Are Our Students Prepared for the Global Workforce?

Every year, in the month of June, there is optimism abound. Another group of young men and women graduate from High School. It is always discussed-how their future is the future of the country. Perhaps, we should be scared rather than optimistic. The fact is that many of these students are woefully unprepared because they are minorities or live on the wrong side of the tracks. In what way are these students unprepared? They are lacking the training they need in Technology and its many applications. As the world continues to become more Global, the workforce will need to be more savvy to Technology as it is this perhaps more than any other factor that has led to Globalization in the first place. We are headed towards a world where technologically illiterate people will be lost. In many ways, we are already there. How can we have people who are illiterate with regard to Technology during an era in which Technology is so prevalent? A large number of people are ill-prepared due to a lack of access to technology and its many applications.

Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in die performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. These words were penned by Chief Justice Warren in what became a landmark opinion in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954.

Unfortunately these words are still applicable today albeit in reference to a different problem. Today, Warren's opinion would be in reference to the access of technology or what is known as the Digital Divide.

The Digital Divide is most commonly defined as the gap between those individuals and communities that have, and do not have, access to the information technologies that are transforming our lives. Access to computers and the Internet and the ability to effectively use this technology are becoming increasingly important for full participation in America's economic, political and social life. People are using the Internet to find lower prices for goods and services, work from home or start their own business, and acquire new skills using distance learning. The ability to use technology is becoming increasingly important in the workplace.

As you can probably guess, the lines are drawn by race and socioeconomic status. With this mind, it is not difficult to see why Chief Justice Warren's comments are still pertinent today. Still, there are those who state that there is no such problem as the digital divide. However, the numbers belie that belief.

Households with an income of $75,000 and up are twenty times more likely to have access to the Internet than those at the lowest income level. The digital divide is also persistent and growing along ethnic lines. Whites are more likely to have access to technology than African-Americans or Hispanics.

Educators have the job of trying to educate all and with state standards and assessments in place; their job stability is dependent upon how successful they are at it. With that in mind, many educators see the need for a level playing field. A level playing field not only affords educators an opportunity to do their job regardless of what type of community they work in but more importantly provides students with the same tools regardless of their socioeconomic status or ethnic background.

Seemingly, the idea of placing any and all of the tools necessary for properly educating all of our students in all of our schools would be logical. However, in our highly political climate within the U.S.A., logic is not often used in dealing with issues. While many politicians spew forth ideologies regarding education at election time, few actually act on their statements.

We seem to be at a pivotal point in addressing inequities. Failure to provide adequate technological resources for all translates into failure to provide quality education, creating an even greater divide between the affluent and the poor; Whites and Minorities.

When George Bush was elected President, he brought with him the idea of No Child Left Behind. He had been responsible for a similar program as Governor of Texas. On the surface, No Child Left Behind sounds wonderful. Just looking at the name of the program, you would assume we are striving for all of our students to be educated equally. However, you would be wrong. Because of the manner in which No Child Left Behind has been implemented, much of the funding that has been available in the past for technology was cut for fiscal 2006. These cuts have affected some school districts more than others. Not surprisingly school districts serving minorities and low income students have been hit the hardest.

As a result School Districts need to think outside the box in order to create funds geared towards providing an opportunity for all students to receive the technology training that is necessary in today's work place.

Affluent students ( most likely to be white students) score better on national achievement tests, have better access to the Internet, and have more opportunities to use the Internet outside of school. If equal education is a right, we must constantly examine the ways we allow inequality to exist. We must also examine how we are to address these inequalities if we are to provide an equal education to all-an education that prepares students to be the workforce of the future.

One potential idea, and perhaps the best, is for districts to partner with businesses. Businesses seem to be willing to help with funding when they have an opportunity to help develop the student of today into the worker of tomorrow.

June 2007 is fast approaching. How many of the students who will graduate this year are properly prepared? Based on the numbers, few of these students are adequately trained for the Global workforce of today, let alone tomorrow. This is our future? I, for one, am worried.