A brief history of bridges

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A brief history of bridges

• Tom Welch
• Director, Seeding Innovation
• Office for the New Economy
• tom.welch_at_ky.gov
• January 22, 2004

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(No Transcript)
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What do the data reveal?

• A look at data from the 2000 census reports

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How does Kentucky stack up?

• of adults over 25 with less than a 9th grade
  education
• US average 7.4
• KY average 11.7

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Lets get personal (US avg. 7.4)

• Bell 25.0
• Butler 20.3
• Christian 10.2
• Daviess 6.7
• Fayette 5.1
• Graves 10.7
• Hancock 8.8

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of adults with less than 9th (US Avg. 7.4)

• Jackson 27.7
• Jefferson 5.4
• Jessamine 8.7
• Kenton 6.1
• Knott 25.0
• McLean 11.0
• Mason 10.1

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of adults with less than 9th

• Monroe 26.4
• Morgan 24.5
• Muhlenberg 15.5
• Ohio 15.9

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of adults 25 with less than a 9th grade
education

• 110 Kentucky counties below the natl average

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• 18 counties have more than 25 of the adult
  population over 25 with less than a 9th grade
  education
• One KY county has 33.8 of the over 25 adult
  population with less than a 9th grade education.

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of population with a high school diploma or
higher

• US average 80.7
• KY average 74.1

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with HS dip (US avg 80.7)

• Bell 56.6
• Butler 60.7
• Christian 77.2
• Daviess 80.7
• Fayette 85.8
• Graves 73.4
• Hancock 77.2

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with HS dip (US avg 80.7)

• Jackson 52.9
• Jefferson 81.8
• Jessamine 79.1
• Kenton 82.1
• Knott 58.7
• McLean 70.8
• Mason 73.3

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with HS dip (US avg 80.7)

• Monroe 57.8
• Morgan 56.4
• Muhlenberg 65.8
• Ohio 67.0

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of population with a high school diploma or
higher

• 111 Kentucky counties below the natl average

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of adults over 25 with a BA or higher

• US average 22.8
• KY average 20.8

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of adults 25 with a BA or higher (US avg.
22.8)

• Bell 9.0
• Butler 6.4
• Christian 12.5
• Daviess 17.0
• Fayette 35.6
• Graves 12.6
• Hancock 8.1

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of adults 25 with a BA or higher (US avg.
22.8)

• Jackson 6.8
• Jefferson 24.8
• Jessamine 21.5
• Kenton 22.9
• Knott 10.2
• McLean 8.7
• Mason 14.4

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of adults 25 with a BA or higher (US avg.
22.8)

• Monroe 8.4
• Morgan 7.7
• Muhlenberg 8.1
• Ohio 7.4

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of adults 25 with a BA or higher

• 106 Kentucky counties below the natl average

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• 39 Kentucky counties have fewer than 10 of the
  adults over 25 who hold a BA or higher
• One KY county has a population with only 3.8 of
  the adults holding a BA or higher

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Where do we rank?

• 25th in population
• 34th in patents issued
• 35th in math proficiency
• 46th in 8th graders taking Algebra

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• 55 Kentucky counties did not have a single
  business classified by the KY Economic
  Development Cabinet as a knowledge-based
  business or industry.

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Who wins? Who loses?

• Counties win and lose in terms of an economic
  base.
• Each student wins or loses because of the
  preparation and opportunity for learning at high
  levels which we provide or do not provide.

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• In the 19th and 20th centuries, geography imposed
  limitations on opportunities for learning.
• In the 21st century, we cannot afford to accept
  geography as a reason to limit opportunities for
  students to achieve and participate in the
  learning-based economy.

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• We are not in the school business.
• We are in the learning business.
• How will we broker learning opportunities for
  each students learning portfolio?

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• Some thoughts . . .

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• Change constant, accelerating, ubiquitous is
  the most striking characteristic of our world.
  . .

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• Change constant, accelerating, ubiquitous is
  the most striking characteristic of our world.
  . .
• and our education system has not yet recognized
  this fact.

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• Whatever the reasons were for the present form
  of schools, they have little or nothing to do
  with the problems that we face now, and so they
  need to be changed.

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• Schools stare fixedly into the past as we hurtle
  pell-mell into the future.

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• The trouble is that most teachers have the idea
  that they are in the information dissemination
  business.

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• Schools as they now exist largely confine
  students to sitting in boxes with the choice of
  acquescing to teacher demands or getting out.

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• A fanatic is someone who redoubles his efforts
  when he has forgotten his aim.

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• The only relevance of the curriculum for most
  students is that if they do what they are told,
  there will be a tangible payoff.

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• A subject is something you take and when you
  have taken it, you have had it, and if you have
  had it, you are immune and need not take it
  again.

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• Arrangements should be worked out with colleges
  and universities to admit students from a school
  system on the basis of performance rather than
  grades in subjects.

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• To accomplish renewal, we need to understand
  what prevents it. The aging society develops
  elaborate defenses against new ideas.

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• The fact is that our present educational system
  is not viable and is certainly not capable of
  generating enough energy to lead to its own
  revitalization.

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• The teachers of the future must bring this
  revolution off or it will not happen.

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• The preceding thoughts were from
• Teaching As A Subversive Activity
• by
• Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner
• c 1969!

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If we can agree

• We dont know what will occur if we can agree
• We DO know what will occur if we dont!

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WE were aiming for reform. . . We have gotten
re-prop.
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• Are there ways to re-form the system?

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New bridge construction

• At what level is the partnership currently?
• Where is the partnership ready to go?
• What are the expected next steps?