Someone recently stated: “We’re churning out a generation of poorly educated people with no skill, no ambition, no guidance, and no realistic expectations of what it means to go to work.”
In the mid-1940s one Union County teacher in a rural two-room school estimated that he expected 20% of his students to go on to high school. This was higher than a colleague who expected that only about 8% of her elementary students would go on to high school. Interestingly, those teachers had “length[s] of term [of employment] expected” at eight months, one with a monthly salary of $83.
To some people in that post-Depression time, $83 per month would have been a lot of money. If my father had known what my salary would be in this year 2024, he would have thought I was going to be rich. Unfortunately, as my salary rose, so did expenses. My father would have given up in desperation to know that one day a dozen eggs would cost as much as a gallon of gasoline, both over $3.00. This very day, I went to the store and purchased two [off brand] gallons of milk, a container of [name brand] French vanilla coffee creamer, and three cinnamon rolls—total cost, approximately $23.00.
How times have changed. It is now expected that practically 100% of all public school students will graduate with a high school diploma. There is a further expectation that as many of them as possible will pursue some form of higher education, either college or a trade school.
For many, success in high school academics is difficult. Many times the “drama” of the public school environment is unpleasant and uncomfortable. It is so easy in our present society to avoid things that are inconvenient or uncomfortable rather than seeing them through to the finish. Eighteen-year-olds sometimes drop out of high school. It is sometimes hard to get today’s youth to understand that expectations for success in our society have changed, and that it is increasingly difficult to succeed without the bare minimum of a high school diploma. It would be harder for the “grandpas” of yesterday to succeed or survive financially today without a high school diploma.
Many who pursue higher education do not receive degrees. Those who graduate sometimes expect to quickly receive jobs with salaries that match or exceed those of their parents or coworkers who have been employed for decades. When demands and expectations are not met, jobs are abandoned, sometimes even before new employment is obtained.
I remember when I was in school being told that some of the jobs that would exist in my lifetime did not then exist. I have lived long enough to see that come to pass. It is hard to teach skills for jobs that don’t exist. That is why it is important for schools to teach students HOW to learn.
Ambition can be an interesting enigma. I remember that some of the smartest people in my class seemed unable to “find themselves”. It was President Theodore Roosevelt who said, “No man needs sympathy because he has to work. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Ambition is realized when a person finds meaningful work in their area of greatest interest. I have a niece who once told me that the two happiest people she knew in relation to work were her brother (a fireman) and me (an educator). She said we were lucky that we got to make a living doing the things that we wanted to do from the time we were kids.
My stepson was permanently disabled and received in-home health care for as long as I knew him. He had many nurses and caregivers who were just there for the job/money. They sometimes did the “bare minimum” (and sometimes not even that). Typically, these providers did not last very long in the demanding job of health care. On the other hand, my stepson had several loving nurses and care providers who saw their vocation as more than just a job and reached into the deepest parts of themselves to make the young man’s life as enjoyable as possible. In so doing, they themselves became better individuals, getting more than they ever expected the young man could give. This resulted in a sort of intrinsic freedom that few people are fortunate enough to experience in their chosen vocations.
Such people typically are considered the “keepers” in work situations. Conversely, their lesser-enlightened colleagues are the types whose jobs, friendships and marriages are often abandoned when there is strife in the relationship without any attempts at reconciliation.
A couple once announced that they were expecting a child. Someone said, “They can look out now!” I took a course in marriage and the family as an undergraduate in college. One of the main things I remember from that course is that a study was conducted that showed that marital happiness sharply declined when children were born. Once the children are raised and move out of the home, marital happiness increases, but never to the level that existed before the children were born.
It is no secret today that approximately half of marriages in America fail. I once read a statistic that the average American worker has eight different jobs during a lifetime of employment. A very important thing to teach young people is the art of seeing things through to the finish, or, as Union County Director of Schools Greg Clay would put it, turning obstacles into opportunities.
I remember in school being criticized by other students because I had no skills other than “book learning”. In particular, this one red-headed fellow was quite the expert at working on cars. He seemed to talk offense that I was considered smart in school. When he questioned me about carburetors and other car parts, it didn’t take long to see my total ignorance on the subject.
It seems that practically everyone is “smart” in some way—it is not just always in academics. I have many former students who did not do well academically in school, but I call those students when I need plumbing, carpentry, trees trimmed or body work done on my car. I also have former students who excelled in school and made excellent grades that are not doing as well as their peers who were not academically inclined.
Guidance can be so essential in helping a young person achieve life goals. I recently talked with Linda Irick, my good friend with whom I attended church in my youth. She and I reminisced about the wonderful support I received when I was growing up from the people in my family, my church, my schools, and the community. It is certainly a joy to think back to the times and those fine people who guided me, supported me, prayed for me, and went out of their way to help me be a success. I’m sure there are many who helped me in ways that were perhaps unaware to even them.
I was this very day talking with coworker Jonathan Smith about finances and what an important role they play in our adult lives and how they affect our families. Jonathan said it would be so meaningful if schools could teach a course in such things as medical/life insurance/investments, and similar financial matters to help young people see early the importance these things can have on financial success.
Goals are important, but setting realistic goals is of great importance. So often youth enter the job market expecting to make the same or higher wages than those who have been working at the same jobs for many years. A young person once applied for a job and was told, “The starting pay is $40,000. Later it can go up to $80,000.” The applicant replied, “Great. I’ll start later.”
I once read a poem that included the line, “It’s never too late, ‘til the tired heart ceases to palpitate.” After all, Thomas Jefferson, when he was eighty years old, helped President James Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine. True. Jefferson also began studying under his cousin’s teacher at age 5 and studied Latin, Greek and French when he was nine.

ANSWER TO QUESTION OF THE WEEK # 15
If FedEx and its competitor UPS merged into one company, what would the new company be named? FED-UP
QUESTION OF THE WEEK # 16
What did our parents do to kill boredom before the internet? (See next week’s article in historicunioncounty.com for the answer.)

EMAIL WISDOM

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it's such a nice change from being young.

One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of algebra!

There are three kinds of men:
The ones that learn by reading;
The few who learn by observation;
“The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.”

Every path has a few puddles.

When you die, God won’t ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.