Logsdon Speech Final

America has changed. It has evolved from essentially a raw material producing agricultural economy to the leader of the industrial manufacturing economy to a pioneer in what those who are so inclined call a knowledge economy. Basically, this means that those will replace the titans of industry are the programmers, physicists, chemists, engineers, and so on and so forth. It will no longer be sufficient to gain just any college degree, the leaders of tomorrow will need to possess a real, substantive degree. As such, the educational system will have to evolve to meet these needs . We see this today, schools are pushing students toward more rigorous, college level courses. Some have risen to success under this evolving set of circumstances, yet a significant portion of the population have been relegated to a cycle of mediocrity. This is not a result of fundamental difference between people, their brains are no different than anyone elses. Rather, this is a product of the environment in which they live, an environment that does not prioritize education.

I would like to take a moment to realize just how extraordinary we are. We being both students of Henry Clay High School and students of the Liberal Arts Academy. As strange as it may seem when we walk through the halls, we attend a good high school. Our average ACT score is a 22, superior to the state mark of 20. We offer a number of advanced placement courses and our students perform above average on those as well .

And the Academy is a different animal all together. Many of us would rather lose a limb than receive a C and are brought to the verge of tears at the thought of a 29 on the ACT. Certainly we are of above average intelligence , but much of this can be attributed to our environment. Most, if not all, of us have been in accelerated courses as soon as we were out of diapers. Most of us could be considered relatively stable financially, certainly not impoverished. We grew up in an environment that facilitated our education, prioritized it. This environment instilled in us a desire, no a need to learn, to excel. This is extraordinarily rare.

In Floyd County, Kentucky, where I was born, this is not the case. The people do not view education in the way that we have been exposed to it. In many families, it isn't prioritized or even truly acknowledged. They view education with a stigma, perhaps with innate suspicion around it. Primarily, this can be attributed to the isolation in many of these areas, some of which still only have one way in and out and are nestled so far back into the mountains, that it is hard to imagine of how they ever got there in the first place. Whatever it's origin, the fact is that this animosity toward education restricts the potential of the people who live there.

Prestonsburg High School, the county's largest high school, possess statistics that could only be called appalling. The average student scored a 19 on the ACT, six of the eleven thousand AP test taken in Kentucky in 2009 came from Prestonsburg High School. None of the six scored a 3 or above, forty six percent of students had developmental needs in at least one subject, forty seven students entered college, 22 of which entered a public 4 year university. And in nearby Hi Hat, Kentucky, at South Floyd High School, students perform even worse, far below even Prestonsburg.

What then must be done? Our educational reforms targeted at these areas have proven ineffective. In an audit of South Floyd High School, state observers stated, and I quote, " The staff demonstrates flexibility to new ideas and desire to improve quality of education. However, there is a lack of evidence to support any consistent effort to improve." That is basically the teachers saying, " Hey there is only so much we can do". To truly change this society, we must not target those who currently in the system ( though that must to be improved). We must target those who have not yet been affected, those who might not even be born.

Here is a story to illustrate my point. My grandfather was a life long teacher, a man who placed a very high value on education and who perhaps is responsible for this speech. His sister in law, who placed very little value on education had two children. The first child was primarily raised by his mother, very little contact with other adults until he was older. As a result, he didn't care about school, he didn't graduate high school, and he still lives with his mother collecting disability checks. My grandfather tried to educate him, but by that time he was all ready too deep into that anti - education mindset. As a result, my grandfather started educating the younger child from the beginning. He taught her to respect her mind and the doors it could open for her. She graduated high school, received a degree, and is working and raising her two children.

Just as my grandfather provided his niece the opportunity to make something of herself, we must provide the future generations the means to succeed. This endeavor requires a united front. We must change this society from one that views knowledge with suspicion and apprehension to a community that prioritizes and facilitates education for all people. When that happens, perhaps America will once again rise to the forefront of this new era has we have in the past.