No child left behind - NOT!
July 3, 2005Pretty funny story today on the net.
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/business/050630/b0630102.html
Toyota just announced plans to open a new auto plant in Ontario Canada, even though states in the USA offered larger subsidies.
Toyota’s reasons where clear. The American workforce is too hard to train. Completely illiterate in some areas. The higher subsidies offered by the US states would have been wasted on additional training.
Some quotes:
“He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use “pictorials” to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment.”
“The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States,”
“Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double that amount of subsidy. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would have been eaten away by higher training costs”
Posted by sgehrman at July 3, 2005 7:31 PMComments
Oh, you thought No Child "Left Behind" referred to educational progress? As I understand it, the phrasing is a christian codeword pointing to the "rapture", when those who are in good with god are taken up to be in heavenly glory whilst all the unredeemed are "left behind". Hence, the NCLB initiative is directed toward ensuring a proper christian upbringing for all children. This may be a good thing, I suppose it depends on one's perspective.
This story is a load of crap. The use of pictorials is common in industry training in any part of the country. There are numerous high tech companies locating in the south. Take a look at this article http://www.annistonstar.com/opinion/2005/as-editorials-0728-editorial-5g27r1943.htm
Repeating biased reporting just keeps enforcing stereotypes that are just not true.
I seriously used to work in a Toyota plant in the States as an interpreter for a Japanese quality engineer tasked with finding out why US plants produced so many more defective vehicles than anywhere else.
His final impression seemed to be that it was because in the US workers had no inclination for following instructions, and the unions were so strong that workers could have axe-murdered the president on TV, but the company still couldn't fire them.
It doesn't help that every secondary school administrator and teacher I've had a conference with or presentation by is fighting No Child Left Behind ( NCLB ) tooth and nail.
Can we be honest about what NCLB is? It mandates that students will demonstrate that they can read, do math, and know some other basics. That's it.
But basics aren't exciting, aren't fun, and require little money. Public school curriculums are chock full of exciting, fun, expensive crap that educationalists love to do.
I know it's not nearly as interesting to acquire dull facts - some contradictory to one's political hopes - than to jump and howl as one would at a pep rally - but it beats looking silly.
yes, thanks for pointing out that article.
Though I don't know If I'd describe the issue of the American school systems as funny, so much as I would incredibly, uncontrollably heart-breaking.
At least, that's what it seems like when you can't do anything but watch your baby brother (or sister, niece, etc...) -destroyed by a misguided system, and under-paid, abused teachers.
---Sydde,
I absolutely loved your comment- good point, very funny. I mean, John Stewart's Daily Show kinda funny. (and that's as funny as you can get) ;D
Really, if it would be okay, I'd love permission to link to this on my own webpages, I rarely come across such intelligent humor.
Thanks for pointing this article out. Also notable: "...Canadian workers are also $4 to $5 cheaper to employ partly thanks to the taxpayer-funded health-care system in Canada..."