Changing our Culture is as important as Education
In reading Lamar Mitchell’s contribution from September 22, 2009, I would like to provide a different perspective. Mr. Mitchell is preaching to the choir when he goes down the laundry list of reasons why kids should stay in school. But, I am here to bring you a truly teachable moment.
Our area has suffered economically for years and it cannot all be blamed on uneducated people. These people, who are already suffering, should not be treated like villains. They worked hard and played by the rules that our area lived by for generations. Local leaders did not stress education years ago. Cheap labor was the desire of Old Hickory ’s Culture and now we are paying the price for that Monoculture of Manufacturing Industries.
Who could not agree that having a 17%+ dropout rate in our community is disastrous, but what is even worse is the loss of the younger demographic in this area. Population numbers show that since 2000, the O-44 age bracket grew by a measly .38%, while the 45+ age bracket grew by 14.34%. The older generation grew 23 times faster than the younger generation. Does that seem healthy to you?
"Educational Attainment" statistics count people who have obtained a degree of higher education and are age 25 or older. If a young person goes to college, but does not stay in our area, then it hurts our Attainment statistics. Looking at results from ncreportcards.org show that area High School students are actually fairing quite well compared to NC averages. The question should be asked, what are we going to do to retain our best and brightest and entice the educated class to move to the Hickory area?
It is obvious to me that there is a lack of opportunity in this area for people with higher education. We have a real problem with job quality. Many people with Bachelor’s degrees (or higher) are vastly overqualified for what they do. Young graduates can wait tables, perform other menial labor, or leave town.
We have seen the Brain Drain in this community that is associated with a lack of understanding and compassion for what the citizens of this community have truly endured. If we are going to turn our plight around, then we are going to have to reconnect with the younger generations who can reinvigorate this community. We need to present college graduates with possibilities for internships, apprenticeships, and other specific opportunities to rebuild Hickory and start a Cultural Renaissance in this area.
Mr. Mitchell’s commentary once again has an area leader focusing on the negative. What does our plight have to do with Obama, Bush, or Perdue? Local leaders need to focus on transforming our area into a Cultural Bastion of Excellence, where young educated people can thrive. If this happens, I truly believe the drop-out rate, which has a lot to do with depression and despair, will soon begin to recede.
My Editorial was in Response to Lamar Mitchell's editorial, which is provided below:
The Hound believes in Knowledge and in what I wrote I am not arguing against people obtaining any form or level of Educational Attainment. What I am saying is that we need to look at what has led to the problem we see today. Furniture and Textile owners didn't care if people had diplomas. They wanted to teach people specific task oriented skills and then have them do it for the rest of their lives. In my opinion, they also didn't want people asking questions and daddburnit that is exactly what educated people do.
Today we live in a highly competitive global world that demands people who can think outside of the box, who are innovative, and can constantly figure out new ways to do things better. Old Hickory's culture did not want this. The ideal was to have an employee not think. Just work like a machine and don't ask questions. Now you have automated machines or cheap foreign labor to do those menial tasks. So the people brought up in that culture are now lost.
That being said we need to change the culture around here. Steve Ivester, who comes from a completely polar-opposite philosophy than myself on most issues, was the person who spoke of the Monoculture of Furniture, Textiles, and Cabling that did not demand education (Ivester audio link). Many of these people, who expected lesser educational attainment from the workforce, passed this philosophy down from generation to generation. How many of the business owners that are now fussing about our community's lack of educational attainment are the same people who had no problem hiring people with less than a high school education in the past. Where does such self-righteous indignation come from?
Let's face it, the people who are older than 50 are not going to go get their GED and is it realistic to expect them to do so at this point? Are those people not a major demographic in this community? Yes, we have to change our local culture and instill in our youngsters that they need their education, but we also need to find out why they would want to quit school, why they think they don't need their diploma, and figure out how we are going to address such a sad situation. I addressed this at the last city Council meeting, when Alder Jill Patton mentioned that she and the Mayor were at the Champions of Education meeting and it was a kickoff for 2012 that made a statement that businesses would not hire anyone without a High School Diploma or GED. Newsletter about the City Council meeting of September 15, 2009 (The whole summary is at the bottom of the article).
The bigger issue is the demographic issue shown in the chart below. I mentioned it in the article. The stats were extrapolated from this chart (Link stats below):
This is the article where I sum up this issue - The Younger Generation is the Key!!!
The Graphic below shows that our High School Educational rankings aren't that bad compared to North Carolina State averages (Link stats below):
This is the article where I sum up this issue - Our High Schools versus the State of North Carolina Averages.
The Hound believes we deserve more than canned answers and philosophies on the issues we face. I have faith that we can turn this area around, if everyone does their part. I have heard a lot of great things about the Champions of Education and what I wrote is not meant in any way to dismiss or slight their mission. I think we need to worry about the real issues we face and not waste an opportunity to address the true issues that our area faces in trying to right our Economic Ship.
I also encourage you to read - Hickory, Time to Put the Puzzle Together
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