Afternoon Announcements: August 22, 2011
Here are today's and this past weekend’s headlines in education news!The Washington Times reports further on the PDK International/Gallup poll on Americans’ views and attitudes toward public education. More specifically the newspaper noted American’s general support for digital learning. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia, calls for an increased focused on “blended learning” – pairing innovative technology and high-quality teachers. “The public understands and is willing to move forward on blended learning. It’s not either/or. High-tech requires high-teach,” Wise said. “You’ve got to have good teaching in order for the technology to be effective.”
Fifty-one percent of jobs in the American South require “middle-skills” – such as medical technicians or computers support workers – and the region has a shortage of people able to fill the positions. According to the Associated Press, the National Skills Coalition presented these figures during the Southern Governors Association meeting in Asheville. While over half of the jobs in the South require middle-skills, highly skilled jobs make up 29 percent of the market and low-skill jobs make up 20 percent. The South is finding it difficult to fill these positions even when four-year graduates face difficulty finding a job and paying off their student loans.
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