A friend of mine and I were talking recently about the state of the education system in the U.S. We focused on the real problems with the public schools and - with laser-like efficiency - concluded that there's only one thing to do about it.
Nothing.
It's easy, we figured, to blame the education system itself. So close to the problem, and so easy. Politicians have the perfect scapegoat, and the proletariat scarfs it up Pall Mall.
But the problem isn't the school system's or the Department of Education's so much as it's a cultural problem.
Think about it - the culture parents (or lack thereof), street, cred, peers, and media - all add up to a potpourri of posturing and quick-fixes, that feeds students into the system that are looking for the "wow" as opposed to the "how."
OK, I know what this sounds like - another old curmudgeon looking for an axe to grind. Maybe I'm guilty, but we (my friend and I) have a point.So, maybe that's the real cause of the lack of qualified, quality employees in manufacturing these days. Time after time, I hear manufacturers complain about that more than anything (except for maybe China and the U.S. government). And the question always is, "why don't they do something?"
The answer is, we opined, that "they" can't - "we" have to. If parents and our culture - and, yes, our education system, too - doesn't put more of a premium on the importance of the "how," we may wanna just pack it in.
In the future of manufacturing, regardless of how automated manufacturing becomes, design will become that much more important. And that requires just as much "shop smarts" as anyone running a Davenport or setting up a Hitachi Seiki needs today.
No association, no department, no institution or "system" can be responsible for what it gets. To expect them to churn out people different than it receives is impractical and just plain naïve.
Sure, provide more options for students that aren't suited for college. Give them the channels to express their talents - more "trade schools," for example. And update the curricula to modern, realistic standards.
But "they" ain't gonna make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
For what it's worth, my friend and I think the culture has to take responsibility, too.
