Education is the Thing

I am currently writing this blog from the the Education Minnesota Professional Conference taking place in Saint Paul Minnesota Thursday and Friday making it s 4 day weekend four-day weekend for teachers and students and believe me we need it. All of that aside, it came to me while walking around the exhibits that we have a pretty good thing with public education. The high school where I teach, Central High School recently had an assembly to induct alumni into the Hall of Fame.
What was unique about this was that the the inductees came from all walks of life. They were professors, lawyers and community leaders with one thing in common they graduated from our high school. One came from around the block and another from the jungles of Columbia. They all were accomplished in their fields and would be considered successful in any gathering. Lastly they were products of the public schools not just Central but the University of Minnesota as well.
This coincidence is not just the Minnesota miracle but the American miracle that allows any one regardless of their circumstances to get a quality education and go on to a life of success and security . I tell my students every day that you sit in the place where millionaires once sat, where judges and professors once sat and where artists hone their art.
Many of my former students have realized and have gone on to lucrative careers . They have become learned professionals and they all came through Central high. It is not enough to tell teachers they are doing a great job we can look around and see that but it is important that all of us know that quality schools are the foundation of our society, the corner of our American way of life and we must do all that is necessary to see that public schools always provide the best for the future.