Submitted by Jennifer Heath on October 23, 2009 - 11:55am
Thomas Friedman's column in the NY Times today highlights the inescapable link between high-quality education and the ability to compete economically. I agree with his overall message -- that in order to succeed in today's economy, our youth will need not only good reading, writing, and math skills, but they that will also have to learn how to think creatively, critically, and innovatively. However, I don't think we should assume that all of this responsibility falls on the schools. To do so leaves out lots of other
United Way of Greater New Haven is working to address the disparities in economic well-being and educational achievement in our region. A recent report by McKinsey&Company highlights the economic costs of the achievement gap in this country. The report illustrates how costly the current achievement gap is (between the U.S. and other countries, and among different student groups within the U.S.) both for our nation as a whole and for the children who do not reach their full potential.
