On Thu, 02 Feb 2006 14:42:19 GMT, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:


"Scout" wrote in message
...
"Bob Crantz" wrote
*Why is he calling for more math and science majors?

Because virtually every school district in the US, with PhD'd
administrators who know zero about technology preparation, are ok with
vocational schools filled with special ed students and behavioral
problems. The real technicians of tomorrow will hold engineering degrees.
Everyone else will just be pumping too much grease into zirc fittings
because they can't read the spec sheets.
Ken Gray, researcher at Penn State Univ, preaches against the misuse and
abuse of vocational schools by their sending districts, and argues that
the vocational schools should be populated by the middle 50% (by academic
performance) of students. The upper (gifted) and the lower (learning
disabled) should be left in the hands of the special education teachers,
and not in the hands of the engineers and technicians who've been hired to
teach their expertise. Sending schools do tend to keep the gifted
students, but purge their classes of problematic kids, rationalizing that
kids who can't read and won't do homework can learn hands-on how to build
a working robot or program a CNC milling machine.
I contend that a competent HVAC technician is better educated than most
guidance counselors!
Amen!
Scout

Funny you mention this. I recently attended a charter school meeting where
the teachers discussed how they taught mathematics. Many parents were there.
Everyone sat around nodding to the importance of math education (like a
mantra). Yet, of the parents I knew, not one used math beyond addition and
subtraction in their jobs. I asked a few teachers to tell me what
mathematics is in one sentence. They couldn't.

You should expand your circle of parental acquaintences. I ran a
manufacturing plant making a woodworking machinery, had control of
design engineering and just about everyone who worked there used math
past simple addition and subtraction. Including machine operators on
the shop floor who were required to learn advanced metrology,
Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, and statistics for SPC and
DOE. Contributing to value add

Before that I worked for a company that produced offshore oil field
equipment. Ever wonder how the trigonometry to convert the structure
designs to welded reality gets done? By some of those parents you
don't know. Contributing to value add.

Most learning comes from the home, with the school system being a
facilitator. These kids would learn mathematics better if they saw the
importance of it applied in life. Where will they see that?

Mathematics skills, to be kept must be practiced regularly.

Then, if one works hard at acquiring and maintaining the skills, they are
usually branded as an "overachiever".

First one is pushed to accomplish something difficult, then when it is done
they are earmarked with some dysfunction and pushed into the corner.

When I tell kids on how to become successful, I tell the to look for
loopholes and how to beat the system. Travel the road less travelled, think
out of the box. I even go as far to say that crime may pay and point out
many successful white collar and organizational criminals. Then I point out
that lawyers do all this and more legally!

Become a lawyer - people will fear and respect you!

Most people adopt the attitude that it is better to behave in a manner
that you never need a lawyer. The fear is that a circumstantial or
random encounter will put you in the position where the sharks can
start circling. There certainly is no respect for a profession where
the goal is to transfer money from one entity to another and skim 40
percent as it goes by. There is no value added with this process.

The best (or least ethical) of this breed do become wealthy. That is
not the same as garnering respect.

And of course the above is a gross generalization with approrpiate
apologies to those few ethical and productive members of the
profession. I know several.

Become a mathematician - people will laugh!

There is some truth to that. They laughed Demming right out of the
country. And he organized the Japanese to take over the auto and many
other industries. Wonder who laughed last.

Amen!

Bob Crantz, preparing youth today to run the world tomorrow!

And doing a wonderful job

Amen!

Frank