Americas massive labor crisis started in the classroom, not the workplace

America has nearly 7 million unfilled jobs. Some of those positions remain open because employers can't find workers with the right technical skills. But ask business owners directly and you'll hear something different.

Too many candidates can't show up on time; struggle to take initiative or accept constructive criticism. They cant solve problems without detailed instructions, nor can they handle an ordinary setback without falling apart.

Politicians and pundits might blame globalization, automation or data centers. They're looking in the wrong buildings.

I WORRY LESS ABOUT SCREENS THAN ABOUT THE CHALLENGES TODAYS TEENS NEVER FACE

This crisis didn't begin in the workplace. It began

I spent years as a teacher and as a school administrator before I ever ran an education nonprofit. I watched this happen from the inside. Schools gradually abandoned one of their most important responsibilities: to build character.

JONATHAN TURLEY: CHICAGO SCHOOLS REWARD PROTEST WHILE STUDENTS CAN'T READ

Too many schools stopped teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, sure. But they also stopped teaching resilience, responsibility, perseverance and initiative. The idea that a child's feelings matter more than her performance became a paramount concern in schools.

The "child-centered" classroom sounds compassionate. Who wouldn't want children to come first? But there is a real difference between putting a child first and teaching her she is the center of the universe.

HARVARD STUDENTS REVOLT OVER NEW GRADING POLICY THEY CALL RACIST

Educators like me were increasingly discouraged from giving failing grades, from delivering honest criticism or from enforcing meaningful consequences. Participation trophies replaced accomplishment. Inflated grades replaced excellence. Protecting self-esteem became more important than preparing students for adulthood.

Thats backward. A child doesnt build confidence by being told shes wonderful. She builds it by doing something difficult and discovering she can succeed. Take away the difficulty, and all youve handed her is an unearned feeling of accomplishment, which is not the same thing at all.

CLASSICAL EDUCATION AND AI COULD RESHAPE HOW AMERICA PREPARES ITS CHILDREN

Eliminating homework, lowering standards and minimizing testing might lower stress and ease disappointment, but pressure, deadlines, competition and failure are not obstacles to growth. They are often a students greatest teachers.

Instead, too many classrooms became paint-by-numbers exercises: Follow the rubric. Memorize the answer. Don't take risks. Wait for instructions. Too many schools have become unrealistic experiments where students rarely experience meaningful consequences until they leave the schoolhouse.

GEN Z IS WORKING HARD, BUT THE ECONOMY IS PUTTING THE AMERICAN DREAM OUT OF REACH FOR MANY

Is it really surprising young employees expect so little from themselves? The adults around them expected so little from th