Seeking a “National Championship” Caliber Education
Benjamin Franklin said, “The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.” Our children are our future; we must invest in their foundation and build a legacy for our grandchildren. This is our duty as parents and grandparents.
We demand excellence in our college football programs. In fact, most are not satisfied unless our football teams compete at the national championship level every year. To achieve that success, fans demand and expect our colleges to hire the best coaches and recruiters, construct the facilities necessary to recruit all-American talent, and command a total commitment of the student-athletes. Why don’t we adopt the same great expectations toward education and do everything we can to let our students excel in all areas and allow them to compete worldwide?
Consider this:
- 26% of eighth graders in Alabama perform below average.
- 1/3 of all Alabama graduates leave school without the reading, writing, and math skills they will need in life.
- In 2006, only 56% of black students graduated.
- Our colleges and universities spend over one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) every year on remedial courses.
This money could be spent on programs that would allow all of our children to compete at the highest levels with any country.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, describes American schools as being out of date for the coming century. How can we compete with India, Japan and China, only to name a few, if we don’t set a higher standard of excellence?
We must not settle for “O.K.” or “good enough.” That is a dangerous path to follow.
