[AAACE-NLA] Questions for Presidential Candidates

[John Comings]

A good source for understanding what is happening in the US economy in 
relation to skills and knowledge is the work of Richard Murnane (Harvard) 
and Frank Levy (MIT).

Their 1st book (1997), "Teaching the New Basic Skills" explores why strong 
(9th grade level) literacy and math skills along with a set of new basic 
skills such as using technology, group problem solving and critical 
thinking are now determinants of success in the labor market.

Their new book (2004), "The New Division of Labor: How Computers are 
Creating the Next Job Market" takes another step in this exploration by 
looking at what kinds of jobs will be automated or shipped offshore and 
which kinds of jobs will remain in the US.  Those that can be shipped 
offshore or automated will be or will remain here but will pay a low wage.

Good paying jobs in the US will be those that require drawing on language, 
literacy, and math skills along with critical thinking skills to respond to 
unique situations. An example might be retail sales. If, like me, you keep 
buying the same thing over and over again, the Internet is a fine place to 
purchase your clothes.  The sales can be automated and the processing can 
be done in India.  On the other hand, if you want help to be sure that you 
have a color that you look good in, a style that is up to date, and other 
kinds of advice, you want to interact in person with someone who can help 
you make these decisions in ways that make you feel confident to wear the 
clothes. This kind of retail sales cannot easily be automated or shipped 
offshore.

The new communications and information technology and the global economy is 
the cause of this change.

John Comings, NCSALL Director

--On Wednesday, May 05, 2004 5:27 PM +0000 Merle Ayres 
<merleayres at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>
>
> Would someone please explain what new global knowledge based economy is?
> It is unheard of here in my part of the USA.
>
>
>
>
> Merle Ayres
> 412 8th st. North
> Humboldt,Iowa 50548
> Tel.1-515-332-4630
> Fax 515-332-1738
>
>
>
>> From: <kybabe1 at charter.net>
>> Reply-To: National Literacy Advocacy List sponsored by
>> AAACE<aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>  To: National Literacy Advocacy
>> List sponsored byAAACE <aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org>  Subject: Re:
>> [AAACE-NLA] Questions for Presidential Candidates
>> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 17:04:37 +0000
>>
>> I agree completely with you statements.  I am in Kentucky adult
>> education also, and our projected grant funds per student for next year
>> are about $177.00 per student served.
>>
>> How can we continue to have quality programs with the lack of quality
>> funding?
>> >
>> > From: "Brown, Charlene" <cbrown5 at jefferson.k12.ky.us>
>> > Date: 2004/05/05 Wed PM 03:51:15 GMT
>> > To: aaace-nla at lists.literacytent.org
>> > Subject: [AAACE-NLA] Questions for Presidential Candidates
>> >
>> > Are any increases possible for Adult Education and Literacy?  If not,
>> > then  how can we continue to educate low-literate citizens while
>> > providing English  and education services for the increasing numbers
>> > of non-English speakers  who have no schooling prior to entry into the
>> > US?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Will there be possibilities for special grant funding to states that
>> > have  little or no infrastructure to deal with inward migrations of
>> > rapidly  growing numbers of non-English speaking adults and children?
>> > Kentucky for  example is experiencing a 300% growth in just the last
>> > ten years-with most  of that growth in the last five years.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Is $189 per adult learner per year going to be the continued standard
>> > allocation to deal with adult learners who were not successful in
>> > schools  where $6-8,000 per student is the standard?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Are we serious about addressing the needs of the low functional
>> > literacy  levels of the US workforce?  As these voters watch their
>> > jobs "outsourced"  to foreign countries, they are not being given
>> > adequate access to the  training and education that will allow them to
>> > function in the new "global,  knowledge-based economy."  Should we
>> > re-focus priorities to address the  destruction and disappearance of
>> > the American dream for the 90 million US  citizens functioning at the
>> > two lowest literacy levels, and therefore,  cannot compete without
>> > additional education?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>
>
> __________________________________________________
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John Comings
National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
Harvard Graduate School of Education
7 Appian Way
Cambridge MA 02138
(617) 496-0516
john_comings at harvard.edu
http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu