Education talks Tuesday

Education is no longer just about book work. West Virginia University is teaming up with the West Virginia Education Alliance to hold a program called “EDTalks: Connecting Education, Jobs and Our Future.” The event is being held at the Morgantown Event Center Tuesday.

Dr. Amelia Courts with the Alliance explained it’s a chance to talk about curriculum and where West Virginia’s education system is headed.

“Children need to receive a well rounded education. At the same time we need to be listening to our business partners about the very types of skills and knowledge bases that (students) need for jobs,” she said.

Courts stressed the goal is to reach out to those who have a stake in education.

“We’re going to have folks from public education and from higher education, community and technical, as well as from business, from across the spectrum there at the table. We do believe that the ideas for moving West Virginia forward will come from those discussions,” Counts said.

The guest speaker for the event is WVU President E. Gordon Gee. He believes it’s time for a change in how we look at education.

“The old notion of coming and getting a college degree and going home and getting a real job is dead on arrival,” said Gee.

The president stressed in order to have successful graduates, you have to start at the bottom up.

“Education is a continuum. It’s K through life. That means if one part of the system has a leaky pipeline or is incapacitating, students are not capable of meeting it’s obligations. Then it incapacitates the rest of the system,” stressed Gee.

He said it’s important for everyone to get more involved in the education movement to make sure the system works.

“There are certainly schools and school systems in the state that are doing a fabulous job. But it is not consistent and it is something we as a state we really need to own and work on.”

Counts said connecting education and jobs is key.