For many years, including my time as a teacher, an education policy advisor, in the private sector working with business and industry leaders, as a deputy superintendent, and again now as I am traveling throughout the State, I hear the true drivers of our economy express concern about providing soft skills training to our students. With unemployment in some counties in the Palmetto State as low as 4.9%, some businesses still lack qualified applicants to fill positions. This prohibits economic development and prosperity for our State and reflects a skills gap that has to concern us. When I speak with business leaders and college professors I all too often hear that their employees and students are not successful because they lack the soft skills that distinguish successful individuals from those who struggle to excel in today's economy. These skills capture behaviors such as being on time, listening before speaking, being responsible for work assigned, and working independently. These skills are attributes that aren't measured on standardized tests. They can all, however, make the difference between getting and keeping a job or being successful in the independent learning environment of higher education.
It is my position that we need to place greater emphasis on equipping high school graduates with the soft skills they need to be successful as adults.
As Superintendent of Education, I will work to make sure that there is space in our schools for the teaching and growing of the soft skills that we do not now adequately address. Our school year cannot be so crammed with exhaustive lists that there is neither time nor energy left for modeling, practicing, and refining the behaviors that will allow our schools to be strong contributors to our State's workforce development. I would like a new way of thinking about accountability, one where schools are accountable for each student's preparedness. This will necessitate that we rethink what we measure, reallocate resources, and allow school and district leaders to use the time that our children are in our schools differently.
Our schools cannot do this alone. We will need to engage business and community leadership in order to fully address the challenges we face in ensuring that children are prepared for what they will face when they graduate from our schools.
It is my position that we need to place greater emphasis on equipping high school graduates with the soft skills they need to be successful as adults.
As Superintendent of Education, I will work to make sure that there is space in our schools for the teaching and growing of the soft skills that we do not now adequately address. Our school year cannot be so crammed with exhaustive lists that there is neither time nor energy left for modeling, practicing, and refining the behaviors that will allow our schools to be strong contributors to our State's workforce development. I would like a new way of thinking about accountability, one where schools are accountable for each student's preparedness. This will necessitate that we rethink what we measure, reallocate resources, and allow school and district leaders to use the time that our children are in our schools differently.
Our schools cannot do this alone. We will need to engage business and community leadership in order to fully address the challenges we face in ensuring that children are prepared for what they will face when they graduate from our schools.
