Published: April 02, 2008 10:04 pm      

Schools chief: Educators must think globally

FAIRLEA — Searching worldwide for solutions to make West Virginia students “globally competitive,” state schools Superintendent Steven Paine told Greenbrier County business leaders Wednesday that many of the answers lie in technology-based education tools.

“We must have a laptop and (Power Point) type presentations in every high school teacher’s classroom in the state,” Paine said. “That has to happen in order to gain access to the world’s greatest resource, the Internet. Then we have to push for a laptop for every student.”

Paine was the keynote speaker for the “Power Hour” luncheon sponsored by the Greater Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce and held at the West Virginia State Fairgrounds.

Paine spoke to the group about his “Partnership for 21st Century Skills” initiative, which began in 2005 and is rooted in “preparing students for success in a global economy.”

“You can’t compare education with what’s happening in the next state anymore,” Paine said. “With globalization, many jobs are being outsourced, and the troubling trend today is even our skilled labor is also being outsourced.”

Paine, while recently doing his taxes, dialed a help-line and was connected to someone in India.

“This is the world that we live in today,” he said. “This is the challenge that our kids face.”

Paine, who will be revisiting China later this month — he first went in 2006 — said there are more English-speaking kids in China than in the United States.

Paine said Chinese students start school at 6:30 a.m. and usually don’t end until late evening, and then parents “want more for their kids” with piano lessons and the like.

“I could definitely smell the brain cells when I walked through the door,” Paine said of his visit to a Chinese school. “The biggest difference that I see is the parents and kids have a hunger to achieve that I don’t see over here.”

Paine buttressed that statement with statistics that show U.S. high school graduation rates have been stagnant for more than 20 years, while nations like South Korea have skyrocketed.

“They don’t do this on the cheap, either,” Paine said, “The South Koreans spend the most money in the world per capita on education.”

Paine said students need to be learning Chinese, Hindu and possibly Arabic languages in order to compete in the world today.

Paine, who has been nationally and international recognized for this new vision in education, said other nations are on the verge of passing, or already have surpassed, the United States in educational standards by “moving away from standardized testing.”

“A one-day test just doesn’t work anymore,” he said, leading into his main topic about partnering business and education. “The same sets of skills that business leaders and prospective employers need to be globally competitive must be taught to students.”

Paine several times referred to “connectivity” in regard to access to the Internet for students and its overall importance in education.

He said countries like Romania have placed broadband service even in the most remote areas.

Paine stressed the importance of core education skills, such as reading and writing, but also said students need business skills, which lead to “problem-solving thinking.”

“Learning the context of the world that awaits them is more than just memorizing the capitals of the U.S.,” Paine said.

Paine said the 21st century learning initiative focuses on rigorous and relevant curriculum standards, research-based instruction and emphasis on pre-K programs, as well as high technology tools.

Greenbrier County Superintendent John Curry, in his remarks to the chamber group, echoed Paine’s vision of preparing students for a global economy.

“It is our obligation and the obligation of all educators, political leaders, business leaders and all conscientious citizens to monitor and ensure we view this field of competition correctly and we have the tools and are properly using these tools to prepare our children to compete globally,” he said.

— E-mail:

cgiggenbach@register-herald.com