Education – General

Where the Jobs Are

/ The Old Crank

Drives me little crazy when on the one hand you read about all these jobs that are going to be taken over by robots leaving people unemployed, and then you read stuff like this:

In surveys, people say overwhelmingly that they want to remain at home as they age. To enable that, the country will need another 633,000 home care workers by 2024, P.H.I. projects.

The generation behind the aging boomers is smaller, however. Given the low pay, scant benefits and high injury rates, will enough workers materialize? “We’re reaching a breaking point,” said Abby Marquand, P.H.I.’s director of policy research.

The “care” economy is going to be growing like crazy for the foreseeable future, even if the generation behind the baby boomers is smaller: people are living longer and medical advances are not only prolonging life but making it possible for more people to live at home as they age. While technology may eliminate certain kinds of jobs, it’s not going to eliminate these kinds of jobs, which by definition require human interaction that machines cannot replicate.

It’s similar to my frustration with crumbling infrastructure. We have bridges falling down and old people to take care of. There should be plenty of jobs for everyone. That’s assuming that we invest in the infrastructure and, especially on the caregiver side, (as this article makes clear) create policies that support decent pay, hours, benefits etc. And in all cases training people to do those jobs well.

At least that’s what I would do if you put me in charge. That plus outlawing reserve seating at movie theaters. Also, there shouldn’t be NHL teams in places like Arizona. #commonsensereforms

Links of Note 8/24/16

/ The Old Crank

The Hidden Costs of Low Literacy in Australia [SBS News]
Nicely organized explainer with compelling personal stories.

Rauner Signs Juvenile Justice Reform bills [Chicago Tribune]
Governor Rauner said the legislation was just one step in a larger effort that should address, among other things, the “lack of job skills” among the prison population in Illinois.

Coding Boot Camps Attract Tech Companies [Wall Street Journal]
“The Flatiron School’s 12-week course costs $15,000, but earns students no degree and no certificate (my emphasis). What it does get them, at an overwhelming rate, is a well-paying job.”

Here’s Proof That the Economic Recovery Is Over [CNBC]
What I thought was interesting here is the notion that despite the generally good news regarding employment, there is evidence to suggest that many of these jobs are not “quality jobs.”

“If the employment condition is booming why are payroll taxes falling?

There are a couple of answers to that question and neither is favorable. The BLS numbers are either wrong or the quality of new jobs created must be very poor. The latter response seems the most credible; a combination of an increase in the proportion of part-time workers and full-time jobs that provide lower compensation.”

This Helpful Chart Reveals if a Robot Is Coming For Your Job [Business Insider]
A McKinsey report that purports to predict the likelihood of jobs becoming automated by analyzing work activities rather than occupations. Interesting that such human qualities as patience, empathy, and kindness aren’t on their list. Work that involves caring for others, such as caring for the elderly, sick, children etc. is an area of employment that is growing and where future needs will be great. I can’t imagine these jobs being done very well without empathetic, human interaction, even if technologies are used to assist.

I welcome your suggestions.

Former Prisoners Describe How Education Transformed Their Lives

/ The Old Crank

Today’s edition of Politico’s Morning Education features some great personal testimony coming out of yesterday’s Second Chance Pell event hosted by the Vera Institute of Justice and others:

FORMER PRISONERS GET PERSONAL: Three former prisoners described to Education Secretary John B. King Jr. on Tuesday how college programs they participated in while incarcerated transformed their lives – even as post-prison life hasn’t been easy. “Second chances are possible. People really do need them,” said Jason Bell, now a student at Lake Michigan College. Bell entered prison at age 23, with just a fourth-grade level education.

– Bell and Devon Simmons, a former prisoner who recently graduated from CUNY Hostos Community College with honors , described getting a GED in prison but then facing years-long gaps without schooling while jailed – until college opportunities opened for them behind bars. Once out, Simmons said he was able to complete his degree despite getting shot right after his release from prison by someone “seeking prior revenge.” He credits support from the Prison-to-College Pipeline program through John Jay College (part of the City University of New York) with helping him. He’s now taking a screenwriting class at Columbia University. “I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Simmons said. “I’m honored to have a second chance because that doesn’t come to many.”

– Ivelisse “Bibi” Gilestra said participating in education programs in prison gave her a sense of community. Gilestra said she was no longer just a prison number, “I was student such and such.” Even as she’s now a Rutgers University student, she said “nobody leaves prison unaffected.” When she left, she said she was a “nomad” because she couldn’t live in her mother’s public housing unit because of her record. She’s had to take multiple low-paying jobs because she fails employer background checks.

– The three spoke at an event focused on the Education Department’s Second Chance Pell program, hosted by the Vera Institute of Justice and others. King told Morning Education afterward that college access behind bars changes the culture of a prison. “You can shift the culture within the prison as folks realize there are these educational opportunities available,” King said. Roughly 12,000 inmates are expected to participate in the experimental program, which will provide an estimated $30 million in Pell Grants to prisoners. Congressional Republicans have questioned the department’s authority to roll out the program, and whether it’s the best use of taxpayer dollars.

There is a longer piece about this over at Politico Pro, if you are a subscriber.

“They want to learn because they know that it’s benefitting their children.”

/ The Old Crank

No time these days to maintain this site on anything close to a regular schedule, but I thought I’d break my long silence to log this quote reported in the Celina Record, (in Texas), about the influence of adult education in children’s educational success, a favorite topic of this blog:

[Jill Roza, the district’s director of adult education services] was the assistant principal at Celina Intermediate School. She said that she had frequently encountered parents “who didn’t feel comfortable coming into the school system if they didn’t speak English,” which made it difficult to “get them the information they needed for their children to be successful” in school. “Many did not have a firm foundation in their own language,” she recalled, “and so I wanted to do something that would create that harmony between the community and the school and would make them feel much more comfortable coming into a school setting.”

Roza added: “Watching them come into class with their supplies, they are so excited and they want to learn because they know that it’s benefitting their children. Many of them will say,’I want to help my child with their work.’”