COLUMN: Class of 2010 has big challenges ahead
In the coming days, a slew of graduations will hit local high schools. Somewhere around 700 young men and women will leave high school and begin the next phase of their lives.
Multiply that across the nation and there will soon be hundreds of thousands of young people vying in a shrinking job market, or for restricted slots in colleges and vocational schools.
Times have changed since I tossed my graduation hat so many years ago. Not since the Great Depression has the future looked so limited for those just starting out in their adult lives. From the economic turmoil to the political cesspool that defines our times, today’s graduates must be anxious about their own future.
And yet, among today’s graduates are some of the best and brightest young people I’ve ever seen.
I’ll use the Jefferson High School Class of 2010 as an example. (Before the parents of other local high schools get in a tizzy, yes I know your children are probably just as bright and promising — but what’s written here are kids I know directly, many from first-hand experience.)
The JHS 2010 group is among the most remarkable assembly of students that I’m aware of. The class has collectively been awarded over $1 million in scholarships out of a pool of 160 students.
This class is heading out to a variety of colleges: Duke, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Georgia and Mercer among others. Some are entering college honors programs; several have earned full scholarships.
Among the boys, there are at least three Eagle Scouts. Among the girls, there are some of the most talented young women I’ve ever seen.
This class also has its share of top athletes and musicians and thespians, a collection of well-rounded, gifted kids.
This class also seems to work hard, to strive for something more than just getting by. They have dreams larger than themselves.
And it’s a diverse class; black, white, Hispanic, Indian, Asian… a very different portrait from the traditional rural school that defined my era.
Most of all, they’re a class of good human beings. Polite. Kind. Respectful.
I certainly don’t know all the kids in this year’s class, but I know enough of them to recognize that it’s an unusual assemblage of talent.
Maybe I’m a little envious. My own high school career was nowhere near the standard set by these young people. I was a terrible student; lazy, ornery and more interested in athletics and girls than anything I found in a textbook. (That wasn’t true of many of my classmates, who have risen far in life because they worked hard and had talent.)
The sad thing now is that such an accumulation of talent is facing some daunting times. It will, to a large degree, be up to them to fix the mess my generation has made.
They will have to pay the bill for all the massive government spending my generation has created and clean up the blood from ill-advised conflicts.
They will have to find a way to disarm rogue nations that we are today playing diplomatic footsie with.
They will have to reshape the status quo that governs much of our life in a political system that is inept.
They will have to fight the trend toward greater government interference in our lives and re-establish the virtues of liberty and self-reliance.
To see what is happening in the nation today is discouraging, until you look at the promise on the faces of the JHS class of 2010. Here is the kind of talent and leadership the nation needs.
Godspeed to them and their peers across the nation. Their leadership can’t come soon enough.
Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson Herald. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
Times have changed since I tossed my graduation hat so many years ago. Not since the Great Depression has the future looked so limited for those just starting out in their adult lives. From the economic turmoil to the political cesspool that defines our times, today’s graduates must be anxious about their own future.
And yet, among today’s graduates are some of the best and brightest young people I’ve ever seen.
I’ll use the Jefferson High School Class of 2010 as an example. (Before the parents of other local high schools get in a tizzy, yes I know your children are probably just as bright and promising — but what’s written here are kids I know directly, many from first-hand experience.)
The JHS 2010 group is among the most remarkable assembly of students that I’m aware of. The class has collectively been awarded over $1 million in scholarships out of a pool of 160 students.
This class is heading out to a variety of colleges: Duke, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Georgia and Mercer among others. Some are entering college honors programs; several have earned full scholarships.
Among the boys, there are at least three Eagle Scouts. Among the girls, there are some of the most talented young women I’ve ever seen.
This class also has its share of top athletes and musicians and thespians, a collection of well-rounded, gifted kids.
This class also seems to work hard, to strive for something more than just getting by. They have dreams larger than themselves.
And it’s a diverse class; black, white, Hispanic, Indian, Asian… a very different portrait from the traditional rural school that defined my era.
Most of all, they’re a class of good human beings. Polite. Kind. Respectful.
I certainly don’t know all the kids in this year’s class, but I know enough of them to recognize that it’s an unusual assemblage of talent.
Maybe I’m a little envious. My own high school career was nowhere near the standard set by these young people. I was a terrible student; lazy, ornery and more interested in athletics and girls than anything I found in a textbook. (That wasn’t true of many of my classmates, who have risen far in life because they worked hard and had talent.)
The sad thing now is that such an accumulation of talent is facing some daunting times. It will, to a large degree, be up to them to fix the mess my generation has made.
They will have to pay the bill for all the massive government spending my generation has created and clean up the blood from ill-advised conflicts.
They will have to find a way to disarm rogue nations that we are today playing diplomatic footsie with.
They will have to reshape the status quo that governs much of our life in a political system that is inept.
They will have to fight the trend toward greater government interference in our lives and re-establish the virtues of liberty and self-reliance.
To see what is happening in the nation today is discouraging, until you look at the promise on the faces of the JHS class of 2010. Here is the kind of talent and leadership the nation needs.
Godspeed to them and their peers across the nation. Their leadership can’t come soon enough.
Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson Herald. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.
Unemployment looks like it did under Carter.
Foreclosures at record levels.
Despots of the world see our leaders as a bunch of pansies.
20 million "undocumented residents" whose very first act on our soil - stepping foot on it - was illegal.
An executive administration which promised to be the most transparent in history but denies all requests for information.
The same administration shows a remarkable consistency for putting tax evaders in high level cabinet positions.
Ooh how about one more? Our illustrious leader tells us all we should stop pointing fingers of blame, then in the next breath blames his predecessors for all the evils he "inherited".
Just how is all that hope and promise working out for you Ash?
And by the way, an opinion column is where the writer's opinions are printed. Want yours printed too? Write Mike a freaking letter.
The only hope and promise we have have is taking back congress and cleaning out the white house in 2 years.
Thank you Mike for telling these young people the truth.
From all of us at Delaney Towing in Jefferson, we wish you all the very best!