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| High Schools Are 1.0 in a 5.0 World, Gates Says |
| 2005-02-28 |
| Addressing the nation's governors, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates delivered a scathing critique of U.S. high schools Saturday, calling them obsolete and saying that elected officials should be ashamed of a system that leaves millions of students unprepared for college and for technical jobs. Gates was speaking as the invited guest of some of the nation's most powerful elected officials, at a National Governors Assn. meeting devoted to improving high school education across the country. "Training the workforce of tomorrow with today's high schools is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe," said Gates, whose $27-billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has made education one of its priorities. "Everyone who understands the importance of education, everyone who believes in equal opportunity, everyone who has been elected to uphold the obligations of public office should be ashamed that we are breaking our promises of a free education for millions of students," added Gates, to strong applause. Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, chairman of the nonpartisan association, said high school education was in need of an overhaul to raise standards and to closely align instruction with the requirements of colleges and employers. "It is imperative that we make reform of the American high school a national priority," Warner, a Democrat, said. The governors' winter meeting coincides with a push by President Bush to extend elements of his No Child Left Behind initiative from the primary grades to the high school level. The governors painted a dire picture of the state of public high schools, releasing statistics that, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, showed 68% of ninth-graders graduate from high school on time. But, measuring a different way, U.S. government statistics show steady increases in high school graduation rates, particularly among whites and African Americans, although less so for Latinos. For example, the high school graduation rate for adults 25 years or older was at an all-time high of 85% in 2003, as was the 27% share of adults holding at least a bachelor's degree. Just wait till someone clues them in on the fact that those BA's aren't equal, either... For instance, a degree in Ethnic Studies from U Colorado at Boulder, well... |
| Posted by:.com |
| #19 I liked the problem with the farmer in the boat with the fox, hen, and corn that had to get the whole shebang across the river. He could only carry two at a time, or something like that. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-02-28 11:55:30 PM |
| #18 Congrats. Four. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2005-02-28 8:52:17 PM |
| #17 1 2 (2 mins) 1 returns (1 min) 10 5 (10 mins) 2 returns (2 mins) 1 2 (2 mins) Total: 17 mins |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-02-28 7:24:37 PM |
| #16 Does anyone know the answer to the question? I hate these friggin things. I have to go Kobiashi Maru on them most of the time. |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2005-02-28 7:16:16 PM |
| #15 RE engineering careers in Asia. I recall an HR person in Singapore telling I couldn't run a hiring ad I had written. After the normal beating around the bush when an Asian subordinate has to tell a superior they are wrong, I established I had titled the position 'engineer' which meant no one would apply. It was explained to me that engineer meant someone who got their hands dirty and hence was low status. In contrast 'engineer' was clearly high status in Germany when I worked there. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-02-28 7:08:45 PM |
| #14 dcreeper: in a single year india graduates more trained engineers that we currently have in the usa. ( if your kids are not training to be an engineer or a doctor, it's a big shame on the family) Whoa, there! Doctor, yes - engineer, no. For the most part, doctors have to be local to deal with emergencies. They also get paid a lot of money. Engineers don't. Accountants are making as much as engineers are, without having to go through the grind of engineering. The reality is that most of the engineering jobs of the future are going to be generated in the developing countries. If your kid is a math prodigy, he should get into engineering. If he's just a hardworking type with no particular talent in the subject, he's better off in accounting. In yesterday's world, the less talented people who weren't doing path-breaking work used to get shunted off to pretty routine stuff. In today's world, these jobs get generated in Singapore or Taiwan. The really low-end engineering work gets done in China. It's the reality. There's no shame in being an accountant or a marketing person, but at any rate, it's not something you can really ignore if you don't want your kid wasting four years of a really expensive college education. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-02-28 6:37:19 PM |
| #13 or on er the other thing, you could just wait until a universe not needing a bridge happens. that would be cool, give you extra bong time. |
| Posted by: half 2005-02-28 5:52:04 PM |
| #12 induce a quantum shift, destroying the river, cross at leisure with your favorite bong. |
| Posted by: half 2005-02-28 5:50:11 PM |
| #11 Phil - just have the two strongest carry the two lightest piggy-back or fireman's carry. One of the carries holds the flashlight. As to labor, back in the late 1980's, H1B visas numbered 2,000 for exceptional skilled individuals whom employers needed to fill tech positions. Last time I checked about five years ago, business had plied enough gold and cried enough to get the Rep's to up the number to over 250k. That's 250k skilled Americans who didn't get jobs. The trick is to develop a job definition that no one can fill at 100%, though plenty at 80%. The company then gets a foreign hire with 88% ability. Companies are loath to invest in training their own at that level and they don't want long term contracts, to pay for the cost of such training, as they become liabilities rather than assets. |
| Posted by: Elmagum Elmelet3878 2005-02-28 4:26:47 PM |
| #10 Actual Msoft interview questions. Try this one: There are 4 women who want to cross a bridge. They all begin on the same side. You have 17 minutes to get all of them across to the other side. It is night. There is one flashlight. A maximum of two people can cross at one time. Any party who crosses, either 1 or 2 people, must have the flashlight with them. The flashlight must be walked back and forth, it cannot be thrown, etc. Each woman walks at a different speed. A pair must walk together at the rate of the slower woman's pace. Woman 1: 1 minute to cross Woman 2: 2 minutes to cross Woman 3: 5 minutes to cross Woman 4: 10 minutes to cross |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-02-28 4:10:58 PM |
| #9 I have seen many educated dumbell's (M.B.A. P.h.D) employed and unemployed. I think the school's need to teach common sense and new technology. I can't tell you how many times I have gone into a store- the cash register is not working and God forbid...the cashier has to count back the change manually---AND CAN'T do it (No longer think)because we are so use to having a "computer" give us the answer*** I honestly can not "knock" Mr Gates. He is a college drop out and VERY successful, he is also trying to help in anyway that he can. There are so many others out there who can help BUT WILL NOT. Hurray for me the hell with you! Mr. Gates does not follow that philosophy. Andrea Jackson |
| Posted by: Andrea Jackson 2005-02-28 3:05:02 PM |
| #8 in a single year india graduates more trained engineers that we currently have in the usa. ( if your kids are not training to be an engineer or a doctor, it's a big shame on the family) going to india really isn't an option |
| Posted by: Dcreeper 2005-02-28 1:28:26 PM |
| #7 Whew. For a second there I thought Gates was going to try to use the ol' liberal rope a dope about how "great" the schools are in other countries (especially the socialist and communist countries) as opposed to ours. Our schools need upgrading but I'll be goddammed if I want my tax dollars buying billions of dollars worth of computers and tech just so some kid gets a free laptop. The costs involved in ungrading schools are one of the best reasons to get the feds OUT of education before it's too late for my wallet. |
| Posted by: Chris W. 2005-02-28 1:15:13 PM |
| #6 SPOD's got it. "They are only looking for...cheap labor..." How often have we been told of the people with engineering degrees and science degrees that can't find a job? Why? Cause the supply is more than ample to meet the demand at a wage rate that many don't find sufficient for the amount of effort involved. So, let's get even more trained so we can drive that salary down more. (If you can't there's always India) |
| Posted by: AlanC 2005-02-28 9:33:03 AM |
| #5 I wonder how many property tax exemptions MicroBorg has rung out of local communities for putting a plant in their neighborhood, not to count Mr.G's challenge to his own property assessment by the tax man? Not that the educational establishment could make effective [that is a definable increase in quality of output] use of more tax money. |
| Posted by: Elmagum Elmelet3878 2005-02-28 7:47:35 AM |
| #4 See what Microsoft requires to be employed by them. That is the reality no matter what BillG "thinks." But don't mind me I am a high school dropout who has a GED and 5 certifications for various professions plus some college units. I also have started, run and sold several businesses. My advice. Stay in school, don't listen to BillG. Don't believe the Microsoft propaganda about him. Don't trust industrialist and billionaires when it comes to education. They are only looking for consumers and cheap labor they don't have to train much. Work your ass off in school. It will pay later. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2005-02-28 5:57:55 AM |
| #3 If I were in charge... ...I wouldn't hire anyone with a degree from a College of Education for starters. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-02-28 5:57:18 AM |
| #2 Despite having been a Linux activist for over 10 years I find that Bill Gates told sensible things and despite him being a college drop-out I would take his advice over the one of most academics in a system who mass-produces moonbats a la Ward Churchil. |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-02-28 5:49:11 AM |
| #1 Well I usually don't take educational advice from college drop-outs either no matter how rich they are. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2005-02-28 3:49:27 AM |