The economic crisis has spotlighted the high school dropout rate as mayors of key cities are now going door to door encouraging students to stay in school – for their own good – and for the economic survival of the city.
The Wall Street Journal ran an article today had this to say;
“According to one study, only half of the high school students in the nation's 50 largest cities are graduating in four years, with a figure as low as 25% in Detroit. And while concern over dropouts isn't new, the problem now has officials outside of public education worried enough to get directly involved.”
“The longstanding American dropout problem may be especially thorny now, with a looming recession. Cutting the number of dropouts in half would generate $45 billion annually in new tax revenue, according to America's Promise -- assuming there are ultimately enough jobs to accommodate the graduates.”
Education can no longer be ignored. Something has to be done and soon. The global economy doesn’t have jobs for the uneducated regardless of where they live.
“In a global economy, the single most important issue facing our country is an educated work force," says Houston Mayor Bill White. "Somebody who lacks a high school education will have lifetime earnings that are only about 60% of those of somebody with that education. That's just the impact on personal income. There are the social costs as well."
Education is the key to higher wage jobs, as education was the foundation of America’s productivity 40 years ago.
Education is the foundation of a strong nation in the global economy of today. America needs to overhaul its educational system and it will – because the leaders will eventually realize why we are losing ground in a recession with a sinking currency and very little products to sell to the world. The once strong America educational system is no longer producing highly educated workers – and therefore cannot be paid high wages.
Perhaps the priority in America should be providing financial education, which leads to the questions of Who Should Provide Financial Education?
The best answer is parents.