Stop the presses! Within just a few days we’ve had a scandal involving a world-class presidential guru bumped off the front pages by a prime-time presidential announcement of a nominee to the Supreme Court.
No one would argue that these aren’t big stories. But an issue that is even more important to the long-term future of the U.S. gets very short shrift from the media. In an era when a college education is virtually a prerequisite for maintaining a middle-class lifestyle, an extraordinary number of American teenagers continue to head toward adulthood without even a high school diploma.
This is not a sexy issue, and certainly not as titillating for journalists as the political witchcraft that Karl Rove has used to enchant George W. Bush. But consider the following from the book “Dropouts in America: Confronting the Graduation Rate Crisis,” a collection of essays edited by Gary Orfield, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education:
“Nationally, only about two-thirds of all students – and only half of all blacks, Latinos and Native Americans – who enter ninth grade graduate with regular diplomas four years later.”
In much of the nation, especially in urban and rural areas, the picture is even more dismal. In New York City, just 18 percent of all students graduate with a Regents diploma, which is the diploma generally required for admission to a four-year college. Only 9.4 percent of African-American students get a Regents diploma.
Over all, the United States has one of the highest high school dropout rates in the industrialized world, which can’t be comforting news in the ferociously competitive environment of an increasingly globalized economy.
“It’s terrifying to know that half of the kids of color in the United States drop out of high school, and that only one in five is prepared for college,” said Tom Vander Ark of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is making a big effort to boost high school graduation rates and the number of graduates who are prepared for college.
Why is the education of America’s young people so important?
“It may sound like hyperbole,” said Mr. Vander Ark, “but this is the economic development issue for our society, and it is the social justice issue of our times. It is the most important long-term issue for the civic health of the republic.
“In the aggregate, we need more young people educated at higher levels: more finishing high school, more finishing community college, more finishing four-year degrees. And secondly, I think it’s very important that we close the racial and socioeconomic gaps in educational attainment.
“We’re seeing a scary level of income stratification that is the result of educational stratification. And it’s becoming important not just for the economy but for our society that we help low-income [students], and especially kids of color, achieve high levels of education so that they can participate in the economy and in our society.”
Citing statistics from a variety of sources, officials at the Gates Foundation have noted that:
High school dropouts, on average, earn $9,245 less per year than high school graduates.
The poverty rate for families headed by dropouts is more than twice that for families headed by high school graduates.
Dropouts are much more likely to be unemployed, less likely to vote and more likely to be imprisoned than high school graduates.
For those concerned about the state of leadership in America, and who wonder where the next generation of leaders will come from, I can tell you it’s not likely to emerge from the millions upon millions of dropouts we’re setting loose in the land.
And whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, if you’d like to see a wiser, more creative and more effective approach to such crucial problems as war and peace, terror, international relations, employment, energy consumption and so on, you’ll need to rely on a much better-educated and better-informed population than the United States has now.
I don’t think Mr. Vander Ark was engaging in hyperbole. The public needs to understand the extent of the high school dropout crisis, and its implications for the long-term future of the U.S. It will most likely have more of an impact on the lives of your children and grandchildren than George W. Bush’s appointments to the Supreme Court.
Dear Bob,
I want to thank you for writing this article. You made the point that I’ve been trying to address in my own way, about education being the core issue in fixing all other political issues. It is the one issue that should be discussed daily on your front pages, but unfortunately we need to settle for the occassional wake-up call that you present here.
One thing I wanted to mention, was that while education is the key issue, rates and statistics alone cannot be the focus. While the statistics regarding drop-out rates and the resulting social effects are telling, the issue that continually gets left out of discussions about education is, “What are schools for?” The way schooling exists today, it’s no wonder that so many students never finish. 99% of what is taught in schools is irrelevant to their lives. And while those who do graduate may go on to earn more and vote more, it is fairly evident that those with high school and even college degrees, hardly deserve the labels of “educated” or “responsible citizens.”
Are we in desperate need of ”a much better-educated and better-informed population than the United States has now?” Of course. But only through a change in the way we school, not simply a change in the number of students who finish school, will we see the positive changes that we all desire.
In citing the Gates Foundation for all its financial assitance to many schools, the irony is often missed that Bill Gates himself was a drop-out. His success both professionally, financially, and philanthropically have come about not because of school, but despite school. This is just one of many examples of why adressing the question, “What are schools for?” is 100x more important that the question, “How do we get more students do finish school?”
Having said all this, it is my hope that yourself, or perhaps other NYT writers, might find an opportunity to cover the topic of “alternative” education. To discuss those schools and organizations that aim (although not always successfully) to prepare students for the real world. Or to cover the success of those who have found success in life despite schooling, such as the famous school drop-out Michael Moore, or the politically succesful C-student George W. Bush.
I just want to add that I was pleased to read your article, and to know that you feel the same frustration as I do. As you point out, this issue will have the largest impact on the lives of so many. It’s a shame to know that the reality of the situation is less-than-ideal, and moving further in that direction.
Keep on writing, and please feel free to share any thoughts.
Sincerely,
-Dan Lilienthal
Thanks for your thoughtful email. It was greatly appreciated. Please be
assured that I read every message but because of the volume I cannot
respond individually to each one.
Take care,
Bob Herbert
Real response…or generic?
Comments (3)
crappy generic response. either auto-reply or done by someone other than him. i can see someone like this campaigning not for any real need than to supply help to those underpriveleged minorities which i don’t believe is the same focus you like to take. if you don’t get a ‘real’ response, then this man is just another BS’er on the subject.
i like the way you phrased it, “what is school for?”
that is the most blunt and apporpriate way i view education right now. the answer is a case by case one that has no easy answer, but certainly imperative for any student to get any value out of education.
what was my washu education for? hell if i know… the only benefit i’ve seen so far is resume padding. i wanted direction… i really don’t have any. coming into washu everyone told me i can do whatever i want… leaving washu i am in a position to do whatever i want. i have no idea what route to go.
oh well, i hope i can get a job doing ‘something’.
wow dan – good email!
yeah… busch stadium was hella hot last night, and for the game to end like that was really disappointing. in fact, it was almost too hot to drink beer… we were missing 4 starters (molina, rolen, walker, sanders) and pujols is playing hurt so i can’t be too disappointed. the road to the playoffs ought to be easy. october ball holds much randomness but i think the NL champs will get their 2nd shot at winning the WS.