Thursday, July 21, 2005

The Dropout Crisis

Crucial op-ed from Bob Herbert in the NYT today about America's horrible high school graduation rate: Two out of three. (What it doesn't mention: this is a decline from the 1969 peak grad rate of 77%.) Herbert has really been out in front on these generational issues.

Why is the education of America's young people so important?

"It may sound like hyperbole," said Mr. Vander Ark [of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation], "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."

Less educated Americans, compared to the rest of the world = a poorer, more racially divided, less competitive, less safe, less democratic country.


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