NLA Discussion: Grassroots Advocacy

[KathleenBombach at aol.com]

Ref the end of National Workplace Literacy funding with nary a whimper...

Industry is still heavily supporting higher education and advanced skills 
acquisition both through customized training and through higher education. 

It has been remarked on this list that just as some jobs are requiring 
greater and greater levels of knowledge and skills, many are being 'dumbed 
down' and actually require lower levels of skills.  For example, when I was 
hired to work in a fast food restaurant (in the 70's), we were required to 
track our customers orders by memory, add all the items in our head so we 
punched in only one total purchase amount, perform the tax calculation in our 
head and punch it in the register, and then make change by counting it out. 
Oh, we also filled the drink order ourselves.  We all know what those cash 
registers in fast food restaurants do now!

Could it be that the business sector is not real interested in the skill 
levels of the bottom 2/3rds of the labor force (except in isolated cases) 
when job functions are being redesigned to minimize errors, i.e., human input?

I think Sticht wrote something on this.

Kathleen Bombach


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