Hi everyone,

I would like to ask some questions & start a discussion related to education. I don't expect the answers to be definitive, I'm just interested in hearing different opinions.

1. What do you feel are the most important skills and knowledge that a person should have in order to achieve success in the modern world ?

I think the ability to read, write, and speak well, along with good math and social skills, form a solid foundation to build on. Once the core foundation is formed, it seems a person could learn whatever they want if they apply themselves.

I am interested in hearing some opinions on what skills and knowledge (beyond a solid foundation as mentioned above) is most useful & valuable in the modern world.

Ideally, beyond having a solid foundation, a person could simply learn what they find interesting and fulfilling, but as a practical matter, people generally do not get to do *exactly* what they want with their lives. Even if a person does have a completely satisfying career and life, it is always nice to have useful / valuable skills and knowledge to fall back on in case you decide you want to do something else, or in case something unexpected happens.

2. What (if anything) do you feel should be taught in public high schools and colleges that is not currently being taught ?

I feel that critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving should be a bigger part of the public school system. Students are generally taught to memorize facts and figures & take tests. The student may score well on a test, but 6 months to a year down the road, they often forget much of what they *learned*.

The goal is to really learn the information for the long term, so I think that not only study skills, but learning & thinking skills & techniques should be a larger part of the public school systems.

I feel that more time should be spent on teaching students what careers are available (the occupational outlook handbook is excellent). Students need to know what choices are available to them in order to make the best career decisions. Especially during the last two years of high school, I feel an actual full year class should be required that allows students to explore all of their career choices and provides counseling to help them decide what they want to initially try to do as far as a career is concerned.

I also think a course on social skills, ethics, and the value of having respect for other members of society should be required as these are all very important aspects of life & getting ahead. I know this is basically common sense & people generally should learn these things from family and friends, but I think they are important and seem to be somewhat lacking today, so perhaps it should be addressed to some degree by the school system.

I would appreciate any thoughts, opinions, or feedback you may have regarding my two questions and comments above.

Thanks
John

lets keep this very close to the vest and on topic. please no politics or religion.

Number one is common sense.

Examples...

I'm a recruiter. Don't walk my door and do/say:

1) "Hi. Welcome to XYZ. How can I help you today?"
Response: "I need a job!"
Yeah, um not from me.
2) Don't walk in wearing juicy couture with your front and backside hanging out. Don't get out of your car in the summertime with no shirt on and proceed to put it on AS you walk in my door when you know damn well I have a wall of windows facing my strip mall parking lot.
Don't come in with picks or combs in your hair. Don't come in smelling up the joint.

3)Don't bring your kids, spouse, gf/bf, mother, father, best friend or ANYONE else to your interview or even your first visit. You never come with someone else to look for a job!

4)Don't come without a resume, with an outdated resume, with a resume with scratchouts on it or a resume folded up in your wallet. Also, no typos.

5)When you don't get the answer you want, don't get rude. It's not our fault you're lacking in common sense.

+++++++++++++++++

In a more generic sense not related to recruiting, common sense is also lacking in the general populous.

Customer service is a thing of the past for most companies. I tell you, when I worked for AAA we were instructed to stay on the phone even if we were sworn at. There was none of this threatening to hang up if you don't "calm" down when the reason you're upset is how the CSR is talking to you like you're a moron and repeating the same "rules" as though you didn't hear that stupid rule 10 times already whether it applies or not.

Common sense is also lacking in driving as evident by all the accidents I witness every day.

Common sense is surely lacking when people cut out in front of me on the way home today while there's 5 inches on the ground and counting and no plow/salt trucks in sight.

Or how about using some common sense when it comes to your finances? Why are so many Americans charging up a storm then filing for bankruptcy or letting things go to collections. I don't want to hear this bs about how credit card companies shouldn't have given them the cards. We all know they are ruthless crooks, but did they put a gun to someone's head and tell them they had to buy more than they could reasonably pay off? I'm not yet 30, and in my lifetime I've known 9 people that filed for bankruptcy. One of them filed twice! Common sense people.

And on the subject of common sense, the auto bailout comes to mind. Without getting any closer to politics than I may already have, let them fail. The customer I serviced that made parts for Ford paid their people $11/hr to do the same work that Union Ford employees got $18-25 for entry-level. Gee. Any discrepancies there?

Ok Wes. You can swat me now.

The single, most important skill you need to succeed is the ability to communicate.

Today there is more need than ever to read better, write better and communicate better. The fact you may have excellent mathmatical skills, common sense or an outstanding resume is irrelevant. If you are unable to communicate your thoughts and ideas in an understandable and concise manner, you simply will not succeed in any endeavor you embark upon.

Our world may be filled with an abundance of e-books and emails, but neither technology nor anything else will ever be able to replace the power of the printed word.

If you have any doubts concerning what I've said, ask HKEd. As a writer, I'm certain he'll tell you the same thing.

True. My friends at the local library will tell you that I read as much as anyone around. But, sadly I can't always communicate it to other people.

Excellent point John. These people (as you saw in my example) often lack common sense and communication skills.

That's another thing I always argued about. "Common" sense is really not common. I think much of what we believe to be common sense is actually aquired according to what we do during our daily activities. Things you and I may see as being common sense may not be to another. I think it goes hand in hand with imagination. While we all possess an imagination, it is enhanced by what influences us. I may draw a picture of outer space, but after I see photos from Hubble, my drawings change drastically. So these things aren't quite so "common" as we may think. This is why everybody is always commenting on somebody's lack of "common" sense.

I honestly don't think anything I labeled as common sense should not be considered as such. I agree with you that sometimes we think things are common sense that may only be for people that were brought up similar to us, but I also think that common sense is a continuing effort. We learn new things every day, and common sense should tell someone not to pull out in front of me in a snow storm with several inches already on the ground and not to show up looking for a job in sweats.

True.

There is a fine line between common sense and stupidity.