Education: The Unknown Gold Rush…

No wonder why kids are dropping out of high school...students have lost all hope! We sometimes say, "These kids are dropping out because they don't see the connection between education and a future. They either don't have a plan or think there's money to make immediately."

My opinion is not that they don't see the connection, but it's that we don't show them the connection between education and their future and instead push them out of education! During the mid-1800s, the California Gold Rush had a group of early gold-seekers called the "forty-niners." They were known for dropping everything and moving to California with what they had on their backs in pursuit of the possibility of finding gold. Similarly, gamblers are quick to waste away their savings in pursuit of the possibility of winning it big. Even those considered more practical, on Wall St., invest billions into the stock market each year for the same possibility to produce wealth.

Unlike these examples, Education is the only guaranteed factor that changes the earning potential of an individual. With such a guarantee, it baffles the mind to answer the question, "Why aren't kids staying in school?" Ironically it also points out the very reason so many immigrants come here and succeed. They hear about this possibility, a.k.a. The American Dream, and leave everything they have to pursue it...and in many cases,they find out that the rumors are indeed true. There is no way our children would be dropping out at the rate they are if they truly knew there was a possibility to have a better life...it's human nature to survive. So obviously they must be unaware. Our society fails at showing "other" American children the importance of education, so that they can then "rush" towards its benefits.

I called them "other" children because those educated must show the children of those non-educated. We cannot expect uneducated parents to see and translate the benefits of an opportunity if they themselves have not experienced it. I challenge each of you, each of us, with this complex but critical task...of just showing others that it is possible.


Join the rush!

My First Blog…

Welcome,

First let me start off by saying that I'm not a doctor, nor a lawyer. I'm not in Corporate America [though sometimes it may feel like it]; I don't make an ample amount of money; and I don't have a master's degree [yet]. Nevertheless, I travel the country for work; I travel the world for pleasure; I have been promoted three times within my first four years out of college; I have had more business engagements than half my peers; I have been trained as a motivational speaker and am helping to change the lives of thousands of young, hidden talent in America; I bought my first house - a four-bedroom residence in downtown Washington DC (w/ tenants).

So am I successful? I don't know...I think so, but I don't feel comfortable saying it one way or the other. The ultimate question for me is, "Will I make it into heaven," but right now that seems like an eternity away...

I grew up with a single mother who has seen her fair share of abuse; I was tempted by alcohol, gangs, drugs, and other blights from my hometown; and the one person I wanted to look up to was going down the wrong path [though he's much better now]. So should I be on the streets, dead, or in jail like most of those who have shared a similar path? Maybe, but I'm not.

I am a young & educated black man who works for a non-profit, helping low income high school students get into college. I graduated from Duke University; I am a Sigma Man [You Know!]; I am a product of numerous developmental programs; and I'm definitely a self-starter. So should I be doing something else, something more prestige and dap? Maybe, but I'm not.

I know I might sound like I'm going through my quarter-life crisis or that I'm looking for purpose [which I already know is to serve God], but none of which are correct. I guess I'm just writing this to say that I know I am blessed...above and beyond how I could have ended up. Yet as thankful to God as I am, I still want 'more'...and the question to myself, to you, or to anyone else that may know the answer... "Is that greed or something else?"

Who knows? Either way, I look forward to finding the answer as I continue on life's complex journey. I am fearful of it not working out, but if the past has any indicator of what's to come, then I can't wait...

~Sheldon M