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Congratulations to all the graduates
Henry Dunagan should have graduated with the CHS Class of 1949 but he dropped out to join the U.S. Navy. He was in the navy for four years and then joined the U.S. Air Force for a four-year hitch. After that he was in the Army National Guard for more than five years. Dunagan got his GED pretty quickly after joining the military, the equivalent of a high school diploma. He went on to college and then had a quarter of a century career of teaching and education administration work. However, he always longed for that missed Coffeeville High sheepskin and remembered his promise to his late mother. "When I joined the service it broke my mother's heart that I didn't get my diploma. I told her I would get it one day." He recently contacted the Clarke County Board of Education and arrangements were made for him to get a CHS diploma and to walk with the graduates at their commencement. It may be 59 years late coming but the late Mrs. Dunagan would be proud of her son. Salute to all the graduates In today's newspaper you will find a big 22-page edition featuring photographs of high school seniors from nine schools from across Clarke and Washington counties along with details on commencements and related graduation programs. The soon-to-be graduates deserve a hearty pat on the back for reaching this milestone in their lives. Too often we belittle the education system and say students aren't learning anything these days. Some aren't, that's for sure. On the other hand, many have learned far more at this point in their lives than many of us older folks had at the same point in our schooling. The curriculum is tougher now and it is amazing what students are required to know these days. I know from my own 9-year-old daughter's homework that what Maggie is studying is far harder and more involved than what I had to know in the fourth grade. I struggle now to answer some of her homework questions and I wonder how I will answer when she gets a few more grades along. One thing for sure, I sure don't want to play the quiz game, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader." College education important I always enjoy looking at the "Advisor," the monthly newsletter of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. Dr. David Bronner includes a lot of good information in the four-page publication. A lot of high school graduates are planning to go to college but a lot are at a crossroads right now and don't know what they want to do. I urge the new grads and their parents to study the chart at right that was in the May "Advisor" and see how income is affected by a college education. A person from a poor or disadvantaged background has a better shot at life and a higher level of income if they have a college diploma. On the other hand, those who do not obtain a college degree have only a slim chance of earning top wages. My advice to all high school grads? Get a college education! "The Why" of College Education Upward Movement A person born into a poor family who graduates from college has a 19 percent chance of entering the top fifth of earners in adulthood. How people fared whose parents were in the bottom fifth of income. Income of those who earned college degrees: Top fifth 19% 22% Top-middle 21% Middle 22% Bottom-middle 16% Bottom fifth Income of those who did not earn college degrees: 5% Top fifth 9% Top-middle 18% Middle 23% Bottom-middle 45% Bottom fifth Source: Economic Mobility Project, Pew Charitable Trusts
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