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Hiring signs are everywhere, but Wall Street isn’t betting on huge job gains in May
Lots of companies are trying to hire, but not everyone is ready to go back to work. Getty Images Once burned twice shy, the saying goes. That sums up the shrunken expectations on how quickly the U.S. will recover 8 million jobs still missing from the pandemic. Just a few months ago, most economists believed the U.S. would start adding up to one million new jobs a month during the summer as coronavirus cases waned and businesses were allowed to fully reopen. Then came the disappointing April employment report. The U.S. gained a paltry 266,000 new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis — well below the 1 million forecast. Wall…
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Online learning at home isn’t going away next school year
Monica Spydell never would have thought to enroll her second-grade daughter in online classes before the pandemic. But after schools closed and forced her family and others into distance learning, Spydell was surprised to see Sierra, who attends Torrey Pines Elementary in La Jolla, thriving in online learning. A talkative girl, Sierra was speaking up frequently in Zoom classes and still had a love for learning, even though it was online, her mother said. Now Spydell plans to keep Sierra in online learning next year, even though San Diego Unified intends to offer full-time, in-person learning at all its schools next fall. Spydell says she worries about Sierra’s health if…
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The U.S. Education System Isn’t Giving Students What Employers Need
There’s a direct disconnect between education and employability in the U.S., where employers view universities and colleges as the gatekeepers of workforce talent, yet those same institutions aren’t prioritizing job skills and career readiness. This not only hurts employers, but also sets the average American worker up for failure before they’ve even begun their career, as new employees who have been hired based on their four-year educational background often lack the actual skills needed to perform in their role. To create change as an industry, we must provide greater credibility to alternate education paths that allow students to gain employable skills. Now is the time for employers to increase credibility for skills-based…
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Why shift to homeschooling in pandemic isn’t working for many families
What do gymnast Simone Biles, writers Agatha Christie and Jorge Luis Borges, and architect Antoni Gaudí have in common? They were all homeschooled, for reasons varying from health, parents’ need to travel, parents’ preferences, or their specific learning needs. Their success as adults makes clear that homeschooling can be effective, but their unique stories also point to two necessary conditions: A reason that makes homeschooling the best option for the student combined with the right resources. The number of families homeschooling their children has surged in the past year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. An EdWeek Research Center survey of parents last fall found that 9{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1} of parents who did not homeschool their children last school year…
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Remote Learning Isn’t Just for Kids
Virtual learning has become “the great equalizer,” said Gene O’Neill, the chief executive of the North American Veterinary Community, which provides continuing education for veterinarians around the world. “Because of virtual learning, veterinary professionals everywhere, even in remote, undeveloped countries, can learn from the world’s most renowned leaders and virtually participate in conferences,” he said. “This puts learning on an equal platform for everyone regardless of geography, income or time constraints.” Ms. Livingston’s goal was to improve her skills so she could become a paid teacher on the GetSetUp platform, which offers classes — all taught via Zoom by teachers older than 50 — on skills from professional development to…
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Quitting isn’t your only option.
Few people are as knee-deep in our work-related anxieties and sticky office politics as Alison Green, who has been fielding workplace questions for a decade now on her website Ask a Manager. In Direct Report, she spotlights themes from her inbox that help explain the modern workplace and how we could be navigating it better. I’ve always received a lot of letters from people who hate their jobs and want to leave, but since the pandemic started, a sizable portion of those people feel they have no way out. The job market makes them pessimistic about their chances of landing a new position, and with so many layoffs, they worry that…
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When it comes to NYC special education, what’s working and what isn’t?
Since the pandemic upended New York City’s public school system in March, thousands of students have not received legally mandated special education services like counseling, physical therapy and learning accommodations. THE CITY and Chalkbeat New York have reported on many of the challenges parents and teachers are experiencing as they try to navigate a school system that’s reached a new level of crisis. Our coverage has been driven by hearing from many of the parents, teachers, administrators and advocates working within this system as best they can. We want to better understand not just the issues, but how the community is dealing with unprecedented challenges. In our most recent questionnaire,…
Skillful education crafters
