Lou Dobbs Pushes the Education Button
Lou Dobbs Pushes the Education Button
Date: Thursday, February 17, 2005 9:33 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
February 17, 2005 No. 1198
By now all of you by now should be able to recognize when the shills
push the education button to justify why American citizens don't
deserve the jobs that are going to the geniuses on H-1Bs that graduate
from the Indian Institute of Technology, or the jobs that are
outsourced to the well educated masses of India. You probably think I'm
going to go on another tirade against Harris Miller or Stuart Anderson
but I don't have to because this time Lou Dobbs picked up the ball for
them.
Perhaps I have come to expect too much from Lou Dobbs, but when he
starts saying things such as outsourcing our education system to India
is good for America, I just have to wonder if the shills have finally
gotten to him. Dobbs may be cracking under the pressure!
Yesterday Dobbs joined the Bushies to declare that outsourcing is good
for America. I never thought I would live to see the day. Sigh.........
DOBBS: I probably would shock some people by saying that, in this
instance, I'm not sure this is outsourcing, and, if it is, I
probably would approve of it because it gives an opportunity to
lots of people to have an access to tutoring and to improve the
education of the children. At the same time, it's a damn shame
that our schools aren't doing the job for those students in the
first place.
It gets worse though. In fact it gets so bad I'm going to give you guys
a quiz to see if you can tell who is doing the talking, Lou Dobbs or
Harris "the Shiller" Miller. The answers are at the bottom before the
Dobbs transcripts. Let me know if you guessed all of these correct.
Quiz Question Number 1: Which quote Dobbs, and which one is the
Shiller?
?????.....?????.....?????.....?????
Quote 1: [I am disappointed] in the drop off in computer science majors
in traditional four year colleges and universities that have occurred
over the past 2-3 years,
Quote 2: The number of American students now studying math, science and
engineering is on the decline, and, over the past 20 years, the number
of students graduating from American colleges with engineering degrees
is down almost 25 percent.
Quiz Question Number 2: Who is Dobbs, and who is the Shiller
?????.....?????.....?????.....?????
Quote 3: this country is losing its edge in mathematics and science.
Quote 4: our high school students test poorly on math and science tests
in relation to their counterparts in many countries that are competing
with us.
Quiz Question Number 2: Who is Dobbs, and who is the Shiller
?????.....?????.....?????.....?????
Quote 5: It's not like we woke up and learned Russia had put a
satellite into space, which back then sparked a national initiative on
science education. This time [snipped a clue] the threat has snuck up
on us quietly, and we have yet to recognize that, in fact, it's upon
us.
Quote 6: Many tech firms say these ups and downs hide the real problem:
the poor quality of U.S. math and science education. The USA is falling
behind rivals because kindergarten through 12th-grade math and science
classes don't prepare students for college. That means many students
choose other majors. China, for example, graduates about five times as
many engineers as the USA.
Quiz Answers
Quote 1: Harris Miller - "ITAA's Miller on Outsourcing's Impact on Tech
Sector", President, Information Technology Association of America,
Tuesday, March 30, 2004; 11:00 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14645-2004Mar22.html
Quote 2: Lou Dobbs 2/17/2005
Quote 3: Lou Dobbs 2/17/2005
Quote 4: Harris Miller (same as 1)
Quote 5: This wasn't a fair question because Lou Dobbs didn't say that.
His anchor Bill Tucker did. I apologize for being so tricky!
Quote 6: This isn't quite fair either, but I just wanted to make sure
that everyone flunked my quiz (he!he!). Actually this quote was from
Intel CEO Craig Barrett. This proves Harris ain't the only shiller
around!
U.S. tech firms hire more foreigners here, too
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-11-28-hb-1_x.htm?POE=click-refer
In conclusion: I'll have to disagree with Lou Dobbs when he said,
"Thank you. Excellent report, Bill". They both have done much, much
better! In fact, this is one of their crummiest series of shows yet.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0502/17/ldt.01.html
DOBBS: And as Senator Kennedy spoke, globalization and the challenge to
future generations in this country, our special report "Culture in
Decline," why the United States is now losing its edge in mathematics,
science and engineering and how that threatens not only our prosperity,
but our national security, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, in our special report "Culture in Decline," this
country is losing its edge in mathematics and science. The number of
American students now studying math, science and engineering is on the
decline, and, over the past 20 years, the number of students graduating
from American colleges with engineering degrees is down almost 25
percent.
Bill Tucker has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The most
challenging question isn't on the blackboard.
JIM SIMONS, PRESIDENT, MATH FOR AMERICA: I can't find Americans. That
is, the majority of the people that I've hired in the last seven or
eight years, high-quality research people, are not U.S. people. They're
not born in America, and they weren't educated in America.
TUCKER: Simons has been called the world's most successful hedge fund
manager. He started Math for America last year to encourage math
teachers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The total integrand has to be continued.
TUCKER: He calls what's happening with math a crisis. Between 1995, and
2002, the number of American-born college students pursuing graduate
degrees in science and engineering fell, while at the same time foreign
grad students at U.S. colleges rose by 50 percent. More teachers with
the knowledge and a passion for the subject are key to exciting
students. DAMAN BOUYA, HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHER: I explain to them how
CDs work and how cell phones work and how trigonometry is used. Without
trigonometry or advanced trigonometry, you would not have cell phones
today, you would not have television
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all use math every day. Every day.
TUCKER: The head of the math department at the California Institute of
Technology serves as a consultant on the CBS show "Numb3rs," which
features a mathematician as the hero. He says that we not only have to
get kids excited at an early age, we also have to overcome a cultural
bias.
GARY LORDEN, CALTECH MATH DEPARTMENT CHAIR: I think the financial
rewards of working in math, science and engineering are greatly
underestimated. The idea that going into law or medicine kind of sets
you up for life is very prevalent in many parts of this country, and I
think it's an exaggeration.
TUCKER: What's at stake is simple. We've exported manufacturing. We're
increasingly exporting product design.
C.D. MOTE, JR., PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: If we lose our edge
in innovation, then it's hard for me to see how we'll maintain our
quality of life and even our national security going forward.
TUCKER: The biggest part of the problem may be that most people don't
understand there's a problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: It's not like we woke up and learned Russia had put a satellite
into space, which back then sparked a national initiative on science
education. This time, Lou, the threat has snuck up on us quietly, and
we have yet to recognize that, in fact, it's upon us.
DOBBS: Well, we haven't been too quiet on this broadcast. A lot of
people are waking up to this fact. We need to wake up to it now. The
policymakers in Washington, whether in the Senate, the Congress or the
White House, they should frankly be ashamed of the duplicity on the
issue of the importance of this and what is being done about it because
this -- they're playing literally games with future generations of this
country and the national interests.
Thank you. Excellent report, Bill.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0502/16/ldt.01.html
DOBBS: The shipment of American jobs to cheap foreign labor markets has
spread now to our nation's schools. Schools and students hoping to
boost their grades, increasingly going online for help and going
overseas to cheap labor markets.
Kitty Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And one of those you can eliminate right away,
right?
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This
fifth-grade class at Franklin School in Santa Barbara, California, gets
extra help online -- from India. It's a pilot program the school is
testing out to help students meet (r)MDNM/No Child Left Behind
requirements.
CAROLE COWAN, PRINCIPAL, FRANKLIN SCHOOL: Having to meet the
(r)MDNM/No Child Left Behind requirements was definitely something --
a reason why we considered taking advantage of this pilot. After
receiving some dismal test results, we knew that we needed to emphasize
science instruction more here at Franklin School.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So please go ahead with Number 3 here.
PILGRIM: Instruction online from India is becoming more common for
students in America and not only in the classroom. Indian company
Career Launcher offers tutoring help via the Internet for U.S.-based
students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well done. Perfect.
PILGRIM: Tutors in New Delhi work in the middle of the night to account
for the time difference.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you seen this word before?
PILGRIM: Sylvan Learning Center has been helping students get through
tough subjects with one-on-one instruction for 25 years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's ocean.
PILGRIM: They're soon going to offer that extra attention online also
with tutors based in the United States. The program starting in
response to parents and students' requests for the convenience, but
also because more students are asking for help.
WENDI THOMPSON, SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER: That increase in inquires has
just been incredible because these kids have so much more pressure on
them to perform better that they don't have the basic study skills they
need. So it's just been -- really all of our programs in general have
gone up.
PILGRIM: Educators and tutoring companies are reporting an explosion in
tutoring requests. They expect it to grow, partly because schools and
students are trying to meet the new federal guidelines, partly to fill
the void left by two working parents.
And now even the instructors can be out of the house, even thousands of
miles away, in India.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Now there are a few companies in India hoping to take
advantage of opportunities created by the (r)MDNM/No Child Left
Behind requirements. Many educators agree that there will be much
greater demand for tutoring as children and parents try to meet those
new standards -- Lou.
DOBBS: I probably would shock some people by saying that, in this
instance, I'm not sure this is outsourcing, and, if it is, I probably
would approve of it because it gives an opportunity to lots of people
to have an access to tutoring and to improve the education of the
children. At the same time, it's a damn shame that our schools aren't
doing the job for those students in the first place.
PILGRIM: I think you can say a plus and minus on it. Math is
particularly applicable for this because math skills can be translated
easily via computer. So it's very good for math, actually.
DOBBS: Fascinating story.
Thank you very much, Kitty.
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