Education
Archived article from Oct 1, 1999
How will teaching and learning change as the new millennium unfolds? Several Rutgers experts look at various aspects of this question as it relates to technological innovations, urban centers, future careers and our pocketbooks.
Interviews by Douglas Frank
Urban education Jean Anyon, associate professor of education, FAS-Newark
Unless the poverty in which many urban schools are embedded is reduced, city classrooms of the future may look very much like they look today:
--populated by students who often are hungry, who rarely see a doctor and whose families do not always have the resources to pay rent or buy warm winter clothing;
--in buildings so old the plumbing cannot be fixed or the classrooms wired for computers;
--taught by teachers who must make do without technology, relevant curriculum materials or sufficient training in new teaching techniques.
This scenario can be avoided if, along with realistic school reform, we see meaningful reform in low-income urban neighborhoods, including the creation of significant numbers of jobs with decent wages, the implementation of realistic job preparation and the provisions of adequate health care.
Achieving equity William A. Firestone, professor of education policy at the Graduate School of Education
The issue of financing education in New Jersey is not about money, because it's one of the wealthier states in the country. According to "Quality Counts '99," a publication of Education Week, New Jersey tops the list of states in per pupil spending and gets an "A." On the other hand, when it comes to spending equity among districts in the state, New Jersey is decidedly in the middle of the pack.
The issue for New Jersey is not raw amounts of money. It's the way it's distributed among the richer and poorer districts in the state. Equity has improved somewhat over what it had been in the early 1990s, when Abbott vs. Burke mandated greater equity among school districts.
So, for the next decade and beyond we'll have to answer these three questions: Can equalized spending be achieved and maintained? Can we provide guidance to school districts on how to spend their money effectively to help kids learn? What do we need to do, besides changing funding formulas, to assure that immigrant, non-English-speaking students learn what they should be learning? These questions go beyond financial issues to a huge issue of political will.
Lifelong learning Raphael Caprio, vice president of continuous education and outreach
Rapidly changing instructional technology has begun to provide faculty with many more tools for innovative instruction. The classrooms of the future, therefore, will need to incorporate a very rich set of teaching resources that could be used by faculty in a wide range of disciplines. Faculty using these new technologies will find innovative ways to involve the learner in a more participatory learning process than the more traditional "sage on the stage."
One thing that we'll have to adapt to quickly is the changing demands on professionals. For instance, thousands of people have jobs as brokers. But as online trading increases, the demand for telephone solicitation is likely to decrease as individuals assume greater responsibility for their own investments. This could lead to significant employment shifts in that industry in the next five years. And this could happen in any profession.
Professions will change, evolve, and possibly erode and be replaced by others. Projections are that those graduating now will change jobs seven times in their careers. This will create an enormous need for lifelong education.
Career preparation
Richard L. White, director of career services
The entry-level job market is very strong, particularly for technical and business majors. Employers are looking for computer-science majors, electrical engineers and the other hot major -- management science and information systems (MSIS), which combines business education with computer expertise.
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