Pay more attention to skilled trade training

The debate about education continues in North Carolina, especially with the current reductions imposed by the General Assembly in its 2011 session. I have heard all the debates and through them it has become evident that North Carolina is missing a great opportunity in education.

The debates have covered secondary education (K-12 college prep) and college education very well. What has been left out of the discussion is education of the skilled trades – machinist, mechanic, furniture maker, electrician, electronic technician, nursing/aide, etc.

Somewhere along the line, we need to consider the skilled trades as a viable education path for many of our students, especially those in high school. Our community colleges do a great job in responding to the needs of business after the needs have been identified. What we need beyond that is proactive training of our high school students and those that have graduated but do not have marketable skills beyond that of unskilled laborer.

Not all students are college material. There are those among us that would better fit within the skilled trades. It is time that our high schools had more intensified skilled trades programs to help prepare those that would better fit within the skilled trades. Our education system in the K-12 arenas should consider intensifying the dual track system especially within the skilled trades training area.

The high schools I attended in the late 1950s and early 1960s had dual systems. The student chose their track when they entered the ninth grade. Some went the college track which meant tougher courses in math, science, and languages. Those that chose the skilled trade area took courses in math and science that would more fit the skilled trade fields. They then had intensified vocational training at either the high school or the local vocational technical institute, today’s community college.

I believe many of our dropouts would be in school today if there was an intensified skilled trades program within the high school system. There are many skilled trades that would still require education beyond a high school program. Many businesses have training requirements could be met at the high school level; especially when training started at the 9th or 10th grade.

In this time of a downed economy there are still tens of thousands of openings throughout the United States for skilled tradesmen. We should be training our students to fill those vacancies. Our education system has given us mainly two types of graduates; the professional (college educated) and the unskilled. It is time we stopped looking at the skilled trades with disapproval and started to fill the void of skilled tradesmen.

Ray Shamlin
Nash County

Media mantras are demonstrably wrong

Alas, Lee Brinson ("Studies: CNN, NPR Get It Right") is clearly a product of the liberal state-run media he seeks to support. In trying to discredit Fox News, Mr. Brinson relies on the same tired mainstream media mantras that are demonstrably wrong. Mr. Brinson's assertion that "WMD had not been found in Iraq" is belied by the DOD's National Ground Intelligence Center report that the US has recovered "approximately 500 weapons munitions which contain degraded mustard and sarin nerve agent," not to mention many labs to produce toxins.

Can you imagine the result of Al Qaida's introducing a small amount of sarin into the AC systems of the Twin Towers?

Further, Mr. Brinson's contention that Obamacare does not cover illegal aliens is refuted by the Congressional Research Service statement (they apparently read the 2,500-page bill) that "HR3200 does not contain any restrictions on non-citizens..." No proof of citizenship is required to participate.

The mainstream media liberal bias is demonstrated much more by omission than by commission. They simply accept what Mr. Obama and Democratic leaders say as the truth and do not investigate or challenge it, repeating it over and over. If Mr. Brinson listens only to NPR, CNN, and liberal think-tank studies, it does not surprise me that he is unaware of the truth.

Mr. Brinson is simply the desired by-product of our mainstream media’s conversion to the Big Lie School of Journalism. Curse you, Fox News!

J.V. Fitzsimmons
Hickory