Educational Value

In a similar vein regarding knowing one's own worth, it is interesting to note which countries appear to value education. I have always been of the thought that America does not value education and it shows in how they treat the educational system. It is even reflected in the quote, "if you can't do, teach." This connotes that if you fail in the area that you wish to work in and it doesn't work, just teach, since you are unsuccessful. As a product of public schools and a former teacher in the public school system, I am worried about where the country is heading in regards to its educational system which I feel shows the future of the country. I think its similar to a farm, that the students and children in schools are seeds planted to evenutally become the crops for tomorrow.

The assignment this week created more thoughts on this topic. We reviewed the data from a study of the student enrollment of developing and industrialized countries. It showed that developing countries student enrollment was increasing while the industrialized countries enrollment was stagnant. I am sure that there are many other factors that combine with this information outside of just my thoughts on the value of education, but it can be seen as a slight factor.

Also, what was seen was that the developing countries are realizing the value of education can be used to their benefit. Since many countries are using the developing countries for their labor force, the education levels in the countries that outsorce the work find a strong need for degrees as the labor workforce is not as strong in industrialized countries.

This is getting a little convoluted now, so I will have to rethink this a little more. Questions I am left with:

1. Is this just a cycle? The industrialized countries were once developing and once also had a strong labor force. However, now, the industrialized country focuses most of its employment on higher level education positions. So, what will happen once the developing countries realize they have started to promote higher education and the workforce is smarter and more skilled for the labor workforce that the country thrived on.

2. Will higher education begin to include labor education? For example, higher education is changing from just philosophical and artistic studies, to skill related degrees (I'm thinking MBA, computer scientist, accountants, etc.).

3. Will America ever place a focus back on its educational system.