The World of School vs the World of Work vs Terrorism
Since I’ve been reading Education News as my “Internet’s #1 source for Education News and Information”, I’ve had several opportunities to read articles by Dr. Martin Haberman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, because he is a columnist AND a Board Advisor for EdNews.org.
I always find his articles interesting and thought-provoking. I usually agree with most of what he writes because, like Don and me, he is old enough to remember when schools were effective at educating the youth of America. Like us, he is also old-enough to have witnessed the changes and deterioration that have occurred over the last several decades.
The article I would like to share with you today was originally published on 09/03/2007. Entitled “Connecting Schools to the World of Work”, it spells out why terrorism and instability are so rampant around the globe and here in the USA.
Dr. Haberman writes:
“The media remind us daily that the fundamental source of terrorism and instability is high and continuous unemployment. We are bombarded with images of males of all ages engaged in demonstrations, protests and various forms of violence.”
(I would like to add here that the images come from around the world as well as here in the good ol’ USA.) He continues:
“Large numbers not engaged in any form of gainful employment are ready recruits for a mob throwing stones, burning property, turning a funeral into a riot, or participating in a political demonstration. There never seems to be a shortage of very angry otherwise idle males readily available for some form of protest behavior.”
May I also add that we even see this same behavior on the social websites across the internet. Angry young men who feel powerless spew filth and obscenity across the thousands of comments made daily on Web 2.0 sites. Hiding behind their monitors, these very frustrated and angry (mostly male) commentors try to make themselves feel more important by bashing everyone and everything that isn’t in perfect alignment with their opinions. Usually, these diatribes include some very obscene words and taunts, as well as personal verbal attacks on others. So sad! Actually pathetic, when you think about it.
Dr. Haberman explains some of the etiology behind this malanthropic behavior, as well as the terrorism of a suicide bomber.
“Having no prospects . . . creates no-hopers unable to fulfill the male roles their societies expect of them. The most powerful understanding gained from the field of psychology is the formula
Frustration=Aggression.
Agression may be expressed against others or against oneself. Thus a suicide bomber benefits by solving the problem of frustration in BOTH ways.”
The article continues with statistics about unemployment rates of African American males in some of our larger cities (up to 48.3% unemployment in Pittsburgh) and compares them with unemployment rates in Algeria, the Phillipines, Indonesia and Jordan. He further explains that although the statistics are terrible, the actual numbers are much higher. 48.3% unemployment and so on are actually “underestimates” and he explains why that is so.
Dr. Haberman poses the question,
“Why haven’t the schools developed school to work programs? . . .Why aren’t the schools implementing school to work programs on a K-12 basis that prepare children and youth for the world of work throughout their school careers?”
The author continues by explaining the current situation in at least 2,500 high schools that a recent Johns Hopkins study identified as “drop-out factories”, schools with a long history of more dropouts than graduates.
This very problem, and the solution, is spelled out in “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education” by Don Kingsland.
It’s time for America to wake up to the growing problems in our public schools. We are heading for disaster and will soon reach it if decisive change and reform, like that suggested in The Kingsland Plan is not implemented as quickly as possible. We don’t have time to wait 15 years while a plan (as suggested by the Knapp Commission) is implemented. We need changes NOW!
You can learn how easily effective education reform can be implemented in your neighborhood, and nationally, once you read Set Our Teachers FREE!. The time for waiting for the bureaucrats to FIX THINGS is over. Get Informed NOW! Find the Answers NOW! Let’s Straighten-Out Public Education NOW!
Brennan
P.S. Here’s a picture from the Watt’s riots of 1965. Yes, I was working there at the time and had to be escorted to safety in a caravan of cars, with full police riot guard protection.
