His article does not focus on inadequate reading and math skills, but rather on inadequate technology skills. He explains that "Improvements in technology have raised the gains for those with enough skills to handle complex jobs. The resulting inequalities are bid back down only as more people receive more education and move up the wage ladder. Thus it is technology that is at the heart of the wage inequality".

With so many high income jobs relying heavily on technology skills, students without those skills are being limited to nearly minimum wage jobs. Let me personalize this a bit. I have two daughters in their 20's, both of whom have graduated from college. One knows a statistical program, SAS, quite well. She recently went through a job search and had four job offers with a 15% pay raise, which will give her a salary higher than most university professors in my department. My other daughter, with a humanities degree, will admit that she feels out of the loop with technology. She too recently went through a job search without a single job offer. She is currently working in a sales postition for close to minimum wage. Technology rules the day, yet we are currently failing in most of our local schools to address this most needed skill.

Issue: Students are not prepared for their future
Solution: Infuse a technology curriculum throughout grades K-16. This will require a huge professional development inititative for teachers and university professors.