DES MOINES — The hottest days of summer summoned 35 of the nation’s governors to Des Moines. The main subject was the growing realization that the communities of the United States are not graduating nearly enough of its young people from high school. And of those who do graduate, too few are ready for what’s coming next.
That reality reached high drama on Saturday afternoon when New York Times columnist Tom Friedman unloaded on the governors. Reprising his best-selling book, The World is Flat, Friedman explained how the opportunities for prosperity were no longer an American club. This is not a prediction, he said, it’s a present and growing reality. And here’s the bottom line — Friedman acknowledged that major business leaders understand this. Even often pandering politicians get it; they know the world has fundamentally changed. But, “Who,” he lamented, “is telling the kids?” Who is making sure they know that failure to get the best possible education is a sure ticket tying them to the bottom of the economic ladder — for life? The answer, Friedman says, is “no one.” Certainly not the schools.
Coincidentally, that sad reality was reinforced by a survey of more than 10,000 high schoolers released by the National Governors Association over the same weekend. Here’s a sampler from the findings of Rate Your Future:
- Fewer than 10 percent think high school is “hard.”
- More than a third regard their high school years as “easy.”
- A third say they would work harder if high schools offered more demanding and interesting courses.
- 71 percent say their senior years would be more meaningful if there were courses related to the kinds of jobs they want.
- Of those saying they’ll likely drop out, two-thirds say they would stay in school if they got some personal attention.
The governors embraced a report on redesigning American high schools, but the ones I talked to admitted that the questions still outnumber the answers.
