Loss of American manufacturing capability to low-wage countries is but one part of the overall problem with the U.S. economy. The other part consists of a shortage of skilled workers, given that a high school diploma is no longer adequate for many manufacturing jobs. Brooklyn’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) is the most recent incarnation of an old but nonetheless timely idea.

The concept first appeared in Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Twain’s protagonist, Hank Morgan, creates so-called Man Factories whose purpose is to “turn groping and grubbing automata into men.” The story doesn’t delve into details, but the context of the Man Factory suggests that it teaches civics, including ideals of freedom and democracy, in addition to literacy and job skills.

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