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Education a national need

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Posted by on Mar 30, 2011 in Military Education News | Comments Off

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told The Clarion-Ledger Editorial Board a shocking truth this week: The majority of America’s youth is unfit for service in the military.
“Three out of four young people between the ages of 18 and 24 in the United States cannot qualify to join the military,” he told board. “You can’t join the military today without a high school diploma, yet one-third of the people in our country don’t finish high school. Others can’t join because of obesity or having a criminal record. We can’t remain a great country as long as that is the case.”
The former Mississippi governor also spoke to the state House and Senate on Thursday as part of Navy Week activities, telling them that education should be a top priority: “We as a society are failing to prepare our children for adulthood,” Mabus said. “Having a criminal record is directly related to not having economic opportunities and not having an economic opportunity is related to education.”
The message is timely as state lawmakers have wrangled over whether to follow the law in fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the state’s basic funding.
Mabus was an education leader while one of former Gov. William Winter’s “Boys of Spring,” that achieved passage of the historic Education Act of 1982 bringing public kindergartens to the state. During his own term in office, 1988-1992, Mabus built upon that record with his BEST program: Better Education For Success Tomorrow, that continued keeping education as a state priority.
Smart governors – here and elsewhere – have kept that standard high. But sadly, Mississippi not alone in allowing standards to slip and achievement to falter.
While the state and nation’s priorities have focused on war and Wall Street, our children have suffered. But what those who look only at short-term issues have failed to heed is that education – a long-term need – has suffered.
It has become, as Mabus said, a vulnerable national security issue.

U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus told The Clarion-Ledger Editorial Board a shocking truth this week: The majority of America’s youth is unfit for service in the military.

“Three out of four young people between the ages of 18 and 24 in the United States cannot qualify to join the military,” he told board. “You can’t join the military today without a high school diploma, yet one-third of the people in our country don’t finish high school. Others can’t join because of obesity or having a criminal record. We can’t remain a great country as long as that is the case.”

The former Mississippi governor also spoke to the state House and Senate on Thursday as part of Navy Week activities, telling them that education should be a top priority: “We as a society are failing to prepare our children for adulthood,” Mabus said. “Having a criminal record is directly related to not having economic opportunities and not having an economic opportunity is related to education.”

The message is timely as state lawmakers have wrangled over whether to follow the law in fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the state’s basic funding.

Mabus was an education leader while one of former Gov. William Winter’s “Boys of Spring,” that achieved passage of the historic Education Act of 1982 bringing public kindergartens to the state. During his own term in office, 1988-1992, Mabus built upon that record with his BEST program: Better Education For Success Tomorrow, that continued keeping education as a state priority.

Smart governors – here and elsewhere – have kept that standard high. But sadly, Mississippi not alone in allowing standards to slip and achievement to falter.
While the state and nation’s priorities have focused on war and Wall Street, our children have suffered. But what those who look only at short-term issues have failed to heed is that education – a long-term need – has suffered.
It has become, as Mabus said, a vulnerable national security issue.

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