When Bob Dylan wrote Blowin’ in the Wind in 1962 the country was in the midst of unrest. We were on the brink of a nuclear war with Russia over Cuba and America was beginning to show a military presence in Southeast Asia. James Meredith became the first African American student to enter the University of Mississippi as National Guard troops and US Marshalls were called out to extinguish a campus riot.
Over 50 years later we are still grappling with issues whose answers continue to elude us. In Mississippi, despite the overwhelming proof that early education is the most effective economic development strategy for developing a skilled workforce for the 21st Century, it appears leaders in our state “turn their heads and pretend they just don’t see” . This message has been screamed from the highest rooftops across the state and, again, how many times are Mississippians going to turn their heads and pretend they just don’t see?
Local leaders do have the vision to recognize the number of skilled workers for living wage jobs are not keeping pace with the number of jobs available. It is a situation of a job looking for a worker, which is not the position any economic development organization chooses. Currently, the Mississippi Department of Job Security reports that as of August 2017, 64,700 people are unemployed. On a county by county basis that is translated to a rate of 3.5 to 14.9 . The question begs to be asked-Why?
In addition to the unemployment rate reported, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the percentage of Mississippi workers earning at or below the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is 6.2 percent. This places the state near the bottom of the rankings of hourly wages paid when compared to other states. Again, the question begs to be asked-Why? Both of these statistics do not bode well for the immediate future and certainly not the long-term one.
Job training programs at community colleges across the state are striving to develop the workers we need, but until a prospective worker can demonstrate competency in reading, which is different than reading proficiency as it is currently being measured in the state, and executive function skills which allow a person to organize and manipulate information upon which to act appropriately in the workplace, they are not suited to succeed in a high tech job. The job training program for the development of those skills begins with children shortly after birth and according to Professor James Heckman the rate of return on the investment is at 13 percent.
If the current wisdom among leaders in the state is to invest in job training, then quoting Bob Dylan, “how many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?”. I guess it is as he says…the answer is blowin’ in the wind.
By Dr. Cathy Grace
Tags: early childhood education, heckman equation