Thiving communities are at the core of growing economies. But what makes communities thrive? Is it the real estate developments or maybe it's tourism that attract businesses and contribute to growth? Maybe these resources help the outward appearance by providing widowdressing to hide the core. After we peel past the beatiful buildings and the tourist attrations what is the number one asset that keeps the community alive, it's the people!
Human capital makes communities thrive and attracts industry. Well what is human capital, you may ask? According to Wikipedia : "Human capital refers to the stock of skills and knowledge embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the skills and knowledge gained by a worker through education and experience."
So, if we continue to look at it, education and experience of its inhabitants make communities thrive. This concept is very interesting to me because education leads to experience. However, if education is not pursued or viewed as a valuable resource, it will be squandered. There are millions of dollars going into infastructure and physical development of communities (and don't get me wrong updated infastructure is relevant), but what do we do when majority of the students graduating from inner city schools are not equipped with the basic lifeskills that are vital to them thriving socially (interviewing skills, budgeting, critical thinking skills)? And let's not talk about the number of students just waiting for their 16th birthday to drop out...yes that is the aspiration of a fraction of students.
Now do not get me wrong, I am not blaming the education system because teachers are paid to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and inspire, not to raise children. However, there has to an overarching sound that echo's into communities:
1) Education Starts at Home: President Obama said it best, turn off the television and engage young minds through creative projects, reading, and though provoking dialouge.
2) Education Must Be a Community Iniative not a Soundbite: Community activist and leaders should spend as much talking to parents about their childrens education as they spend talking to educators about the drop out and graduation rates. There has to be action beyond the words ensuring that students are enriched beyond the classroom.
3) Education is a Life Long Partnership Between Schools, Communities and Families that Never Ends.
So we've talked about education lets touch on marketable experience. As for all resources, jobs are scarce. Generally the demand for jobs always exceeds the supply, but in this recession the scarcity of jobs makes it hard for teenagers to start out in the jobs at movie theaters and fastfood restaurants. So where does the experience start: non paid internships and apprenticeships. Yes I'm aware that there are already programs in place for high acheiving students and students on the vocational track, but what about the students that fall in between. Community leaders should develop a cooperative with community businesses exchanging experience and mentoring for free manpower. Marketing an initiative of this magnitude shows community stakeholders that there is an ongoing commitment to economic growth.
