The Hired Guns Blog

Beth; 
I would like to comment on how and what we teach our children, because it makes for a very important issue.  If you look at the graduating class of 2012 (I know because my son graduated).  10% are the intelligent high achievers, who will go on to bigger and better things – regardless. 10% are the people who refuse to do ANYTHING – regardless of their skills.  Then there is the 80% in the middle, and the sadness I have for our education system.
I work in the technology field (IT programming and project management) where almost 50% of the jobs are being taken by individuals who hold h1b visas.  No offense to them, who want to be part of our country.  But these are 70k to 80k jobs with generous benefits that are not going to AMERICAN CITIZENS.  Yet our education system continuously spits out workers that are destined for McDonalds and Burger King – making 15k to 20k a year without benefits. 
Here in Cecil County Maryland, our County government does not see the benefit of creating a technical high school where kids are taught high tech skills.  Yet I need to commute over an hour to Philadelphia daily in order to get a job that would pay me a decent rate. There is ample room for growth here, a great county tax rate, that would encourage growth, but unless the workers appear, no one is going to bring their company here, and no one certainly is going to educate their children in a county that does not value education.
It is a self fulfilling operation, where the kids don’t see the need to study (why should they there is no upside), and they don’t see any potential in their own neighborhood.    No that I disdain manual labor, but some of the Mexican illegals come with better skills than most of the graduating class. If they want to be plumbers, carpenters, or electricians (if technology does not interest them), then I am supportive.  BUT where does one learn those trades. 
We have done a good job of indoctrinating our youth that they are all equal and no one is special (trophy’s for all the participants).  However, we have taken all the incentive out of succeeding.  In some of the neighborhoods, if you are smart you are not  “in”.  It’s more cool to be dumb. However, the drug dealer with the new wheels. is more cool than the father of 3 who makes a nice living, and doesn’t have to look and see who is following him. 
I grew up in the South Bronx, and I realized at a young age I had 4 choices. 1. Atheletics – I just did not have the skills to go that route, I was too slow. 2. Be a hood – which if I did not get killed by my peers – my mom and dad would have done it for them 3. Learn a trade (I liked computers).  4. Live off the government.  I chose number 3.  I had the benefits of lofty goals at a young age, I wanted things.  I worked hard to get them.  ALSO an edication system tht provided me with tthe tools to get there.  I did not earn my undergraduate degree until I was 50 years old.  My family could not afford college, so I studied on my own, and increased my knowledge.  MY 35th reunion is around the corner, and I believe that my high school education was worth at least a 4 year degree today.  You want a good job… Start hitting the books…