Final Blog – Chapter 17

The middle school group was very engaging.  As a middle school teacher, my teaching team and I are constantly trying to integrate life lessons across different subject areas.  We have several projects that we do with our students throughout the school year that help them see how real life topics apply in every area of study.  This presentation could easily fit as one of those projects.  It was well organized, grade level appropriate, and an engaging way to get students interested in the beginning stages of career exploration.

 

Chapter 17 was a good way to end the readings for this semester.  Brown presented a lot of interesting pieces of information and retouched several important ideas that we have previously looked at in our readings and discussions.  The statistics presented on page 371 regarding worker production in the U.S. and other countries was a bit eye opening.  After living with Europeans for a few years, then returning to the states to enter the work force, I was a believer of the ‘lazy American worker’ myth.  I still don’t know that I fully believe the production statistics Brown presented, but it is definitely an intriguing topic for me that has stimulated a desire for more research.

The projections of job openings shown in Table 7.2 were also a bit eye opening.  Only 30% of the highest job openings require any type of degree, which seems shocking.  Data like this really makes me question our education system sometimes and reflect on the mini debate we engaged in during class a few weeks ago regarding sending all students to college versus just the right students.  If all students go to college, there will not be enough jobs for all of them to work within their fields.  If only some go to college, the population of college versus non college educated individuals would naturally sort itself out in the work field.  This could be seen as a pro.  The result of so many workers in low paying jobs not only has a personal stress factor, however, but also serves as an economical stressor, which would definitely be a con. 

Brown addressed the challenge of our national debt on page 366.  He stated that “in order to pay off the national debt, the government must either stimulate the economy and increase the number and quality of jobs… …or raise the tax rate (Brown, p. 366).”  The latter of these suggestions is something that is always in the forefront of government media.  The first option is one that I have not given much thought to.  After seeing the projected jobs in Table 7.2, it does not seem as if the quality of jobs are increasing very rapidly.  It would be interesting to do some additional research on this topic as well and identify some ways that the government could create higher paying jobs, which in turn would help our economy and provide a solid argument for sending more students to college.    

Brown, D. (2012). Trends in the Labor Market and the Factors That Shape Them. In Career Information, Career Counseling, and Career Development (10th ed., pp. 362-371). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.