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- Info
State of the South 2004
| Author: |
Greene, A.; Guillory, F.; Lipsitz, J. [and others] |
| Date: |
2004 |
| Periodical: |
Chapel Hill, N.C.: MDC, Inc. |
| Link: |
http://www.mdcinc.org/docs/sos_04.pdf
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| Abstract: |
The report discusses four crucial trends facing the South:<br>
1. The region's continued prosperity requires more people with higher skills and education beyond high school. Structural changes in our economy mandate it. The region now has more white-collar workers than blue-collar, with the trend predicted to continue. Fewer and fewer jobs that pay a family-supporting wage are available to people who do not have high skills and education or training beyond high school. <br>
2. The region's young population is increasingly Latino and African American. These population groups will comprise an increasing percentage of the South's future workforce as well as its communities. Meanwhile, Southern public schools are becoming resegregated, reducing opportunities for all children to learn to live and work together. <br>
3. Many low-income and minority youth attend isolated, resource-poor schools, where they cannot get the education they need. Our schools continue to be afflicted by separateness and inequality, and our students as well as our region continue to suffer from it. <br>
4. Our high schools fail to engage and inspire many students, regardless of income and race. There are two clear pathways out of high school. One leads to further education and career. One leads to disconnection from society and opportunity, and for the most unfortunate - to prison. Between these two pathways is a muddled middle, filled with young people for whom high school fails to provide direction or motivation.<br><br>
The implications of these trends are clear: structural changes in our economy, increasing racial and ethnic diversity, and a growing gap between the haves and have-nots are putting increased pressures on the region to prepare all young people for lifelong learning, work, and civic participation. Our response to these changes will determine the future health of the region's economy, civic culture, and democracy.<br><br>
MDC calls on the region's leaders to develop public schools that meet the needs of a fast-changing economy and a multi-ethnic, democratic society. In doing so, they will bolster both the competitiveness and democratic life of our communities. Fifty years after the Brown decision, the South must act to ensure integrated, equitable, effective public education to equip our youth for the economic, social, and civic challenges of the next 50 years. |
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