Texas Education Chief Wants to Fail Texas’ Youth Twice
- By Eric Johnson
- Published 08/11/2009
- Political
- Unrated
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is a Dallas-based attorney who is currently running for State Representative from House District 100 in Dallas as a Democrat. His website is http://www.johnsonfortexas.com.
DALLAS- I find it hard to believe that recently, Texas State Education Commissioner Robert Scott encouraged Texas businesses to cease hiring high school dropouts. With a public education system that is already failing many Texas families, particularly in our urban areas, Mr. Scott wants to fail these families yet again.
I support the new standards on reporting high school drop-out rates across Texas. I think our elected officials and other education policymakers have allowed this problem to fester largely because most Texans are unaware of its magnitude. With more accurate figures, it will be impossible for bureaucrats to hide and for society to ignore this issue—or at least, it will be more difficult for them to do so.
Too many school-aged Texans, particularly African-American and Hispanic youth living in urban areas, are dropping out of high school and too few are going on to college or receiving training in a 21st century growth industry. Instead of diminishing the opportunities of those who have unfortunately opted-out of our public education system, we should be doing what we can to support these young people and transform them into more productive members of society.
We can reduce the number of dropouts in Texas, not by punishing young people who have already dropped out, but by attacking the problem at its root. We must first take greater preventative action by working with elementary school children, talking frankly to them about the importance of finishing school and going on to college.
We can work to insure that by the time they reach the 6th grade, every elementary school child has visited the campus of a community college, vocational school, four-year university, or another institute of higher learning. In and out-of-school mentoring is another proven way to keep young people interested in school, and more companies should support their employees in this effort.
For teenagers, we must explore new approaches to improving their academic performance. We need to develop community based tutoring and mentoring programs at every middle school and high school campus, particularly in our urban school districts. We should also look at new programs to reach out to those who drop out and convince them to come back or join a GED program through direct outreach.
Under no circumstances should we do as Scott suggests and make a bad problem worse by further punishing those young people who have left our public education system. I know the power of education to change lives, fortunes, and the future of an entire community. After hearing State Education Commissioner Scott’s plan to limit job opportunities for our most vulnerable children, it is clear to me that Scott is the wrong man for the job, and it is time for him to go.
With accurate information, innovative and comprehensive approaches, and a refusal to give up, we will see more Texas children graduate high school and go on to college. As a native Dallasite and longtime mentor to Dallas ISD students, I know we can do better. The Texas State Education Commissioner may be ready to fail our state’s most vulnerable children yet again, but I am not.
Please join me in becoming a mentor, in lobbying our government to more accurately measure dropout rates, especially in urban areas like Dallas, and in calling for Scott to move on to another job where he can’t cause further harm to the young Texans who need us most.
I support the new standards on reporting high school drop-out rates across Texas. I think our elected officials and other education policymakers have allowed this problem to fester largely because most Texans are unaware of its magnitude. With more accurate figures, it will be impossible for bureaucrats to hide and for society to ignore this issue—or at least, it will be more difficult for them to do so.
Too many school-aged Texans, particularly African-American and Hispanic youth living in urban areas, are dropping out of high school and too few are going on to college or receiving training in a 21st century growth industry. Instead of diminishing the opportunities of those who have unfortunately opted-out of our public education system, we should be doing what we can to support these young people and transform them into more productive members of society.
We can reduce the number of dropouts in Texas, not by punishing young people who have already dropped out, but by attacking the problem at its root. We must first take greater preventative action by working with elementary school children, talking frankly to them about the importance of finishing school and going on to college.
We can work to insure that by the time they reach the 6th grade, every elementary school child has visited the campus of a community college, vocational school, four-year university, or another institute of higher learning. In and out-of-school mentoring is another proven way to keep young people interested in school, and more companies should support their employees in this effort.
For teenagers, we must explore new approaches to improving their academic performance. We need to develop community based tutoring and mentoring programs at every middle school and high school campus, particularly in our urban school districts. We should also look at new programs to reach out to those who drop out and convince them to come back or join a GED program through direct outreach.
Under no circumstances should we do as Scott suggests and make a bad problem worse by further punishing those young people who have left our public education system. I know the power of education to change lives, fortunes, and the future of an entire community. After hearing State Education Commissioner Scott’s plan to limit job opportunities for our most vulnerable children, it is clear to me that Scott is the wrong man for the job, and it is time for him to go.
With accurate information, innovative and comprehensive approaches, and a refusal to give up, we will see more Texas children graduate high school and go on to college. As a native Dallasite and longtime mentor to Dallas ISD students, I know we can do better. The Texas State Education Commissioner may be ready to fail our state’s most vulnerable children yet again, but I am not.
Please join me in becoming a mentor, in lobbying our government to more accurately measure dropout rates, especially in urban areas like Dallas, and in calling for Scott to move on to another job where he can’t cause further harm to the young Texans who need us most.