The Feb. 21 My Turn “New doors would put kids, economy on path to success” was excellent. As far as it went …
The opinion piece advocated “creating stronger connections between what students are learning in high school and the opportunities that await them when they graduate.” No argument there except to also describe “opportunities as industry’s urgent need for new employees.”
The writers urge the Healey administration and the Legislature “to think and act boldly. Building on recent state efforts to expand Early College, career-vocational technical education, STEM-focused curriculum and other evidence-based programs, state leaders,” the authors say, “should commit to a goal of creating universal student access to a robust system of college and career pathways.” The need for these goals “is particularly true at a time when clean tech, robotics, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and countless other industries require strong technical skills…”
O.K. This is all about educating students about their future work opportunities and industry’s need for workers.
But what about a student’s life outside of work? As a citizen of the commonwealth? Of America and the world? Whatever happened to civics and history courses (evidence-based history, not the history I was taught in the early 50s)? Education in America’s real history and our democratic processes. All essential for the student in order to comprehend how to participate in the governance of her/his/their own community, state and nation. How to read, and assess history lessons such as author Carl Doerner provides in his My Turn on the same page in the Recorder entitled “A Warning from the Past.”
Education about how to verify the accuracy of what people, politicians and other people say and write. The kind of education that governor and wanna-be president Ron DeSantis is eliminating from the curriculum in Florida schools.
John Bos
Greenfield