BUSINESS AND SCHOOLS COOPERATE FOR SOLUTIONS

An interesting study was released last week concerning the relationship between education and business, particularly the "product" schools turn out in comparison with the "need" of potential employers. What it points to a significant and deepening relationship that is developing between these two entities, whose interests are essentially the same: the adequate preparation of young people for life outside the classroom.

The survey of 2,500 high school principals and 2,500 small businesses was conducted by the National Alliance of Business. What may be surprising about the results is that the educators and business people generally agreed about the readiness (that is, the deficiencies) of non-college-bound students to enter the job market.

Not all the results were heartening. Only 29 percent of employers thought graduates know enough math, 19 percent thought graduates have good writing skills and just 27 percent felt that the graduates' reading was up to par. The educators answered these same questions with only slightly more optimism. None of this should be perceived as a slam of educators, but rather an infusion of reality and a refreshing agreement between business and school interests. If they can agree on the problems, maybe some agreement can come on solutions.

It would be easy enough for educators to resist the concept of allowing business owners input in structuring curriculums. While we want school administrators to keep a firm hand on the teaching process, we believe the counsel of the business community should be embraced by educators. These two groups should work more closely. If business expectations are unreasonable or if the output of schools is unacceptable, a resolution can grow from the cooperation. The winners would be the students, who would be better trained for the job market, and the business owners, who would get better employees.