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briefs schools
on work needs
By SHARON KILPATRICK
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
John Wirt of the U.S. Department of Labor told the School Board Tuesday night that the workplace requires workers with more than the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic.
He noted that while the gross national product and the number of jobs has continued to grow, productivity and wages have not kept pace. He noted that the difference between high-paying and low-paying jobs has increased.
As deputy director of the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), Mr. Wirt helped prepare a report on the skills needed for jobs with real earning potential. The report, “What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for America 2000,” outlines a three-part foundation and five competencies for workers.
The three-part foundation includes basic skills, reading, writing, mathematics and also listening and speaking. Also included are such “thinking skills” as creative thinking, decision making, problem solving, visualizing, knowing how to learn and reasoning. The third component consists of personal qualities such as responsibility, self-esteem, sociability, self-management and integrity.
The five competencies are the ability to organize and use resources, the ability to work with others, the ability to acquire and use information, the ability to understand and use complex systems, and the ability to
See SCHOOLS, p.A-5
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