"...as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Leonard Sanborn - June 3, 1916 - January 21, 2009

Rest in Peace, Grandpa

Somewhere Between Harvard and McDonald's

As President Obama said in his inauguration speech on Tuesday,

"...there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. "

But who will do the work? By 2010, the American Welding Society predicts a possible shortage of more than 200,000 skilled welders and metal fabricators. (San Fernando Valley Business Journal, July 7, 2008.) With the shortage of welders, pipe fitters and other high-demand workers likely to get worse as more of them reach retirement age, unions, construction contractors and other businesses are trying to figure out how to attract more young people to those fields. (Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2008.)

It seems American pop culture has developed an aversion to hard work. During the immigration-reform debate in 2006 it was touted as fact that we depended on illegal immigrants to do "jobs Americans won't." As a country we need to re-examine the value we place on labor. Not just glitzy flashy pretty labor that we see on TV - lawyers and fashion designers, doctors and ad execs - but plumbers and carpenters and mechanics.

Adam Smith posited that labor is the only real measure of the value of other commodities, and that the true price of something is measured by the labor expended to produce it. I translate this for my own kids "if it is worth having, it is worth working for." Nothing is free, certainly not labor.

Our community is blessed with a high level of education. Somewhere around 80% of adult residents of Waconia can claim "Some college" or higher on the census survey, so they have the same high expectations for their children. I went to college, and am still going to graduate school, and I want the same for my kids someday. But lets not forget that something like 60% of high school graduates enroll in college (NCES), and of those, less than half will complete a four-year degree; and somwhere around 25% of American jobs actually require a four-year degree. What happens to the rest? Well, most of them go out and go to WORK FOR A LIVING - and not all of them make a career of fast food or retail.

What I am getting at is that America needs to provide opportunities and encouragement for our students somewhere between Harvard and McDonald's. There are many noble career choices that do not involve a mortarboard, joining a secret society, or pledging a frat. But when was the last time you saw a plumber on TV without a huge beer gut and his butt-crack showing? We glamorize those who work the least, and demonize honest, hard-working people and it needs to stop. Now!

Our kids need to know they are not failures if they don't go to law school. Be an electrician. Be a pipe-fitter. Welders and shipbuilders are nice people too, and while road construction doesn't seem very fun in Minnesota in January, over 13% of bridges across the USA are structurally deficient (FHWA), and somebody needs to get to work fixing them. The energy industry is growing at a fierce rate, and that means a great opportunity for oil-field workers, electricians, plumbers, and other skilled, handy, smart Americans. Popular Mechanics has identified their top-10 infrastructure that need to be fixed immediately. Who will do the work?

I am quite sure that if a 15-year-old walks into the guidance office at WHS, and declares that they want to be a HVAC technician or a steelworker when they grow up, that we can put them on the right path to fulfilling that goal. I wonder though, if we do enough to help them explore these "middle skill" career choices in the first place. According to the national Skills2Compete Campaign, 45% of America’s "good" jobs require only a certification or and associate degree earned at a community or technical college, and not a four-year degree (New Hampshire Business Review).

Much of the education for these skilled-trades jobs is supplied through the trade unions and their apprenticeship programs. These are a great thing for a young adult, in my opinion. They can work and learn a trade, while getting paid and building a future. There are scholarships available, work-study programs and other fantastic opportunities, and no shortage of demand for these valuable skills.

"WORK should not be treated as a four-letter word."

Kids need to know that it is OK to get their hands dirty. OK to wear coveralls to work. OK to put in a hard day's honest work for an honest wage. OK wear steel-toe shoes instead of wingtips. OK to build and rebuild America's backbone. "Jobs Americans won't do" is a load of B.S.. WORK should not be treated as a four-letter word.

As a school district, we expend a vast amount of effort preparing kids to go to college, to take college-prep courses, PSEO, ACTs, SATs, etc etc. I don't want to discourage anyone from going after a four-year degree. The world needs teachers, accountants, engineers and social workers, too. All I'm saying is there is no shame in being a postal worker, farmer, truck driver, or auto mechanic, and we should stop pretending that there is. America has always had opportunities for those willing to work hard. And I believe it always will.

The new President says "we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age," I believe him and I mean to hold him to it. There needs to be a radical shift in our thinking, beginning with funding, but following through to supplying labor to meet the demands of tomorrow. We have a tall order - training people for jobs that do not yet exist - but also for the jobs that do exist.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get back to work.

UPDATE 1/28/09: Rethink the Value of College, Christian Science Monitor

In The News This Week 1/16/09

Enrollment Projections are down: Waconia Patriot
Comment: the fiscal conservative in me says we should be projecting zero growth. That might not be realistic, but I would rather err on the low side, than have to slash the budget later.

Board elects new chair person: Waconia Patriot
Comment: This didn't make the newspaper, but I proposed that the Board take a symbolic pay cut in recognition of the current economic situation. It didn't have support enough to pass (the vote was 5-2 for keeping the same pay). Cuts are happening all over the state in other districts (see below), and even though the dollars aren't much (Board members are grossly underpaid), the gesture is a good one I think.
Sartell-St Stephens cut Board pay by 20%: SC Times article.
St Cloud cut Board pay by 10%: SC Times article.
Watertown-Mayer pay cuts: Carver County News.

Two Waconia teachers conquer Mt Aconcagua: Star-Tribune, WCCO, Waconia Patriot
Comment: Words cannot express how proud I am of these two teachers, not just for the accomplishment of climbing the mountain, but for having the presence to use the technology to share the journey with all of us.

Follow-up from yesterday's post about Washington State saying OK to sex between teachers and students (file under "apparently I'm not the only one..."): Fox News

"I'm shocked and surprised," Connie Severson told FOXNews.com. "They're going to be teaching our students and the last thing you want is sexual relations on their mind."

Severson, whose son Stephan is a junior at Hoquiam High School, said the ruling has "opened up the eyes of other parents" in the district.

"This shouldn't be OK," she said. "They are teachers. Every one of them should know better."

Severson said the ruling could dissuade parents from enrolling their children within the Hoquiam school district.

"I'm hoping from a parent's perspective that when my daughter is 18 and dating that she's not having a relationship with her teacher," she said. "This is not college, it's not a university, this is high school."

Governor Pawlenty's State-of-the-State address: Rochester Post-Bulletin
Highlights:

• Any government entity receiving money from the state -- cities, schools, counties -- should freeze wages for two years.
• Restrict labor laws that allow public school teachers to strike.
• Cap state university and college tuition and make a push for more online classes.
• Push for Q Comp, an alternative pay system for teachers, across the entire state.
• Tie additional school funding to student performance.

Comment: Wow - some good stuff here. I was pleased to see "cut education spending" was not on the list. I think a wage freeze might be palatable, especially if it means we can avoid huge cuts and layoffs. I also like the Governor's approach of rewarding high-performing teachers and districts rather than the NCLB approach of punishing the low-performers.

Minnesota Miracle - not dead yet: Pioneer Press
Comment: none

Wait...what?!?

(Disclaimer: this post is rated PG)

I had to re-read the headline three times.

It says, "Wash. court: Sex between teachers, 18-year-olds OK"

Ok, it's Fox News. Maybe it is sensationalized a bit. I'll go to the source, the Seattle Times. "Teacher-student sex ban doesn't always apply, appeals court rules"

So apparently, it is not against the law in Washington for a teacher to have sex with a student as long as they are 18 years old. Normally I'm not a guy who cares who you have sex with. But I have a problem with preachers having sex with members of their church, and teachers/administrators/coaches having sex with students. UPDATE 1/22/09: Mayors and interns should be included, too. (FoxNews)

I have more than a problem with it. The State might say it is legal (and they write the laws, so they are likely correct), but it's wrong. I think if you need/want to have sex with a student that badly, you should resign as a teacher first. Then you are just two adults doing whatever you do in your bedroom. Seriously. There are over 5 billion people in the world, and you choose one of your students?

If you want to be on the school payroll, don't. End of discussion. There are a long list of things you can't do to/with/about/around a student. Shouldn't i n t e r c o u r s e be one of them?

Try on this logic for a minute. The law prohibits you from discussing the grades or medical conditions or any personal information about a student, but its perfectly fine to ummm....yeah. So heaven forbid a teacher might say, "Sally got a B+" if the wrong people are listening...clap him in irons!!! But take Sally home for an all-night discussion of Nabokov, and everything's fine! (at least in Washington state)

Since I read this story only yesterday, I concede I might have missed some bizarre set of circumstances that might be duct-taped together to somehow justify a teacher having sex with a student outside of a Van Halen song. If you think so, please by all means let me know. And if you are a teacher who is seriously considering a relationship with a student, please get some help, and for heaven's sake, wait until after graduation.

Really, I'm not that much of a prude. Some things are just wrong, and this is one of them.

LeRoy Stumpf Gets it.

It is nice to see that someone in the Legislature agrees with me - you can positively affect the economy and fund education at the same time: Red Wing Republican-Eagle reports that Senate Education Chairman LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Plummer) says, "The federal government has not funded special education programs at the rate stated in law, so states must use more of their tax revenue to make up the difference. More federal aid would free up state money"

More federal money for Special Ed. would reduce the State obligations and either help to bridge the state's budget gap, or provide more funding for education overall. This is what I meant in my post on December 17 that also appeared in the Patriot on January 1 - creative thinking...political will.

Thank you Mr. Stumpf.