Trends and Impressions
The purpose of this chapter is to delineate and summarize, in an
anecdotal way, the important issues in mathematics education raised by
this project. The authors shot more than three hours of video of eight
major industries and businesses in Macon, Smith, Sumner, and Trousdale
counties. We surveyed fifty other area industries by mail, and spoke extensively
with more than forty people -- from those who direct the fate of their
companies to those who simply do its bidding. The following trends emerged,
unanimously.
Growing Sophistication of Entry Level Jobs
At R.R. Donnelly and Sons Company, a printing business,
entry level jobs used to revolve around the loading of printed materials
onto trucks. The company is now moving toward the use of robots to do this
task. In the near future, an entry level person will have to have the skill
necessary to operate robotic machinery. There will still be entry level
jobs in the future, but they will, in the words of one supervisor, require
"more brains and less brawn." Several representatives said that it only
makes sense for companies to eliminate as many unskilled positions as possible.
This means that those who have good mathematics skills will stand a better
chance of being employed.
More Mathematics Means More Money
The authors asked each management person if taking
more mathematics courses translated into making more money. All emphatically
said yes. Machines are the life blood of any industry, and they must be
reliable if the company is to make a profit. Those who keep those machines
running have some mathematical know how and, as one human resource director
put it, are not "afraid of a little math." These people are also at the
top of the pay scale. As far as advancement goes, passing a mathematics
test is often the key to a promotion even if mathematics is not used extensively
in the job being sought. (One such test is found in Appendix D.) One of
the continuing refrains heard on this project was the desire for employees
who are "teachable." Although educators and learning theorists may debate
just what it is that makes someone "teachable" or "trainable," many employers
in the industrial sector think they know what it is -- a solid background
in mathematics.
Problem Solving Above All
What do those people engaged in industrial technology
consider to be a solid background in mathematics? Specifically, they mentioned
ratios, percentages, percents, reading an SPC chart, algebra, and especially
word problems. More than one industry representative spoke at length about
the value of "thinking through a process." People in technology need to
solve problems almost on a daily basis. These problems all come as words
and have some context. It is not enough to be able to find eight percent
of a number. What really matters is to be able to analyze a problem and
to determine that calculating eight percent of the number is the correct
thing to do in a given situation. Everyone interviewed thought that algebra,
with its "story problems," served to develop this type of problem solving
skill that is highly valued on the job. One human resource director stated
that although he "suffered through two semesters of statistics and calculus,"
he can now see the secondary benefit of that experience in his current
job.
Working in Groups
Not only should someone in the technological industries be able to
solve problems, but he or she should be able to coordinate his or her efforts
with fellow workers. In industry, there is complete faith in the "team
concept." Many companies have eliminated a great deal of middle management.
This means that people on a production line develop their own budget, troubleshoot
glitches in the process, and generally solve their own problems. This is
true of the health care industry as well. All of the health care professionals
interviewed on this project saw themselves as part of a team that diagnoses
a problem and develops a solution. This idea has obvious implications for
the mathematics classroom. Getting four or five students to actively participate
together in the solution of a "story problem" could accurately simulate
the future for at least two of them.
Not Everybody Becomes a Doctor or a Lawyer or; There is Life With Less Than a Bachelor’s Degree
There are good jobs in industry. Unfortunately many students in high school and college are unaware of them. Many of the representatives talked about the fact that they never saw themselves in their current jobs. One of the most frequent reasons they gave for that was that they did not know that the job existed. One person in the road paving business stated that there was definitely a lucrative future in it for a young person. It is perceived by many young people as just the opposite. Paving roads does involve being out in all types of weather and is not a white collar job.
The good news is that there are many jobs in technological and health
care industries with excellent prospects. None of these jobs require a
bachelor’s degree. They do require some specialized post-secondary training,
and mathematics is a vital component of that training. There are many two-year
programs in the health care industry, for example, which produce registered
nurses, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, and MRI technicians
to name just a few. In the manufacturing and technology sectors there is
a need for various types of technicians and engineering assistants who
can receive their training in programs such as the Bosch program described
elsewhere in this document.
Industry is Committed to Lifelong Learning
Every industry interviewed for this project had some
type of incentive program for employees to continue their education. Employment
in technology and health care is not a stagnant condition. One does not
simply "go to work at the factory" and cease to learn new things. Industry
is increasingly doing more training of its own and in partnership with
nearby community colleges and vocational schools. Old jobs are being eliminated
and new jobs created at a rapid pace. The new jobs require more sophistication.
This means more mathematics and computer skills. Very often an employee
can receive tuition reimbursement if he or she takes courses that improve
job performance and earns a grade of C or better.
Not everyone is able to go to college immediately after high school
or go to law, medical, nursing, or engineering school immediately after
college. Why not take advantage of opportunities that exist in industry
and technology for those with a good mathematical background? Jobs in technology
can pay much better than minimum wage and can provide more money to pay
for further education. Job experience in industry is valuable to anyone
no matter what their ultimate profession may be.
Tangent Issues
There were several issues that the authors came across
in this project that, while not within the strict scope of the grant, bear
some discussion here and are set forth below.
Computer Skills and the Graphing Calculator
Whenever representatives discussed the need for mathematics skills,
they always emphasized the importance of computer skills as well. However,
they regarded the graphing calculator with bemusement if at all. On the
job, whatever cannot be done with a scientific calculator is done with
computer software. Although a convenient tool for the classroom teacher
and a subject of some controversy as to its proper use, the graphing calculator
is viewed by people in the industries as a non-essential tool.
Women Should Take More Mathematics
Many people still think of industry and technology
as a man’s game. This is not so. Every woman interviewed stated that she
was either glad that she took four years of mathematics in high school
or that she was sorry that she did not. There are job opportunities for
women in all of the industries surveyed in this project. The authors even
spoke to a woman who operates heavy machinery for road paving, and she
expressed a great deal of job satisfaction. All of the women interviewed
told the authors to encourage young women to take every mathematics course
possible.
Mathematical Skill is not Everything
Every supervisor and human resource director spoke repeatedly of the need for prospective employees to develop interpersonal and communication skills. These skills are the most important of all. Even a mathematics prodigy is not as useful to a company if he or she cannot communicate well with co-workers and supervisors.
Teachers Make a Difference
Many representatives expressed gratitude to their former teachers. One engineer remembered his fourth-grade teacher using flash cards to teach the multiplication tables. One supervisor remembered a business mathematics teacher for the way that he taught percentage using base, rate, and portion -- a method he still uses today on the job. An emergency medical technician remembered her mathematics teacher’s patience with those who were having a hard time. She also remembered how clearly her algebra teacher wrote equations on the board. Even in the small things that teachers do they influence students, sometimes far more than they know. Another representative who works in advanced technology remembered those teachers who "made it (learning) fun."
...And In Conclusion
The authors hope that this project will encourage teachers, students,
and those from business and industry to communicate with each other on
a variety of topics. Of course the sharing of mathematics applications
is fundamental to this grant activity, but communication about job opportunities,
job expectations, teacher resources, job shadowing, visitation by classes
to job sites, and other such topics is also important. All of the industry
representatives that the authors spoke with encouraged teachers to bring
their classes to the job site to observe firsthand the kinds of jobs that
are available.
The authors hope that people from both business and education will
use the website created by this project to discuss shared concerns and
solve common problems.
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