Bill Gates, during a speech at a National Urban League conference on education and employment, stated that a high school degree is no longer enough to secure the highest paying and most interesting jobs.
“Every student needs a meaningful credential beyond high school. Higher education is crucial for jobs,” stated Bill Gates. Having a higher education is an equalizer in society and the key to getting urban America back to work and fighting poverty.
Gates believes that college should be for “almost everyone,” granted that parents, teachers, and communities make these opportunities available.
Funny thing is, Bill Gates is a college dropout himself. Gates dropped out of Harvard University to build his own computer company. However, Gates credits his success to his own education, parents, and teachers, and of course luck.
“Our public schools range from outstanding to outrageous and where a child’s school is located on that spectrum is a matter of luck. When it comes to education, we should replace luck with equity,” Gates stated.
Gates stated that we need to have effective teachers in the classroom since they are the key to success. Teachers can be molded and improved via peer feedback, student feedback, test scores, and video analysis from the classroom.
It’s not about throwing money at the problem. It’s about the way the teachers are picked, it’s about the way the teachers are encouraged, it’s about the culture of the school, the high expectations,” Gates added.
