I certainly don't think bringing emigrants
into Winona is the answer. I am not saying they aren't welcome, just it's not
the answer to good paying jobs.
No I am not willing to foot yet another
tax/bill so 'poor' people can go to tech school. My kids put themselves
through tech school. Besides that there are more grants out there than
most people are aware of.
I am hoping you were kidding about paying
to have babies. I am already 'paying' into programs with my tax dollars
that help out new moms.
Winona employers have to be willing to pay
a wage the average person can live on and that is more than 10. an
hour.
Linda Fort
[Winona Online
Democracy]
John and
Randy
I believe Johns
points are on the mark but the question that begs to be asked is how do we
attract entry level workers. Are we willing to support, promote and
sponsor legal emigrates from Central
America, from the
Pacific
Rim and
Africa into our community?
Are we willing to provide baby bonuses as was done in Canada after WW II and is
now being put into practice in Japan now to combat
declining populations of young people in rural cities? Are we willing
yet to offer free Technical College Educations for those who move here in the
trades to deal with the shortages now and in the near future? The trades
of Electricians, Carpenters, Auto Mechanics, Nurses and Plumbers just to name
a few will not be replaced by offshore jobs nor Wal-Mart.
While Tony Wagner
recaps the problem I do not believe that the solution is to change to
motivation logic. I believe that moving the model back to sticks and
carrots is the quickest and best long term correction that needs to be
made. It took 40 years for these changes to occur yet I would argue that
reversing them can occur in half that time.
Was the loss of
expansion jobs in Winona to
Rochester a strong enough
message to bring the issue to the front burners of the city council? Is
the possibility of a second company taking the same path the second
blow? As the city found out the issue is far less complicated than
available commercial and high end residential development land. Maybe now
affordable housing and active workforce recruitment will take center stage and
not Shakespeare.
Paul
Double
-----Original
Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Randy Schenkat
Sent: Monday, January 02,
2006 2:32
PM
As I think of this discussion on the
challenge of finding workers for Winona companies, I recalled a
wonderful article that I've shared pretty widely in Winona by Tony Wagner from Phi
Delta Kappan , just 5 years ago now. It's titled Leadership for
Learning: An Action Theory of School Change
The full link
is:
http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0101wag.htm
I think this
pertains to our WOD
discussion:
"But the other changes --
changes in all students' life circumstances and motivations for learning --
represent perhaps the greatest dilemma for many teachers and are much less
well understood. The traditional motivations for learning, the "sticks and
carrots" teachers have relied on to get generations of students through school
-- fear and respect for authority and the belief that sustained hard work
equals success and happiness -- don't have much traction for many young people
today, regardless of their social class, skin color, or proficiency in
English.
Adult authority has much less influence on young people today,
for several reasons. First, as a culture, we have grown increasingly skeptical
of all forms of authority. Respect for authority is no longer automatic; it
must be earned. But far more serious for students is the absence of adults
from their lives. Single-parent families, longer work hours, and large,
anonymous schools in which very few adults interact with students outside of
class all contribute to students' sense of isolation and lack of respect for
adult authority. Most young people spend too much time alone and are
essentially being reared by their peers. Many feel ignored or neglected and
harbor resentment toward adults.
This leaves just the work ethic as the
remaining dull tool in too many teachers' small bag of tricks for motivating
students. But "downsizing" and our "shopping mall" society have conspired to
render this appeal ineffectual for most students as well. They've seen too
many people work hard and get laid off, and they've seen too many ads that
tell them to have it all, have it now, and get it without effort. Students
today have been acculturated to believe that the aim of life is to consume,
not to create. Unless there is an immediate payoff, most simply don't see much
point in working hard, especially in schools where the tasks are often boring
and unrelated to their needs or interests." From Pages 4-5
This
quote points to some changing times. It's not as simple as cracking down
on unmotivated students. Is there a parallel between the old work ethic
of Danielle Durnen
featured in the Winona Daily News article and what Wagner is describing?
I don't think we should see it as all tapped out but rather consider
some pretty creative community responses in having all students have a
higher sense of purpose and in seeing a future for themselves.
This might call us to step back and look at the delivery system of education
and how the community's involved. I'd sure recommend reading Wagner's
whole article. --
Randy Schenkat 1358 Skyline Dr.
Winona, Mn 55987
507-452-7168
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