NEWS 'Bush defends India job outsourcing'

[O'Dannyboy]

Heres the article

I don't get it. Every year that goes by our level of education in the U.S. increases. They now offer classes in high school that were offered in college when I was going to school. My nephews talk about the classes they are in and I gasp. Algebra II and Geometry II were some of the more advanced classes when I went to school. Now they are learning Advanced Calculus and Physics? How then can the President say we need to become MORE educated? Especially when the jobs they are sending over seas require no more than a high school education. The average family (one man one woman 1.5 children and a dog) needs two incomes to make it these days and those jobs continue to vanish. The president is obviously out of touch with middle America.

[Marnie]

I have a friend in "higher education," and from what she tells me, students are coming into college ignorant. It is one thing for teachers to teach so that a student can pass a mandatory test, but that by no means indicates that the student has learned anything. Learning is more than the ability to puke up facts on command. Learning is knowing how to think critically and apply the facts you have learned. Many college grads dont have a clue how to work the system, ie. get a well paying job. It is inconceiveable to me that we can have people with a Master's level education who work for minimum wage in this country! I fault the education system and parents who are clueless. In once sense, Bush is right. Our young people need to learn more than just facts.

[Christ's Free Servant]

I have a friend in "higher education," and from what she tells me, students are coming into college ignorant. It is one thing for teachers to teach so that a student can pass a mandatory test, but that by no means indicates that the student has learned anything. Learning is more than the ability to puke up facts on command. Learning is knowing how to think critically and apply the facts you have learned. Many college grads dont have a clue how to work the system, ie. get a well paying job. It is inconceiveable to me that we can have people with a Master's level education who work for minimum wage in this country! I fault the education system and parents who are clueless. In once sense, Bush is right. Our young people need to learn more than just facts.

I am a 56 yr old woman who has returned to college after 30 years away from school (2002) and I can attest to what Marnie is saying here. I sit alongside these young people who are just out of high school, and I am amazed at not only their lack of knowledge, but their lack of concern about learning. Most are there just so they can get a job, and they really don't care if they learn anything. As long as they pass the class, that's ok, and many of the instructors help them to continue to be ignorant by making tests too easy, giving them extended periods of time to complete assignments after deadlines, etc. I had one teacher who gave out the tests and the answers ahead of time and they were multiple choice, so basically all we had to do was memorize A, B, C, etc. and we passed. We were supposed to write a term paper, but she didn't even check to see that most people did it. People still got A's. We have put so much emphasis on grades that people are not learning. South Carolina rates pretty low in the nation for education, so the teachers do everything they can to help the students get good grades on tests, because then it looks like they are learning something when they are not. I just see a pretty wide margin of apathy among the students, too. They come to class unprepared, they don't participate in class discussions, and they can not even regurgitate the basics from the first chapter of the book. And, they act as if one of the easiest tests I have taken at that school is SO hard. I heard one student say he did not bother to study for it, and sadly enough, that is more the norm than I would like to admit.

But, on the plus side, there are many good educators there who work really hard to help the students get a good education, they will spend lots of one on one time with them, and will help them with anything from A to Z because they are committed to the students learning. And, the school also provides a very practical education (2 yr college) rather than just theory, that you often get with a 4 year college. So, it has many, many good things, too. I am just concerned that so many students just want to get a grade so they can get a degree so they can get a job and they don't really care if they are learning anything.

[Catsmeow]

All this week on ABC world news at 6, they've been doing a special on "India"...and outsourcing. American companies are sending jobs normally reserved for American workers out to India because they can hire Indians to do customer service and accounting jobs CHEAPER than American workers.

Think this won't hurt the economy when college kids get out and find there's no jobs left for them?

OUTSOURCING......American jobs sent overseas.....they win, we lose. Thank you, Mr. President.

[Sadat13]

I really dont believe there is a problem of a lack of educational opportunities out there, or that our children need to be "more" educated. I believe the problem is that the school system has no interest in the "passions" of our children. My son is one of those children who has always been in the "Gate" program because of his giftedness. His first year of High School I literally had to push the Principal to let him out of one of the higher education classes they had him in. His schedule was so bogged down with classes that had nothing to do with where his passion lies and everything to do with what would make the school look "better". I think alot of kids are giving up on school because the expectations for them are set so high that they just bow out and dont even try. What in the world has happened to the "arts" in the schools, the "personal interest" clubs, "shop" etc. Will the "advanced" and "gifted" programs help the young men and women out there that have a gift in music, acting, mechanics, art, etc. Instead of "more" education or sending jobs to another country I think the work needs to be done in our schools to put the "passions" of all our children back in. Maybe, just maybe if our children have something they enjoy doing while in school they will put more into the classes they dont necessarily enjoy because they feel better about themselves. Maybe they will feel like someone cares about their interests and not just the interests of how the school "rates". Can you tell I am passionate about this subject?....

[Marnie]

Sadat, we are in agreement there. Does anybody wonder why more and more parents and yanking their kids out of government schools and homeschooling them or opting for private school? I also agree in opportunities, but, again, both kids and parents need to be "educated" on how to access these opportunities.

I was fortunate, I was in private schools all my life. Mom and Dad sacrificed a lot to put me there, and I am eternally greatful. But they thought enough to invest money and time in me. Dad never made tons of money, by the way, but his daughter was his priority. I guess it all starts in the home.

[Guest nofear]

Hey how about outsourcing the Presidents job? I sure it would be a lot cheaper for America.

Slave labor that is all it is. Slavery good old American style.

What makes me upset about this practice is; If this practice is so okay, why do they make the people adobt American names.

These people can't even afford to buy the products they are answering the phones for?

[Marnie]

Neither can american teens who work in a fast food store afford to buy the fast food with their own earned money, its too expensive...

Yeah, but they can all drive late model cars, have a TV and cable in their rooms and an iPod. Dont tell me US teens are suffering because low skill, low pay jobs are going overseas. With an unemployment rate lower than ever, I dont see cause for concern.

If you think a number 3 meal at Mcdonalds is expensive, you have got problems.

[O'Dannyboy]

low pay jobs are going overseas

I beg to differ. Most of the jobs that have gone over seas have not been "low paying", at least not when they were held by Americans. As far as I have seen these jobs have been techinical and customer support possitions as well as manufacturing jobs, none of which would be considered minimum wage jobs.

[Marnie]

low pay jobs are going overseas

As far as I have seen these jobs have been techinical and customer support possitions as well as manufacturing jobs, none of which would be considered minimum wage jobs.

Customer support jobs are not low paying?? Wow, I need to change careers if that's the case. I didn't say "minimum wage jobs," I said "low skill, low pay jobs."