Matching Michigan's Educational System to the World's Economic Needs

The Economy of the Past and Education

I was raised during the 1960s and 70s in the small mid-Michigan town of Owosso, which served as home to countless workers connected to the auto industry. It is safe to say that I am a product of the “American Dream” courtesy of our manufacturing industry. My father has been a vendor connected to the “Big Three” automakers for 47 years. Industry opportunities and my parents’ efforts provided us a moderate ranch house, a small cottage up north, a yearly vacation to Florida—to visit someplace ending in “World”—a college education for me and my sister, as well as many other amenities of our middle to upper-middle class existence. With Bob Seger’s “Still the Same” on the eight-track in my father’s Ford, life was rarely bad, normally good, and often very good. The auto industry was our golden goose, and there seemed to be plenty of eggs to go around.

Then it happened. I guess in today’s terms we would say that not enough preventative medicine was practiced on that golden goose. We had a “Type A” goose in danger of being burned out and out-performed. We have been driving the car hard without paying any attention to the gauges. As the automobile industry offered a good paying, secure job—and required little-to-no education after high school—educational preparation was not prioritized or mandated by all parents, schools, and policymakers.

Find A Solution

The first, and many times most difficult, hurdle for those of us in education is publicly admitting that education has not kept up with the changing times. The data is overwhelming. A large percent of students are struggling at the post-secondary level; a necessary step in training workers for our current economy.* Obviously, academic preparation in high school plays a role in that equation.

Although there are certainly pockets of successful students in districts across our state, undeniably far too many students take “soft” academic subjects in high school and follow the path of least resistance when it comes to academic rigor.* As a member of the High School Redesign Task Force assigned to recommend curriculum reforms, I have acknowledged that today’s preparation at the secondary level is not acceptable for our global economy. The same holds true for our K-8 system and post-secondary institutions. The high school proposal recently adopted by the Michigan State Board of Education addresses the fact that high school reform will travel backwards to early childhood education and forward to post-secondary education experiences, eventually encompassing our entire K-16 system.

The High School Redesign Task Force collectively agreed to focus on solutions rather than blame. School leaders strive for positive perceptions of our schools. However, we can gain credibility by strategically admitting selective shortcomings and committing to needed improvements.

Remain Flexible

As details of the high school redesign proposal have become wider known, some consistent “hot spots” need discussion. Regarding local control, it was always the philosophy of the task force to deal with the “what” and leave the “how” to the local districts. Whether a student is pursuing a college and Career and Technical Education (CTE) or college track, the necessary skill sets are the same. The task force also agreed that neither the Carnegie Unit (a measurement of time a student has studied a subject; see Glossary) nor the traditional school model were going away soon, so the proposal should incorporate flexibility. Under the State Board of Education’s proposal, local districts will continue to grant credit, design courses based on a core curriculum, plan course sequencing, design assessment, determine grading, and more. The proposed Michigan Merit Core Curriculum offers great flexibility around targets designed to better prepare students for today’s workplace.

Regarding the increased mathematics recommendation, the task force believes schools should offer a standard mathematics curriculum that allows students to move through at various paces. Four years of substantive math is better than two years of watered-down alternatives offering little future relevance.

Teachers must become transformational leaders and will be our best hope to affect lasting change. We know from the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) that assessment can and will drive instruction; the proposed graduation requirements, along with the forthcoming high school content expectations (HSCE), offer potential for helping students achieve excellence in their futures.

Change of this magnitude can be frightening, but education must adapt to changing times. Driving my two elementary aged sons home from sports practice recently, I was thinking about their future when my son turned on the radio. It wasn’t an eight-track tape, or Seger blaring through the speakers of my Ford, but Bob Dylan reminding us again how “the times they are a changing…” Please remember, it will be our efforts that help achieve the goal of reinventing the American dream in Michigan.

For more information, contact: Mark C. Thomas, Principal, Northview High School, 4451 Hunsberger N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49525, (616) 365-6122, fax (616) 361-3494.

Mark Thomas is a principal of Northview High School in Grand Rapids and currently serves as president of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP). The mission of the MASSP is to promote excellence in school leadership by serving, supporting, and raising recognition of its members and on their behalf, advocating education system improvements for the benefit of students, teachers, principals, and schools throughout Michigan. For more information, visit www.michiganprincipals.org.

* Measuring the College-Readiness of Michigan Students from ACT®, www.act.org, and the American Diploma Project from Achieve, www.achieve.org.

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