Pearblossom Education

Vocational Educators Needed.  The first self-checkout kiosk was invented by David R. Humble in 1986, and introduced at a Kroger grocery store in Georgia. Two years later, an article in the Miami Herald reported that “self-checkout could reduce cashier costs by as much as 66%.” Today, the same dilemma is faced but on a far larger scale. A considerable percentage of workers worldwide are wondering if their job is at risk of being taken, whether by software or by robot. Forbes indicates that the jobs safest from AI and automation are ones that require human qualities that a robot cannot replicate, such as social skills, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal relationships. Positions that require creativity and analytical skills are ultimately ones that will lower the risk of AI replacing jobs in that field. Jobs with the projected largest growth with at least 2 million job openings by 2027: Agricultural Equipment Operators Vocational Education Teachers Mechanics and Machinery Opera...

The Department of Education is in Need of Reform, Not Abolition Since its incarnation under Jimmy Carter in 1979, the department has faced scrutiny along with many other challenges along the way. “Betsy DeVos, after serving as education secretary under President Donald Trump, said she thought that the Department of Education should not exist.” President Ronald Reagan also saw no need for the department, and also former education secretary Lamar Alexander, who served under President W. Bush.                                                                          There have been many naysayers about whether or not the department should be up and running, citing controversial and political theories. It is clear that the department should be focusing primarily on student aid and fundamental academia. If...

"Some of the most successful people I know barely finished high school." Although this adage is a unique one, it does in fact put a healthy stereotype on the fact that you can find success without having to attain the highest college degree.  For the past few generations, the idea of "going to college" after high school was an endeavor that seemed to be the most fruitful and enlightening of options. However, the tide is changing, and students are choosing a variety of paths after high school.   My dad was a very successful engineer that never attended college, and when I was 16 he offered to teach me Computer Aided Design (CAD). To this day it may as well be one of my biggest regrets that I did not take him up on it, because women designers are rocking the business. I decided at 17 to start concurrent enrollment at the community college while finishing high school, because I felt a degree would equal my success.  As my teenager and I were sitting around the dinner t...

A survey conducted by the nonprofit research organization NORC at the University of Chicago , found that fewer than 1 in 5 Americans would encourage a young person to become a K-12 teacher. “B” is for Burnout. If you say this as a teacher, it’s almost as bad as saying the “D” word during a marriage… almost taboo to say, not to mention putting a negative outlook on the job one is trying to do as an educator. Unfortunately, I have said it myself, and it is a word being turned into a reason why many don’t want to return to the classroom.  Have you ever taught a post-pandemic classroom of unhinged five-year-olds that have had no social experience because preschools were closed during their toddlerhood? Elementary teachers are stressed to the brim, running around like mad chickens due to a lack of support staff and aides. The education sector has been unsteady the past few years, with principals scrambling to assign emergency licenses to educators outside of their subject area, or to th...

The value of the term “human intelligence” is seeing an uprising as artificial intelligence (AI) takes the stage in art and writing communities.  I was rummaging around the art supply store the other day, and at the register were a box of black, sleek pencils with bold white letters which read “This Machine Kills AI.”  I couldn’t help but pick up a couple as I thought it would be a nice conversation starter with my teacher friends. The lady at the cashier stand mentioned something about AI sketches being fussed over because “AI couldn’t draw human hands” as perfectly as real humans could. Hand-drawing was now the pride and joy of human artists- one which could not be conquered by robot, but ironically only by a “human hand” itself…  “Hollywood is using AI for everything and they are scared to admit it” The Hollywood Reporter recently ran an article that addressed the issue of AI replacing passionate artists saying that “there are tons of people who are using AI, but they ...

During a lesson about old technology, I found myself explaining to my students that the equivalent of texting was similar to the “ancient art” of communicating in pager code. Instead of using letters in an alphabet, numbers were put together to make a word.  Personal pager devices that were attached to the hip were common in the late 1990’s-2000’s. Pagers are small devices that are used to “page” another recipient when a phone call back is desired. My first pager was a small pink pearl one that fit right into the palm of my hand. It had about 15 different “ringtones” I could choose from when someone was trying to contact me, and it had a relatively long battery life.  A pager, also known as a beeper or bleeper, [1] is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response pagers and two-way pagers can also acknowledge, reply to, and originate messages using an internal transmitt...

Should smartphones be regulated? For the past 15 years, iPhones and Androids have grazed the palms and pockets of nearly everyone alike. In the grand scheme of things, "15 years" is just a scratch on the surface. The trend of cell phones is one that isn't going away anytime soon... Historically, societies have used regulation for order and peace. The drinking age is 21. The voting age is 18. Driver's Licenses are earned at 16, and so on. When policy reform happens, it takes a team of bureaucratic professionals and psychologists to conjure the most practical response to a communal issue. In this case, it shouldn't take a genius to see the damages caused by early exposure to social media and brain rot from too much screen time. Though there are countless research studies on this topic, I've already seen it firsthand as a mother and teacher.    Growing up in the 1990's When I was 13, we had one family computer- in the living room. Out of the five kids in the ...

“There is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction – even suspicion – among the public about the role colleges play in society, from admissions processes to the way free speech is constrained on college campuses.” -Pew Research, 2019 As Harvard University publicly reveals that they are scaling back on participating in political stances, educational professionals are having discussions of what needs reforming in the education world. Recently, a board of eight chairmen at Harvard issued a Report on Institutional Voice in the University to address the controversial statement of political involvement. The recent jihad between Israel and Palestine has forced civilians at American Universities to grab their poster boards and start marching, rooting for either side in a frenzy that has destroyed intersection traffic, graduations, and business propositions.   According to the report, Harvard "is not a government, tasked with engaging the full range of foreign and domestic policy issues, an...