Education key to success in real world
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Two weeks ago, meeting with state legislators, Anchorage School Superintendent Carol Comeau outlined the financial challenges she faces in delivering an education that will allow students to compete in the twenty first century.
The increased costs of testing and accountability standards mandated by state and federal governments. Increased costs of educating a growing bi-lingual population that includes six thousand students who speak ninety-two different languages. And annual funding that hasn’t kept pace with the changing needs and growing cost of providing new technology and training for students and teachers.
When one legislator questioned why the school district doesn’t just provide a basic education, Superintendent Comeau’s response was exactly what I needed to hear as a parent.
She responded that music, art, and physical education were essential in providing a well-balanced learning environment. Giving students choices fosters a greater interest in the learning process and contributes to well-rounded graduates. In addition, increasing physical education would combat the alarming rise in childhood obesity and diabetes, she added.
To which State Senator Fred Dyson replied, “I think some of the things you’ve said today are bizarre and don’t reflect the real world I live in”. But lets be honest, in Sen. Dyson’s world he’s been able to earn a comfortable living for the last seven years as a legislator without understanding basic math to balance the state budget.
In 1995, a year before Dyson was elected to the legislature I volunteered to serve on the first budget review team tasked with finding cuts in the Anchorage School Districts budget. In 2003, I volunteered again to serve on the latest budget review team tasked with finding more cuts in education.
That’s the real world my eighth grade daughter has been living in, at the same time success in the real world is demanding more not less from Alaska’s sons and daughters.
With global competition increasing the downward pressure on labor costs. More entry-level professional positions that used to be plentiful for the next generation are now being outsourced overseas to emerging countries that continue to increase investments in education.
If employment opportunities are viewed as a ladder, then the movement of qualified positions to countries with lower labor costs reflects an elimination of the lower rungs. This means higher education is now essential to provide the necessary boost to compete in the new economy.
Unfortunately, never before has the road to college been paved with so many challenges.
According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, competition for admission is getting more crowded and much tougher. In 2002, the number of students enrolling in college had reached record levels. Today, thirty four percent of college freshman apply to five or more schools compared to twenty percent in 1985.
The cost of college is also growing. In the last ten years, average yearly costs at both public and private colleges have grown by thirty eight percent. At the University of Alaska, the cost of tuition has increased by twenty percent in the last two years alone.
And the criteria for college admissions are changing as well.
According to the NACAC study, admissions officers have begun putting an emphasis on less traditional enrollment indicators. The quality of the student’s high school curriculum and the student’s extracurricular activities are now weighed heavily in the decision making process. The bottom line is that well-rounded graduates stand a better chance for admission.
And oh, did I mention the new and more demanding SAT that will be rolled out in 2005?
All of these factors mean that education in Alaska must cover more than just the basics for young Alaskans to remain competitive.
So until the governor and the legislature show leadership on solving the fiscal gap so we can afford necessary investments in K-12 and our University system. The best hope for the next generation is that they’ll all become politicians. Because judging from Sen. Dyson’s comments, politics seems to be the only world where a lack of knowledge doesn’t prohibit one from making a comfortable living.
Meanwhile, success in the real world will continue to demand more from Alaska’s sons and daughters.
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