On Importing Talent Versus Homegrown – Like It Or Not, Parents Are the Key

Peter Johansen, Webmaster at ECH24, posted that his organization recruited “local talent” to fill a position at his company. By “local talent,” they meant a sub-continent Indian technologist, because it was only a 14-hour flight to LAX from New Dehli.

Seven years ago, I started cautioning my middle school students about jobs being hijacked by foreign workers. Now, the problem/challenge is that these seven years have proven that management of industry knows that the competitive study skills of Indian, Chinese, and other non-US workers is much more rigorous than US students. Recruiting from the Asian continent – including Russia – is commonplace, because decision-makers see the difference.

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, more talent will be flown in, in order to get the kind of focused worker needed to accelerate the growth of a company. From the standpoint of an educator, it is frustrating to see that our own students are hardly accountable under the current federal and state guidelines of Title I, and that I cannot even assign required reading, unless I provide books. In other areas, such as homework, class participation/conduct, and projects, parents have the power to complain that I am assigning work that is too difficult, and find it easy to pressure administration to lower expectations and standards.

Unfortunately we cannot have both “rock star kids” who are only interested in minimal academic achievement; and the outcome being that they can obtain any job they want. I have India-sub-continent students. They work night and day, summer and winter, and they achieve the kind of goals needed for these jobs. Their parents are the most vocal about their tracks and paths in school, and will be open to advice and guidance from educators.

The parents I encounter in my urban school from the Western Hemisphere…not so much. They vehemently defend their child as “special” or “in need of special services.” Worse, they accuse me of being too tough on their child and that “computer education and STEM” are not important, because what you teach (meaning that I am a special subject) has no bearing on whether my child graduates eighth grade.” They tell me I raise the bar too high. 

Unfortunately, many parents have not matured enough to outgrow their own childhood wishes, so they impose those dreams on their children. They think their child is the next pro-athelete, or the next super-model, or rock-star, rap-star…super-glamorous careers that will solve all of their problems. This thinking is highly dangerous to the community at large, because it teaches children that school is not important, until it’s too late. I am frustrated with many of my students’ parents. They are able to wield a great deal of influence on administrators who do not want to make waves, and we are trapped having to spec their children’s education based on these unrealistic expectation.

Indian and Asian parents do not think this way. They know the formula for success. And over the past seven years (almost eight), I have seen them use this formula to propel their youngsters far past the westerners. If my other parents do not believe this will be true into adulthood, they best start reading the statistical data on success and the Bronfenbrenner’s model of Ecological Development. Parents are the FIRST line of developmental success.

When are we, as a whole community, hold parents accountable? When are we going to have solid-REQUIRED programs to teach them how to enrich their children, regardless of income, demographic and their own educational limitations? When are we going to save US jobs for US citizens? Our politicians are too scared to rock the “parent-vote-boat.” It’s time to make waves.