June 29, 2010
Let’s begin today with a series of questions — questions that you should think about and answer truthfully before we talk about solutions. 1) Is your organization getting healthier? a. If applicable, is the export/import ratio shifting positively? b. Are your earnings healthier? c. Is productivity increasing? 2) What is happening to the “training function” within your organization? a. Is the traditional “student/teacher” (“lecture/reading”) relationship changing? b. Is the role of “visual...
June 24, 2010
The philosophy and aims of an educational institution are concerned with the education of the whole man — mind, body, soul and emotion — and with the realization that knowledge is unimportant without the ability to communicate and exchange it. The Harvard Report on “General Education in a Free Society” placed first in its list of objectives “training in the ability to communicate orally and writing the results of thought.” Ideally the...
June 22, 2010
We’ve all heard a lot about the lack of basic skills in America’s workforce. But, have we all read about it? Approximately 30 million Americans can’t. They can’t even read this sentence. Estimates range that up to 75 million Americans cannot read at a level that would allow them to function fully in the workplace. The numbers are staggering. And reading is not the only skill workers are lacking. Millions cannot perform...
June 17, 2010
The majority of “reading tests” today primarily measure vocabulary recognition. But, does vocabulary recognition mean very much? Of course not! The ability to form opinions from what individuals read is the only real test of reading ability — and, that depends upon reading comprehension. What are the facts today? Only 24 percent of this nation’s fourth graders are able to form opinions from what they read, and only 34 percent of our...
June 15, 2010
There’s a long standing definition of an academic lecture that goes like this, “That which passes from the notes of the professor to the notes of the student without engaging the minds of either one.” If one looks at opinion radio or watches the opinion cable networks one might restate that definition this way: “That which passes from the mouth of one person to the ears of another without engaging the minds...
June 9, 2010
We are somewhat closer today to realizing the dreams that will be made possible by online learning. However, the need for digital technology to catch up with the new learning designs required is greater today than it’s ever been. But just what are those goals and challenges facing us — and by extension, our companies, our co-workers, and our society — as we move through uncertain times to the new millennia? Certainly,...
