Lifetime Education/Lifelong Learning

The solution

In today's world we as a society must approach education as a lifetime proposition.   Changing technologies and the migrating jobs of today's economy mean that if we are to survive as a stable community, we must not only be better prepared to adjust to the rapidly changing needs of the market place, but to the changing social issues which arise as well.   This requires a lifetime commitment and a habit of continuing learning throughout our population.

An approach to education which spans all ages is also essential to the successful education of our City's children.   It is said that if you want to know whether a child will do well in school, simply ask whether his or her parents read at home.   Children absorb the example of their parents.   The primary reason Asian immigrant children excel in school is that up to three or more generations of the family may gather around the kitchen table to go over the day's lessons, the elder family members learning and teaching themselves along with the children.

The Mayor's office may have no hand in controlling K - 12 education, but the Mayor can take the lead in establishing and implementing a public policy of lifetime education (some also call it lifelong learning).   Lifetime education is a major social commitment.   It requires we integrate our current resources with new policies and new approaches for providing community wide educational opportunities to city residents of all ages.   Fortunately, there are a number of things we can do to begin now, without incurring expenses that would jeopardize the City's financial recovery.

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