Tuesday, May 29, 2012

BloggeRhythms 5/29/2012

Yesterday, I caught the last few moments of a college senior being interviewed on Fox News. Unfortunately, I didn’t turn the sound up quickly enough to hear his name or school, but I certainly heard what he said.

The subject was his thoughts about the coming election, and whereas he’s editor of his school’s paper, he’s continually exposed to significant information about student’s perceptions and campus trends.

In summary, he said most he meets think the gloss has rubbed off the presidential incumbent due to unfulfilled promises, especially regarding prospects of employment in the dismal economy and the unbridled increases in tuition, along with student’s inability to repay education loans. Therefore, he thinks student voting support might not be so great for the president this time around. And although I agree with him in general, I think he, and most others, are visualizing the problems from the wrong direction.

Because although the unemployment percentage among recent graduates is around fifty percent, I’m not so sure the whole problem’s in the marketplace. I believe there’s much more to it.

First and foremost, a diploma’s simply a piece of paper confirming that a student’s completed an educational institution’s requirements for graduation. However, it proves nothing at all about what they really know or their capability of job fulfillment. Therefore, to be hired, they must meet the needs of the employer. And there’s the rub.

Because in many institutions of higher learning these days curriculums and subject matter have diminished so greatly that many “graduates”have barely any usable skills at all. And that stems from the continuing decrease in the quality of educators who have job protection regardless of their own limited body of knowledge. And as each semester goes by, the whole system continues to water down some more.

Therefore, considering the fact that most successful employers recognize how competitive most markets have become and that skilled performers increase their probability of success, I doubt that truly competent graduates find that there's no chance of finding work.

So, while it’s certainly true that a college degree should add value to potential hirees, it’s what they really know that counts. And the way things seem to be going in higher education today, unfortunately significant numbers of students nor their teachers appear to know very much.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

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