IBM to financially back employees who leave to teach Math & Science!

[elehhhhna]

Very cool.

IBM does the math
Sunday 18th September, 2005 Posted: 12:23 CIT (17:23 GMT)

International Business Machines Corp., worried the United States is losing its competitive edge, will financially back employees who want to leave the company to become math and science teachers.

The new program, being announced Friday in concert with city and state education officials, reflects tech industry fears that U.S. students are falling behind peers from Bangalore to Beijing in the sciences.

Up to 100 IBM employees will be eligible for the program in its trial phase. Eventually, Big Blue hopes many more of its tech savvy employees and those in other companies will follow suit.

The goal is to help fill shortfalls in the nation’s teaching ranks, a problem expected to grow with the retirement of today’s educators.

http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1007422

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Super cool!

[Mairead]

2. But we already have more engineers and scientists than the

corporatocracy will employ, so what's the point of having the ability to train more? So that they can work at McDonalds while the Indian elite are given the jobs?

[SCDem]

3. What a great step forward for IBM

I hope it proves successful and catches on. I met a guy who used to work for IBM and then gave it all up to become a high school teacher in media literacy. Which in this day and age might be equally important as math and science.

[wtmusic]

4. More than meets the eye

"IBM also plans to offer a mentoring program that would give its former workers guidance and teaching materials over the Internet."

I'm sure the students will learn what powerful and practical computers IBM makes.

[northzax]

5. IBM doesn't make pcs anymore

they sold that division.

[wtmusic]

6. ?

http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10000001&catalogId=-840&langId=-1&categoryId=2035724

[momisold]

7. Not owned by IBM anymore.

PC division bought by a Japanese or Chinese company. My good friend has worked for IBM for years and I got that from her.

IBM is laying off lots of people, so it would be nice to provide them with skills to do something else. Here in Houston they always need math and science teachers.

[wtmusic]

10. ah, ok

thanks for the info

[northzax]

13. part of the deal was to keep the IBM logo

for four years.

It is owned by a Chinese company now.

[NancyG]

8. I used to work for IBM

when it was a decent company to work for.

Before that, I also used to teach HS mathematics.

At one point I tried to access an IBM program that would pay IBMers to teach math at local schools. It was very limited and realistically only open to those that were RIP (Retired In Place) waiting to be retired.

100 is not a lot of people. Even it is to be expanded. Just a PR move or a way to move selected people out of the business.

It's not your father's IBM anymore.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Amen, to that! I'm another Retired IBM'er.

[elehhhhna]

11. It's still an excellent outplacement option.

[NancyG]

12. For 100 or so people. Yup. nt