AAC&U News | December 2005

Preparing to Be Competitive in the Workforce of the Future

by Colin Armstrong, in the Robesonian (November 3, 2005)

In an article published last month in the Robesonian, Colin Armstrong, the superintendent of public schools in Robeson County, North Carolina, considers how educational choices made in high school can affect students' future careers. Making the right choices, however, can be difficult because "most of us are poorly informed about the range of possible employment that actually exists," because "most of us end up in jobs we probably didn't plan for in high school," and because "as the world changes, there are likely to be many jobs and even more job skill sets that don't currently exist."

Despite these difficulties, Armstrong argues that parents can help their children make good educational decisions by becoming involved in the course-selection process. "Course selection is always a matter of balancing personal interests and required courses," he writes--and parents can help their children choose classes that fulfill requirements as well as classes that are personally fulfilling. Parents also should make sure that their children are taking classes at the right level of difficulty, he says. Finally, while parents should consider the skills their children will need to be competitive in the workforce, they should also take into account the other aims of education: "personal growth and development, intellectual stimulation, citizenship, and a sound liberal education are equally important purposes of public education," writes Armstrong.

The full text of Colin Armstrong's article is available on the Robesonian's Web site.

The articles featured in AAC&U News Perspectives do not necessarily represent the views of AAC&U staff, its board of directors, or its membership.