Career, College, Citizenship

My August 6th, 2011 blog reported the results of a worldwide Excel competition in which a student from the UK won. Why did a student from the UK and not the US win? Not because American students are less competitive internationally on standardized tests, which is a frequent theme of politicians and professional educators. That theme is used to bash our educational system, and to raise money from those hoping to get more funding from the government and foundations. More likely, the reason for the success of a UK student is that she attended a community college where a Microsoft trainer offered course work. In most high schools, American students are rarely offered opportunities to acquire applied computer skills. A related article warns that while students are interested in social networking, they are not acquiring the computer skills that employers want. This is evident when I visit high schools and talk to seniors who apply to Syracuse University. These are relatively high-performing students: yet, when I ask them if they can use Excel, fewer and fewer students each year say, “yes.” Social media and playing with video technology as an exercise in creativity is crowding out the already modest effort our schools have placed on powerful tools like Excel. Excel is Life, and the failure of our high schools and colleges to make sure every student has solid Excel skills is a much bigger failure than a few percentage points on international standardized tests in mathematics.

Remember, it’s the skills stupid.

One of the skills in the 10 Skill Sets is “type well.” I think that it is so important that I run a typing competition for my 7 grandkids every summer. We make a deal—I pay them $1.00 a word per minute in a typing test. Last year, it cost me $293.00. Those that are organized and focused on MONEY, practice weeks before. So the skills learned are not only typing, but also time management and self-motivation, which are the two most important skills for success.

With budget cuts and increased pressure on standardized test scores, some school districts have let keyboarding slip through the cracks. Teachers can easily encourage their students to improve their typing by sending them to one of the many online typing programs. Unfortunately, teachers can’t afford to pay $1.00 a word, but they can make a little speech every once in awhile for students to improve their typing skills if they want to save time in college and on the job.

I was visiting a high school class. The classroom teacher and I were discussing the class, when another teacher who was the Yearbook advisor interrupted us to say that she had to take the teacher’s picture for the yearbook, and it was going to press in two hours. I asked why the student committee wasn’t taking the picture and why wasn’t it done a week ago. Her non-verbal response was “drop dead.” I decided to really make my point by saying that the yearbook should not be published because the student committee didn’t meet its responsibility. A Principal I was discussing this incident with said, “Thanks a lot for generating angry phone calls when the students and their parents find out there is no yearbook.” I suggested that he give the callers the names of the students on the committee who failed to meet their responsibilities. I know. I know. I was able to say this because I wasn’t the Principal.

Some schools give academic credit for the Yearbook, and their teachers run a very tight ship. Some teachers are able to run a tight ship year in and year out without the credit and the threat of grades. These schools and teachers are providing many of the 10 Skill Groups ranging from time management, self-motivation and one-on-one communications to editing and proofing, using computer programs and teamwork. Schools with frazzled faculty advisors who only take responsibility for the product are missing an opportunity to help their students develop the skills they will need in their careers, in college and as citizens. Actually, they are teaching the wrong skills like how to miss deadlines, refuse to take responsibility and complain about each other.

All high school students, regardless of social class or educational ability, respond to the word “professional.” Their response is usually based on MONEY. They think professional athletes make a lot of money and that doctors, lawyers and engineers do the same. So asking them if they want to be a professional will get a “yes.”

Whenever I ask students “how does someone become a professional,” they answer “dedication and a lot of practice.” They know skills just don’t come naturally but require what any one of their idols, like Michael Jordan, will tell them.

While some post-secondary education is required for many professional careers, students should leave high school with a strong base for developing themselves into professionals regardless of their first jobs. For those who don’t go on to college, their success will depend on their general attitude toward work and essential skills required to earn a living. For those who do go onto college, there is no guarantee that their college education will automatically turn them into professionals.

The term “professional” also clearly implies personal responsibility. People are professionals because they want to be professionals. They strive for excellence whether it is in their part-time jobs at McDonalds or in their first job in a law firm. Employers will recognize that attitude and reward it.
In short, “being professional” is mastering the ten skill sets. It just sounds a lot more appealing. Try it and let me know how it goes.