The Power of Belief

Today I stumbled across an MDRC school reform evaluation that explores the relationship between student engagement and perceived academic competence on achievement in reading and mathematics. The findings suggest that engagement in school and students’ perception of their own academic competence influence achievement in mathematics. So remember those cool teachers you had who acted like you might actually amount to something? Those are the folks who are key to student development. "The earlier schools and teachers begin to build students’ confidence in their ability to do well, the better off students will be. Teachers whom students see as supportive and who set clear expectations about behavior help create an atmosphere in which students feel in control and confident about their ability to succeed in future educational endeavors." Read more...

The Grit Factor

Penn researcher, Angela Lee Duckworth tells us that intellectual superstars aren't successful just because they're smart -- it's because they've got "grit" or persistence. In a study of West Point freshman cadets, Duckworth found that grit predicted successful completion of their summer training program. Grit beat out high school class rank, SAT scores, athletic achievement, community leadership experience and faculty appraisals. Can we teach grit or is success limited to obsessive compulsives? Duckworth and other researchers suggest that it's time to teach persistence and help kids understand how to overcome obstacles. Another strong suggestion is to the parents. "The most important thing parents can do to help kids succeed is to guide them in finding whatever it is they can love over the long haul." Read more...

Sunday TV: People Do Matter

This Sunday, Jon Delano aired a segment about the "People Do Matter" initiative. People Do Matter recognizes companies for outstanding accomplishments in human resources, training and organizational development. View the video clip here... Learn more about PDM (nominate an organization!) here...

Tough School-to-Work Question

"How can you have a successful school-to-work program if there's not enough room in the curriculum for kids to earn any real technical certification?" Jay Matthews poses this and other tough questions for Chris Peters, who coordinates Advancement via Individual Determination, at Cajon High School in San Bernadino, Calif. Read more here...

About the Region

Usually I try to post information about career education and workforce development but I just have to say a few words about my favorite blog -- http://pittsblog.blogspot.com/. While I don't always agree with his conclusions, Mike Madison does a great job exploring issues of regional concern. It's refreshing to see someone challenge popular points of view without just being a nay-sayer. Check it out...

College Illiteracy

It's no secret that most Americans believe that obtaining a college degree is a key to success. Here at HCPI we often shock people by reporting on how few students graduate in 6 years (about 50%). Now there's more upsetting news -- many students at college lack complex literacy skills. The study reports that more than half of students at four-year schools and more than 3/4 of students at two year schools "lack the skills to perform complex literacy tasks." This means that our college kids can't comprehend a newspaper editorial or compare credit card offers. Read more online...

Jobs You Can't Do Without

This article from workforce.com discusses the value of identifying positions that directly produce revenue, reach customers or encompass skills. The identification of these positions can help a company differentiate itself from rivals and better allocate resources. Here in SWPA, some forward-thinking organizations are already working hard to identify pivotal talent.