Let The Old Ones Learn, Too
There's nothing like education to transform individual lives. Just ask Gov. Phil Bredesen, who came from modest means and got in and through Harvard University with nothing but sheer will and study. He was no legacy applicant, and his education can clearly be credited for his success. Education also dictates the economic success of cities and states. About this, ask author Richard Florida, whose book, The Rise of the Creative Class, ably demonstrates the link between dynamic cities and the intellectual talent pools they host.
Education is just as important as TennCare, Bredesen would have us believe (and we do), because without it, people cannot earn enough to support themselves and buy health insurance, take care of others in their families who are sick and—forgive this patronizing-but-true observation—recognize the difference between healthy habits and unhealthy ones. It's no coincidence that Tennessee, with its high rate of illiteracy, is also one of the most obese, nicotine-dependent states in the country—and taxpayers bear this burden, because these are the very kinds of people who tend to find their way onto the publicly funded health care rolls.
But we don't say all this just for our health. We do it by way of applauding the governor (sort of) for saying recently that he'd like the college scholarships being issued by the Tennessee Lottery to include students seeking degrees later in life or after a break between high school and college. As it is, those with qualifying test scores or grade point averages who go immediately from high school to college are the only eligible scholarship recipients. Under such a system, the governor said, his niece—who went to college, dropped out, got married and had a baby, then later returned to school for a degree—would be totally disqualified for a lottery scholarship.
"The system really works against nontraditional students," Bredesen said during a recent higher education budget hearing. "At some point, the whole issue needs to be reopened."
We're with him. But that's where our praise for Bredesen begins and ends on this topic. While he clearly believes this inequality should be reconciled, the governor also said he has no plans to propose changes to the lottery scholarship criteria during the upcoming legislative session. Instead, he wants the state's higher education officials simply to give some thought to this bias against older students and to deal with it at some future time. Surprisingly, even state Sen. Steve Cohen, who advocated a lottery to fund scholarships for roughly two decades before he prevailed, has voiced support, at least for now, for the status quo.
It seems to us that, to the contrary, now would be the perfect time to close this opportunity gap. Revising the program early to be fairer and to offer a bigger pool of potential beneficiaries the chance to cash in on the program seems preferable to waiting until the problem becomes entrenched and intractable.
God knows, we could use more college-educated folks in Tennessee.
There's nothing like education to transform individual lives. Just ask Gov. Phil Bredesen, who came from modest means and got in and through Harvard University
with nothing but sheer will and study. He was no legacy applicant, and his education can clearly be credited for his success. Education also dictates the economic success of cities and states. About this, ask author Richard Florida, whose book, The Rise of the Creative Class, ably demonstrates the link between dynamic cities and the intellectual talent pools they host.
Education is just as important as TennCare, Bredesen would have us believe (and we do), because without it, people cannot earn enough to support themselves and buy health insurance, take care of others in their families who are sick and—forgive this patronizing-but-true observation—recognize the difference between healthy habits and unhealthy ones. It's no coincidence that Tennessee, with its high rate of illiteracy, is also one of the most obese, nicotine-dependent states in the country—and taxpayers bear this burden, because these are the very kinds of people who tend to find their way onto the publicly funded health care rolls.
But we don't say all this just for our health. We do it by way of applauding the governor (sort of) for saying recently that he'd like the college scholarships being issued by the Tennessee Lottery to include students seeking degrees later in life or after a break between high school and college. As it is, those with qualifying test scores or grade point averages who go immediately from high school to college are the only eligible scholarship recipients. Under such a system, the governor said, his niece—who went to college, dropped out, got married and had a baby, then later returned to school for a degree—would be totally disqualified for a lottery scholarship.
"The system really works against nontraditional students," Bredesen said during a recent higher education budget hearing. "At some point, the whole issue needs to be reopened."
We're with him. But that's where our praise for Bredesen begins and ends on this topic. While he clearly believes this inequality should be reconciled, the governor also said he has no plans to propose changes to the lottery scholarship criteria during the upcoming legislative session. Instead, he wants the state's higher education officials simply to give some thought to this bias against older students and to deal with it at some future time. Surprisingly, even state Sen. Steve Cohen, who advocated a lottery to fund scholarships for roughly two decades before he prevailed, has voiced support, at least for now, for the status quo.
It seems to us that, to the contrary, now would be the perfect time to close this opportunity gap. Revising the program early to be fairer and to offer a bigger pool of potential beneficiaries the chance to cash in on the program seems preferable to waiting until the problem becomes entrenched and intractable.
God knows, we could use more college-educated folks in Tennessee.
