It was the forties ... a yesterday so close to now. It was a time of creation, a time when
the middle class was blooming. It was a time of promise, a time of vision, and most
important, "a time of belief." It was a time that just didn’t happen in a
vacuum. Simple, uncomplicated, traditionally understood foundations were still in place to
help foster this era. Education needn’t be deluxe. With industry’s willing
cooperation, a successful catalyst for growth was in place. Family maintenance was an
essential ingredient for furthering development.
We were a country -- intelligently
primed, willingly prepared, socially coherent -- in a manner that provided the rational,
but more important, the opportunity of applying one’s talents to a wide range of
"family sustaining work." Dare we suggest, the lessons of the very recent past
can do us some good today? Dare we proclaim, we should recapture ways that worked? Some
do, even though it’s sure to provoke offensive criticism from "power's
determination" to deny the past, knowing it will upset their present agenda. They
intentionally block our reminiscing. They do not want a middle-class functioning as
before. "Power" now has the upper hand as never before. They possess the tools
to run the planet. Where do we fit in?
Western European immigrants, arriving
early in this century, vanguards of today’s middle class, did not find a pot of gold
waiting for them. They didn’t expect it. They entered a self help environment. They
struggled, tenaciously plodded ahead, determined to succeed. English -- "the language
of America" -- was their first willingly accepted hurdle. Despite grueling sixty hour
work weeks, education, learning our ways, learning the language of America ... was a
dedicated part of life.
It was not unusual to have children and
parents, enjoying the process of Americanization ... hand in hand. It was difficult to
determine what took precedent, the need to earn a living or the determination to meld with
American society. Both, became core necessities of most families.
Teachers, students, families, were
interactive, were responsive. Problems weren’t swept under the carpet. Special
attention was readily available for students in difficulty ... and readily applied.
Teachers thought nothing of visiting with parents in their homes. It was a good place to
talk about solutions to problems. Parents and teachers worked together. Parents felt it
was a duty to attend every PTA (parent teachers association) gathering in school.
It was a time when one was expected to
toe the mark. Students that excelled were advanced accordingly. Students needing more than
usual help were not passed through the system ... just to get rid of them. There were many
choices available to prepare a youngster to be rewardingly self sustaining.
The absence of a college degree had not
yet become stigmatized. Most could not afford to go all the way. They had to leave school
early on and contribute to the family. A "trade school" education made it
possible to succeed, but more important, it was an acceptable route to reach a good level
of self sufficiency and productivity. An endless variety of beneficial opportunities were
available. Earning a "family sustainable wage" did not translate into becoming
drones in a work environment downgraded to limited job diversity ... increasingly
associated with becoming the "Chip’s" obedient servant.
Those who graduated from High School, but had to stop there, were not considered failures.
They were never considered to be education deprived. They were not automatically relegated
to unrewarding, menial, family disabling jobs. The education system at that level, just
like levels below that, had sensibly and responsively provided the most essential ability
... how to use the mind. That ability was a most important educational legacy. It was
recognized, it was welcomed, it was valued.
Whether Grammar School, Trade School,
High School, opportunity for growth was unrestricted. Proclaiming "I'm self made,
self educated," was understood ... was respected.
Although this chapter is about
education, the present day job market is undeniably entwined with present day educational
deterioration. The reason for chaos isn't the "buggy-whip" example (we don't
need it anymore) that's being touted, it’s "corporates decision" to
manufacture what we still need every day ... elsewhere. The more of what we need and use
in our daily lives that gets made elsewhere, "the less choice and opportunity"
is available for workers back home in America. Government, the Judas it has become, is a
shameless partner to the exodus.
Back when few had support or resources
enabling their advance to college, it was a serious undertaking. Sacrifices made to enable
that level of education were taken seriously. It was not a three or four year interim hang
out. It was not a process one went through just to get a job. What you wanted to become
had to justify total family involvement.
Having a fruitful multi-layered
educational system, "pass them through thinking" wasn’t a needed maneuver.
With enough levels of achievement and reward available, almost every student could realize
fulfilling potential.
Teachers at each stage, had the ability -- more important -- understood the need to
concentrate on every level in the educational process to ensure job market results.
Perhaps at that time teachers were better able to feel rewarded by positive student
results. Perhaps they were less stressed out because they and their students "were
proud of demonstrable accomplishment."
We had not yet become a contrived
service economy. We were not yet being tutored to become the "servant of the
chip." The relationship between teacher, student, family -- joining to target sound
work opportunities ... worked. Today, that relationship is fading into history. Teachers
have become wardens. The traditional family is fast becoming a relic of the past. Students
are floundering in "no-where land." The "how to learn" disciplines of
past educational professionals were displaced by "how to do" and finally, has
arrived at "how to salvage" as we police.
You have heard the repetitive cry of
corporate, "We can’t find anyone for the job." Why can’t college
students read or write? How did they get through college? Why has this become so
prevalent? At what point in time -- how! who! ... was responsible for our education
systems failures?
Did the "power of industry,"
imposing its will on the educational system, induce development of narrowly educated
specialists ... they eventually didn’t need? Did their jobs going elsewhere cause
ruthless dismissals of workers created with disposability in mind? Did corporate
influenced government interference mutilate a just and improving economic system?
Education and the array of available good paying jobs were once a beneficial environment
for all. That era no longer exists for the masses. Is one, all, or more like the forgoing,
causing the breakdown ... the dilemma of today’s middle class?
Today it is common to know of or be one
of the successful tossed out into the cold. The specialty trained for so studiously,
performed so competently, is no longer needed in this "rearranged American job
market." Dismissed engineers drive cabs to put food on the table. Dismissed talented
managers are willing to take sales jobs with mall stores, to put food on the table.
Entreprenurisim, a most difficult undertaking today, is becoming a reemerging road to
possible salvation. What has made it so? Government dereliction of duty has had a heavy
hand in it. Of all people our "President" has said we should expect to be
transplanted many times in our working career. It is definitely not the kind of future we
dreamed of. Why?
Not too many years ago I witnessed a
significant, destructive alteration to our system of higher education. I was appalled but
could do nothing about it. My older daughter, an accomplished student, was upset by a new
program instituted in her college. Grades were no longer to be a prime criteria. Instead
of competitive grades, a pass/fail program became the wave of the future.
The achievers protested. They were not
happy. They were given an explanation. Special students (enrolled because of a new
government quota law) would need special considerations to assure that they passed through
the system. What better way to accomplish that ... than instituting a pass/fail policy. In
reality, the advanced achiever had been demoted.
Where does one concentrate? Is it
plausible to assign contribution for failure -- to our governments unwarranted
interference -- to resulting educational quagmires -- to unresolved culture clash -- to
increasing social polarization -- to family disintegration? Can you think of other
reasons?
My younger daughter attended college six
years later and was in another type of totally altered scholastic world. Attempts were
made to tag it as a rainbow society, a strained euphemism supposed to soften growing
culture clash. The beginning of the end for normal educational formats was in progress.
Exploding on campus was drug acceptance, and its brazen use defied the will of exhausted
educators. No longer, was there any resemblance to proper educational disciplines.
Teachers, incapable of being both warden and educator ... threw in the towel. Overwhelmed
by an inability to concentrate on teaching -- the newest educational gimmickry "the
computer" ... was welcomed and embraced. The machine became the teacher. The teacher
became the machines promoter. The "Chip" had successfully gained entrance into
the most important part of our lives ... education of our youth. Any attempt to return to
the three R’s was defined as a dream of fools. Teacher and student were captured.
Silicone Valley was on a roll.
Amidst this turmoil, English, once willingly learned with pride (once a newcomers epitome
of achievement), began to be forcibly diluted (with the help of government) by the
languages of the latest arrivals to America. They demanded and were awarded bilingual
education, causing further aberrations to an already floundering system and inevitably
created a socio-political battleground.
Why bilingual now? Why not in the past?
How deeply has this new polarization penetrated the norm? To demand one be taught in a
foreign language, is not in the forefront of what America has to deal with. Cities, states
and a significant amount of Americans are voicing resentment. Laws are being proposed to
make "English" America’s official language. Why have I always thought it
was? Laws have been proposed that all government documents be written in English.
Government workers are asking that their "workplace language" remain English.
Residents have protested when the flavor of their community has been so drastically
changed ... they can no longer read the store signs in their neighborhood.
The outspoken, consumed with
"American chauvinism" are labeled racists. They are not racists; they are the
brave ones making an attempt to prevent the demise of American culture and identity.
Our nation was created in a way, evolved
in a way, and eventually dominated the world in a way that never happened before. Yes! we
were a mosaic. Yes! we spoke different languages. Yes! we practiced different religions,
but "we were all heading in the same direction."
Now that the family is just about decimated, education showing no sign of repairing its
deterioration, have we been completely captured by the "Chip" ... irreversibly
under it’s control?
If traditional education loses out to the "Chip" ... all is gone. A confluence
of professionals are arguing to reinstitute the excellence of achievement in our
educational crises. Everyone! our President; those against him, organizations dedicated to
educational repair, TV talk shows, media of all forms, teachers themselves ... agree the
system is in shambles. It stands to reason, if so many are shouting "we have lost
what was good in the past" ... why then is there a coalition of resistance against
extracting answers from the past? The recent past is not yet ancient complicated history.
Are we to label all supporters of the
past as stupid? Are they all complaining and debating from a lost world, a
"threatening" past era? Are they in the way of "corporate agenda,"
transforming the world to the way of the "Chip"?
Have past educational accomplishments
that created a thinking, growing, middle class ... become too dangerous? Is there an
ulterior agenda that must develop a more submissive society? Is a free thinking educated
society an impediment to the future ... "A NEW WORLD ORDER"?
If you have trouble with that kind of
reasoning... look around and think carefully. Do you really want to wait until we all wind
up "Pushing Hamburger"?
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