Getting
the Job Done
“No
one can win at the expense of another and long retain his or her
advantage. If we severely oppress people economically, they will act
out of their desperation in ways that ultimately endanger all of us.
Harsher prison sentences and other tightened screws will hardly set
us free.”
Marianne
Williamson (The Healing of America)
I
attended a meeting one day last week of the programs in my area that
provide instruction for the GED to people between the ages of 17 and
21 who have dropped out of school. In the course of hearing about the
success of the GED program, we heard about the failure of schools.
The presenter was asked what percentage of children graduate from
high school in the city system. She said that they were not sure
because record keeping in the past had been terrible, but best guess
was around 30%. Meaning that 70% do not graduate. Her program has
thus far served about three hundred students with fair success, but
that represents a small percentage of those who have dropped out.
I
was absolutely stunned. The state board of education has now taken
over the city school system, which offers some degree of hope. One
wonders how long this failure to educate students has been going
on. Are we content to develop a permanent under-class that will
become more and more of a burden as the rest of the world moves into
the twenty-first century? The industrial jobs that used to provide at
least a basic income for this particular cohort, are no longer in
this country. And programs designed to serve them, are being cut to
the bone. Do we really think this will just go away?
Those
of us who do not have our heads in the sand must begin to speak up
and speak out in defense of justice. We may have taken care of our
own, and expect others to take care of their own, but it is magical
thinking to believe that this will not eventually touch all of us in
one way or another. It is not “their problem”; it is most
definitely “our problem”. There are areas in the state of Alabama
that could be accurately described as 'developing world', and Alabama
is not alone in this.
One
thing to remember as we are haggling over the government's role in
society, is that fully half the population falls below the median on
the bell curve. In other words, half of our people have an IQ of less
than 100. Not everyone is going to be a rocket scientist, but
everyone has to eat. We must consider this when making rational
decisions about education, work opportunities, and the division of
resources. Condemning it will not make it go away. Let's pull
together, people. We can do this!
In
the spirit,
Jane
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