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Wise Right About U.S. High Schools
By the News-Register
POSTED: May 12, 2008
Former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise is pointing out something that recently has landed some candidates for public office in hot water: “Those low-skill jobs that paid a livable wage are gone and they’re gone across most of the country.”
Wise makes the observation in a new book, “Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation.” He writes from the perspective of a native West Virginian and from the platform of being president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.
The non-profit organization Wise heads, based in Washington, D.C., is focused on improving American high schools and ensuring that more young people graduate from them.
Unfortunately, Wise — like some governors before him and, undoubtedly, some still to come — was the Mountain State’s chief executive during a time when technology and competition from abroad were tearing many industries apart. In the wake of their destruction were left tens of thousands of hard working men and women who no longer had jobs — and lacked the skills to get new ones. Wise points that out in his book.
Focusing on a single time period of the total school experience can be controversial — and Wise is quick to note that his goal of improving high schools should not divert resources from other levels of education, including college.
But the former governor worries that many high schools, which he refers to as “the jumping-off spot for the rest of life,” are not doing a good enough job. And he also worries that too many young people are dropping out before they finish high school. In some cities, dropout rates are at 50 percent, so it is clear Wise is correct.
Like Wise, we believe that education is a package — beginning with programs for 3- and 4-year-old children and continuing through higher education. But we agree with him that many high schools, including some in West Virginia and Ohio, simply are not up to the task of preparing our nation’s young people to take their places in the workforce of tomorrow — which, by the way, is here today.
Wise makes the observation in a new book, “Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation.” He writes from the perspective of a native West Virginian and from the platform of being president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.
The non-profit organization Wise heads, based in Washington, D.C., is focused on improving American high schools and ensuring that more young people graduate from them.
Unfortunately, Wise — like some governors before him and, undoubtedly, some still to come — was the Mountain State’s chief executive during a time when technology and competition from abroad were tearing many industries apart. In the wake of their destruction were left tens of thousands of hard working men and women who no longer had jobs — and lacked the skills to get new ones. Wise points that out in his book.
Focusing on a single time period of the total school experience can be controversial — and Wise is quick to note that his goal of improving high schools should not divert resources from other levels of education, including college.
But the former governor worries that many high schools, which he refers to as “the jumping-off spot for the rest of life,” are not doing a good enough job. And he also worries that too many young people are dropping out before they finish high school. In some cities, dropout rates are at 50 percent, so it is clear Wise is correct.
Like Wise, we believe that education is a package — beginning with programs for 3- and 4-year-old children and continuing through higher education. But we agree with him that many high schools, including some in West Virginia and Ohio, simply are not up to the task of preparing our nation’s young people to take their places in the workforce of tomorrow — which, by the way, is here today.
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View Comments: | 1-23 | Post a comment
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Georgetwin
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05-15-08 10:06 AM
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Cory, I deal with NEA nonsense on a regular basis and I SPEAK THT TRUTH about The NEA. I NEVER said ALL TEACHERS were bad. I said it is NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to get rid of THE BAD TEACHERS due to Teachers Unions! The NEA is one of the LARGEST DNC DONORS, therefore The DNC bears some culpability for the failing public schools.
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Momof3
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05-14-08 3:23 PM
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The kids aren't lazy these days, their parents are!! They are too worried about being their kids friends than being their parents.
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cory1978
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05-14-08 10:48 AM
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low quality education???? all the teachers fault??? how about putting the blame on the parents for not pushing their children or the children themselves because they cannot do any wrong....parents fault also??? how about blaming someone other than liberals for once...god get a brain
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Georgetwin
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05-14-08 9:36 AM
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Cory, Cory, no I'm not saying I would leave a tick dug in. Firing a lazy/incompetent teacher is NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE and OH YES there are LAZY TEACHERS out there. Union Labor + Teachers Union Monopoly = Low Quality Education. If we wanted Iraq’s oil, wouldn’t we already have it? There is no need to steal ANY oil with the OCEANS OF OIL we are sitting on, but The Tree Huggers REFUSE to let us drill for it.
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cory1978
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05-14-08 8:33 AM
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breaking teachers unions?? some unions are good if you ask me and this is one of them....teachers arn't lazy...the children are
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cory1978
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05-14-08 8:17 AM
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george...what about the cost to bomb iraq and steal their oil?? and as for the tick....your telling me that you would just leave a dug in tick there??? come on now!
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Georgetwin
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05-13-08 3:55 PM
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Cory1978. I NEVER SAID Home schooling was an option for EVERYONE. BREAKING The Teachers Unions would go a LONG WAY towards fixing Public Schools. At this point, getting rid of a bad teacher is like getting a dug in tick off a dog.
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Georgetwin
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05-13-08 3:52 PM
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Cory1978, what about the cost(s) to produce Ethanol? What about the RECENT MASSIVE oil discoveries? I think liquefying Propane/Butane/Methane will be more COST EFFECTIVE in the long run.
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cory1978
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05-13-08 11:19 AM
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as for a horse not house...sorry typo
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cory1978
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05-13-08 11:18 AM
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sorry george..didn't mean to sound snippy. i know about ethanol dragsters...i've been to the ihra winternationals several times...ethanol blends can work in every car on the road...blended with alcohol mainly to cool.....ethanol and alcohol are renuable resourse's...so why not?? at least heat your house..as for working from home...3% of the entire working population work from home...thats it!! so what's your plan for the rest of the 97% of america that is hung out to dry?...as for a house..my parent's neighbors have a huge horse farm....i'll get a horse better than mr. ed
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Georgetwin
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05-13-08 10:23 AM
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Cory, there is no reason to get snippy because you disagree with me. There is a WHOLE CLASS of Dragsters that run on ETHANOL. Ethanol burns VERY hot and VERY fast. IT WILL burn up stock engine parts. Also, if you get 30 miles from a gallon of gas, you will get AT MOST get 20 miles from a gallon of Ethanol. Ethanol has to be DISTILLED (i.e. cooked) using water and corn, therefore you have to burn coal, wood or natural gas for a hot enough fire. You will use MORE ENERGY making Ethanol than you will EVER SAVE using it! I DID NOT say private school or home school was the answer for EVERYONE. However, folks I know who work from home VIA the internet and home school their kids LOVE IT. They SAVE MONEY on fuel and are more involved in the lives of their kids. Cory. BTW, what kind of horse are you looking for? I know some folks in the valley that MIGHT be able to hook you up.
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rjowva
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05-13-08 6:27 AM
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What we need are VOUCHERS. Then you have a choice between either public or private education.
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tmoney
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05-13-08 12:22 AM
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Corey1978...If you would not have pointed out that you graduated Valedictorian and sigma****laude I probably would not have felt the need to point out your grammer, punctuation and spelling errors. Why do you accuse me of wathcing too much Fox News when you rant against lawsuit abuse and corporal punishment? Sounds pretty conservative to me...
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Mom2Four
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05-12-08 10:39 PM
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Home School or Private School +++++++ Sure, send them to private school if you want a stepford child who looks, dresses and thinks just like the kid next to him. Or some may prefer the homeschool route where they are taught that the government and all outsiders are "bad" and to be feard. Again, like private school, not an original thought in their head. Just pass the kool aid. Besides, do you have any idea what's going on with those private school kids? Their drinking/sex parties would made public school kids jealous!
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IMDMom
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05-12-08 9:50 PM
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I used to think sex ed would help but sadly, I've found out that these girls are getting pregnant on purpose. They are looking for "love". They have access to all the birth control (free) they need at the health department but still get pregnant. The problem starts at home i.e; the 15 year old that was just found dead with his 14 year old girlfriend. Plus society continues to let fathers off the hook. There was a 19 year old father at our school who had 3 children (two different baby mammas).
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Momof3
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05-12-08 8:20 PM
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It would help if WPHS didn't condone teen pregnancy the way they do. They make it so easy on those girls that I know of one girl who had a baby in the beginning of this school year and she's pregnant again. How about a sex ed class at PARK instead of the daycare center and teen parent club.
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cory1978
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05-12-08 3:29 PM
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ok george.....what percentage of the population work from home? ethanol hoax??? whats a hoax about it?....i'd like to make it in my back yard with corn....at least heat my house if car's don't run on it yet
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cory1978
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05-12-08 3:16 PM
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Someone watches too much Fox News. Is that okay tmoney? Your name sounds like a d r u g dealer
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Georgetwin
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05-12-08 3:16 PM
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Cory1978. I know Homeschoolers that work from home and teach their kids. As soon as The Ethanol Hoax is debunked, Commodities will fall back.
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cory1978
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05-12-08 2:16 PM
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nope..mechanical engineering....didn't know this was an elementary class punctuation discussion...p.s. don't be mad tmoney that some people have more education than others..im still paying for it...maybe you can get some education and make a point instead of pointing out punctuation mistakes that i purposly leave out
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tmoney
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05-12-08 1:39 PM
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Clearly you didn't major in English.
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cory1978
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05-12-08 12:27 PM
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agreed george...but how will parents afford private schools when they can't afford to buy food or gas.....who will home teach them when both parents work or a single mother has to work two jobs to support thir family? i went to a public school....i graduated valedictorian and sigma cume laude in college...all with a public education upbringing....in my opinion..it had to do with good teachers and parents....now a days....there is no direction due to all the lawsuit freaks...teachers can't spank children anymore....that was the begenning of the end of public education
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Georgetwin
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05-12-08 11:38 AM
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Public Schools teach PC Nonsense, Unearned Self Esteem and other Liberal Nonsense. Home School or Private School!
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